Call for 2012 NA’s site
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Lets get the ball rolling on discussions for the site of next year’s NA’s. There is some talk of early regattas, so if we are to consider them, we had better get our acts in gear!
I know Kingston would be happy to host them again. Either mid-July (cheap) or early August (CORK, more $$$).
Other sites that have been rumored include Barrie, Youngstown, Oswego (LYRA), Charleston, Annapolis, Sarnia, Chicago.
Let the discussions begin!
I suggest Galveston, TX….Add to the Texas Race Week venue..
@ Peter – You would have a great time up here if you did come! From early July through mid Auguast there are great regattas or races every weekend! Only issue is picking which ones to do.
@ Dale – When is it? Give us some details about how many boats are within say, 500 miles.
Texas Race Week is July time frame. There are aprox. 3 boats with-in 500 miles that I know of maybe more.
There are two locations that have cranes, the weather is very warm if not hot to the northern guys and the wind this year was 10 to 18…
Yes a long travel for the northern fleets but it would be fun time.Lake Charlevoix! Northern Lower Michigan….about 150 miles NW of Sarnia…easy road trip. 2nd weekend in June is our big regatta the NA’s could join in with, but we would host any date that does not conflict. We have experience with Lightning Great Lakes Champs & Laser Masters regattas. Low cost crane/launch and we are not looking to make money for a clubhouse. (we don’t have one…on purpose)
We do have a 400 membership and marina facilities at our disposal. June has the best wind..18kts is high end, with 12 low. July slows to 10. August is lower, Sept builds again to be like 12-18. Perfect clear water. Not large waves due to the shape of the lake. We are located so Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois could join in easily..as well as the Kingston group. I made a tow trip from here to Toronto…very easy day trip (except Canadian Customs..but that is a very LONG story) US Customs doesn’t care about your boat. Canada thinks you sold it and are avoiding taxes/duties..just a hint!
Screwpile at Solomon’s on the Chesapeake is still a possibility. It is centrally located.
The truth is there are really only two Olson 30s reliably sailing races in the Chesapeake: Monkey Business and Kestrel. The NAs could bring out others. There are plenty of boats, but they just don’t sail.
If you can bring in enough boats from elsewhere, this is a great place to race. The race committees are professional level. We had a wonderful regatta this past summer. I know the race committee will give us a start if we can muster up the six or so boats we need. There is a 40 mile feeder race. My dock in Annapolis is available for anyone who needs temporary storage and friendship.
This is not an inexpensive place to sail, but we can work to minimize your costs.
Al HoltThere’s always western Long Island Sound in the fall. Established 60nm race (the “Gearbuster”) could be incorporated. Would be very welcome. Host club received the St. Petersburg Trophy for for race management for hosting the ’03 Etchells worlds. Only 3 boats locally but a couple more elsewhere on LIS.
Scott mentioned Sarnia. Just did a regatta there. Great location though I’d opt for something earlier that dates that straddle Sept/Oct.
Jonathan
How about Charelston Race week. April, Sunshine, Great Food, Best Regatta in North America.
Richard
Wreaking Havoc
18186I have a few issues with Charleston. Sure, it would be an amazing experience, but there are some severe drawbacks:
1) LONG haul for the majority of participants. There is only one boat in Charleston that I know of. Only one Chesapeake boat has a trailer.
2) Too early in the season to have a good championship, in my opinion. The majority of potential boats race April – October.
3) It is pretty expensive. $400 entry, $25 non-USSailing, $60 per crew for shoreside, $260/ night / room at the event hotel.
Its only about 14 hour drive, the are lots of boats within about 4-6 hours, There are many other hotels that are much cheaper and only a few mile away. I have done Charelston 4 times and it always been a great time
Richard
Agree that Charleston is a great venue. For the O30s though have to weigh the appeal against each day’s long power out and back. And there’s no existing middle distance race which I gather is something that often gets included.
JonathanQuestion about Charleston. Do you sail in the ocean or in Charleston Harbor?
Al HoltI’m tentatively planning to get on the road next year. I’m interested in sailing in Charleston, Long Island Sound, and Kingston.
In Kingston, I favor an inexpensive July NAs and leaving my boat in Canada to come back for CORK.
Al HoltThe Olson 30 would race inside. So no long trek out to the ocean.
We could always run our own long distance race.Richard
I hate to be the naysayer, and agree that Charleston would be a great venue, but how many boats could we honestly hope to see there?
For a championship event, I am strongly of the opinion that the event should be at least half way through the majority of prospective teams’ season. How else will we have a chance to test our latest hopefully-go-fast mods before a championship? Sorry, but I am not launching in March to do that. The ice will do some damage!
Regarding Kingston, CBYC would love to host the event alongside our Eastern Yachting Circuit Regatta, July 12-14 (possibly 11-14 or 12-15 to accomodate our needs). This event will be quite affordable compared to CORK, a bit more than Barrie (due to the lift in/out costs), and a lot more affordable than Charleston, albeit at a lower-key event.
LYRA would be another excellent option. Oswego, NY, August 1-5. Not sure about their hoist capabilities, but the regatta itself is affordable.
A neat idea I have been toying with presenting would be to take the event to Chicago or Sarnia. Have our event the week before one of the Mac races, then encourage the fleet to stick around for the big race. Logistically challenging, relatively expensive, but it would be a great experience!
Like Al, we’re seriously considering doing some travelling with the boat next year as well. Oswego or Kingston (anywhere in Lake Ontario) would be my preferences. In addition to the NAs, I’d like to do 2 more events in the area – perhaps including the Lake Ontario 300.
