[J24 ListSrv] Fwd: [Fleets] Is There Any Appetite for Any of This?

[Shawn Patterson]

J24 Sailors: See the message from Bert on alternatives to W/L racing and
let me know if you have any feedback.

Thank you,

Shawn


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bert Foster <bert at apexq.com>
Date: Sat, Jul 12, 2014 at 9:49 AM
Subject: [Fleets] Is There Any Appetite for Any of This?
To: "WYC Fleet Captains Server (fleets at lists.wyc.org)" <fleets at lists.wyc.org>,
"WYC Board List Server (Board at lists.wyc.org)" <Board at lists.wyc.org>


 Hi all,



Contrary to the national trend of significant reductions in sailboat racing
participation, the WYC Minnetonka station for 30 years plus has had a
steady high level of participation. We countered the national trend of
reduced participation with the programs that we run, and do we want to
counter the current national trend of offering alternatives to
Windward/leeward racing?



However the WYC Apostle Islands Station has recently introduced
"mid-distance racing" extremely successfully, and has significantly
increased participation.



Regards,



Bert


Offering Alternatives to Windward/Leeward Racing

*Published on* July 7, 2014 Scuttlebutt

|

For some years, the measure of a serious regatta has been strongly tied to
how well the course axis is aligned with the wind direction and whether the
starting line is perfectly square to the wind. But the pendulum of
participant opinion is moving slowly toward less rigidity and more fun.

The NOOD regattas in San Diego, Seattle, and Chicago offered racing on
random leg courses. One fourth of the entrants at Long Beach Race Week
competed around government marks, oil islands, and breakwaters. Even the
TP52 World Championship in Porto Cervo, Italy on June 10-14 scheduled two
days for windward/leeward racing and three days for coastal courses.

This year, more and more events are offering alternatives to
windward/leeward racing.

Perhaps the best idea in 2014 has come from Charleston Race Week, where the
last race of the day for the HPR Class was a “race to the dock”.

The course began with windward/leeward legs, but then the final leg took
the fleet home through the harbor to a finish near their marina. On board
the Carkeek 40 Spookie, navigator Bora Gulari said this middle-distance
addition was a welcome change. “These boats sail so much faster than they
can go under engine power, and it’s ten times more fun to race back to the
harbor than it is to drive a motorboat back.”

Here are a few upcoming events that have come across the Scuttlebutt radar…

** The 2014 edition of the Half Ton Classics Cup
<http://www.halftonclasseurope.net/> will take place in
Saint-Quay-Portrieux, Brittany, France on July 7-11, with the racing to
have a mixture of windward/leeward and coastal courses.*

** The 2014 New York Yacht Club Race Week
<http://www.nyyc.org/yachting/racing/nyyc-race-week> on July 12-19 will
include, in addition to buoy racing, a mid-distance race, plus racing may
also include using government marks and a compact “stadium” course inside
Narragansett Bay by Fort Adams.*

** The Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek <http://www.phuketraceweek.com/> in
Thailand on July 16-20 is the season-opening event of the 2014/15
AsianYachting Grand Prix – a series of 12 of the best regattas in Asia. The
schedule seeks to provide a mix of courses to suit all boat types, offering
windward/ leewards, passage races, and island courses.*

*Tags:* growing the sport
<http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/tag/growing-the-sport/>, Keeping it real
<http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/tag/keeping-it-real/>

- See more at:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2014/07/07/offering-alternatives-windwardleeward-racing/#sthash.kuzTkHoB.dpuf

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