Okay everyone…it is time to do some serious discussion about the NA’s. Glenn Freeman et al from Western Lake Ontario are very interested in hosting, as is Gary Gochal in New Jersey. We are always interested in Kingston. LYRA in Oswego would be a great event as well.
Lets get some real discussion going. I am going to set a completely arbirary deadline of February 10, 2012 for site bids. You all have my email address. Then, if there is more than one that is attractive, I will set up another online vote to decide when and where it is.
I have 2 dates that I can propose for the NA’s at Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. 1st date would be the RYC Red Grant Regatta, July 13, 14, & 15 which I understand falls on top of one of the Kingston regattas. The other date would be in September which would be part of the RYC Fall Series which is always a lot of fun. Again, we could do a 3 day affair so as to get in plenty of races. I will get back in a couple of days to get specific on the September dates. Hopefully, this would be abel to get boats up from the Chesapeake as well as Ontario and points in between.
I would clearly favor Screwpile with the Solomons Overnight Race as a feeder. Though like Al said there are only 2 boats on the Chesapeake that really actively campaign and campaign outside of their home clubs. There are 3 other boats already in Solomons, 9 across the bay in all. If NA’s were here you would draw some out for sure. Though I wouldn’t count on more than 4 local boats. If people traveled here it is essentially guaranteed that Screwpile would accommodate us in our own class.
Al is in the process of purchasing my trailer so it would be pretty difficult for Monkey Business to travel if it were held elsewhere. I may be interested in signing onto another boat though.
I would add that I think holding this event on the Chesapeake would likely do a LOT to revitalize a fleet that has really been decimated by adverse decisions by the Chesapeake PHRF committee, notably the elimination of the PHRF A3 class in which it thrived with many boats and the placement of the Olson as the dog of a VERY large PHRF A2 class in which it is not really competitive. There are lots of boats here and many still carry valid ratings and race in their home clubs but they just don’t come out and play in the larger setting. You only need to look at Al, who has been looking to sell his boat the last couple years to see what is going on. Without an outside jolt like holding a large Championship here I fear that the class will continue to dwindle away with increasing disinterest and diminishing investment in boats. Then again having something like holding NA’s here to rally people around could really breath some life back into a fleet that really needs it. That’s my plea for what it’s worth.
I’m am still working on the firm date in September for our Fall Series but I would like to note that at Raritan Yacht Club there is no charge to launch, step mast, or store a trailer. Only costs would be entry fee (approx $110), and your housing. There are many options for housing in Central Jersey. BTW, the Saturday night party doesn’t suck either. Fast is Fun!
Moonshine has been in a slow, and ongoing restoration over the last few years. We have been racing in our club events and local YRA (HRYRA) during this time. We would love to try our hand at some Olson 30 one-design events, however, we do not have a trailer. At least not yet. My vote would be for NA’s to be at RYC in Perth Amboy, NJ, somewhere on Western Long Island Sound, or maybe even here on the Hudson River. That is likely the only way we would be able to participate this year. We would love to participate and may even venture down to RYC for an event this year to sail against Slice (Gary Gochal), even if it is not NA’s. I know of two boats on LIS that are fairly active that may be convinced to come, if it is local.
I have sailed or coached at several of the locations and think that they all would be great venues for an NA’s. However, with this being, potentially, our first Olson 30 event, and that we do not have a trailer, we would not be able to participate in anything outside of our area at this time. If an Olson 30 event takes place in our area this year, we will plan to be there. That’s our two cents.If anyone knows of any available trailers for an Olson 30, please let me know. Thanks.
How about the PNW, there are several Olsons here. Perhaps next year.
@ Jiri: When the NAC was originally created, it was decided that the Nat’s and the NA’s were always to be contested on opposite sides of the Rockies. The intention was for the regattas to flip back and forth annually, but that obviously has not happened. Not saying it will not happen, though. Perhaps next year, as you suggest.
Interesting, thank you for the explanation. See you guys next year :)
I now have a firm date to propose for the NAC at the Raritan Yacht Club Fall Series which will be September 22 & 23. Once again, there is no charge to launch, step mast, or store your trailer. It would be suggested that we make the Olson 30 part of this regatta a 3 day affair starting on Friday the 21st. Thoughts?
Historically, the NA’s have been a four day event, with one distance race plus three days of course racing, up to five races a day. Can Raritan accommodate this?
I don’t see any problem with doing 4 days of racing. Plenty of room and options for a distance race and one design starts are also no problem.
Unfortunatly Wreaking Havoc has a prior engagement the weekend of the 22nd of September.
Richard
Wreaking Havoc
18186Don’t LAUGH…How about Dallas. We have three boats on Lake Hubbard that will compete. There are 3 others withing an hour or two. There are 2 in Houston, and a couple n New Orleans that would also make it.
It would be a central location, so both coasts would have an oppertunity to compete.
Race Committee would not be a problem (Dallas just hosted the US Sailing C of C’s), and neither would logistics(two cranes, tons of parking, mast hoist). We hoisted the 2009 J22 NA’s.
We have a new Hilton about 10 minutes from Rush Creek Yacht Club, as well as a pretty cool harbor district, with restaurants, a cat that make moonlight cruises, and all kinds of fun things todo. We are 22 miles north east of Dallas, if you bring the family, there is TONS to do.
I know, it is Dallas, in TEXAS, but come down and experience Texas Hospitality….
If you guys would have any interest, I would put together a formal proposal. The Olson 30 used to be HUGE at Rush Creek…
D
I have other ideas…
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