2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!

Started by Travis Yates, October 17, 2016, 12:10:57 PM

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Travis Yates

Feb photo album just uploaded to the Sarasota Viper Fleet FB page. Go tag your crew and folks you know!

https://www.facebook.com/Sarasota-Viper-640-Fleet-587973181298375/
Sidewinder
USA #244
Sarasota Sailing Squadron

Nick Ward

Hello Everyone,

I was thinking about what my next winter sailing plans and of course I will be planning on the Sarasota Winter Viper640 Winter Series again. 

Which brings me to a question, is there interest in SRQ running a forth weekend in March in place of Miami?  Many of the boats are already being stored in Sarasota, so this would save moving the boats around to race the same people at an increased price and effort.   Maybe it could be 3 day final event that skippers need to race to qualify for the overall (Etchells do this in the Jaguar Cup)..  don't run it against Miami so everyone who wants to sail both events can. 

I know Miami is popular with many, so this idea may not be that popular, but I just thought I would ask the question and see what folks are up for as staying at SRQ would be a much simpler overall process.

Thanks,

Nick
#165
Proper Villain #165

Peter Beardsley

I would strongly support a 3-day Friday-Sunday regatta in Sarasota in March.  Apart from the logistics in moving the boat to Miami, there is the added hassle of taking off 3 vacation days (or more) to do Miami.  It's a less expensive price point in Sarasota most of the time as well, esp. if the boat is already there.  And hopefully it'd have the added benefit of driving more boats to Sarasota for a larger overall circuit. 

There will be a couple of big voices in the class leadership who probably wouldn't be in favor of scrapping Miami.  Get buy-in from those folks first - if you're not sure who they might be, email me.  You'd also of course need buy-in from Sarasota Sailing Squadron - they have a ton of events that they host in the winter, and it's not a given that we'll get space on their calendar. 
Viper 640 East Coast Regional VP / Class Governor
Viper 333 "Glory Days"
Formerly Viper 269 "Great Scott!", Viper 222 "Ghost Panda" and Viper 161 "Vicious Panda"

Geoff Ewenson

#18
I completely understand the rationale behind staying in Sarasota and doing an additional event. I understand that Miami is a relatively long drive across the state to sail against many of the same people in a more expensive venue.

Please let me make a rebuttal in favor of continuing the Miami Sailing Week.

I am new to the class and have limited experience with the winter circuit. I signed up for the whole series this past year but ended up sailing only the last event. Maybe missing two of three events due to terrible weather gives me a skewed perspective on things.

I know that the few overseas competitors that we have seen over the last few years have come for the two events in Miami. The Irish team purchased a boat and leaves it in the USA in order to race in two events per year, and both are in Miami! I don't know that Sarasota will have the same draw for people from Europe and beyond.

I know that the weather in Miami is far more predictable than Sarasota in March.

I know that the class gets amazing publicity from being part of the Bacardi Sailing Week. As we grow the fleet into a substantial one design class on the world level, it is important to showcase the boats at the best and most visible events.

Stand alone events are wonderful. I really enjoy the vibe of the SSS. I cannot thank people like Travis enough for helping to make this series possible. I certainly plan to register for the series next winter. Having said that,  I know that my wife has a blast in Miami and loves the sailing on Biscane Bay. I hope that people will recognize the value in being there with us.

Geoff Ewenson
USA 248

Justin Scott

I hesitate to join the discussion because my boat has not been on the road as much as it used to in the last three years. So this is the perspective of an occasional traveler on Miami and destination regattas in general:



1.The Viper calendar is getting a tad crowded. It sometimes feels like we dilute our fleet across too many marque regattas. As the class has grown, we have more regattas on our calendar.  I would like to go to all of them at some stage, but it is unrealistic to go to them all in one year. 

2.   There are some great destinations that many Viper owners want to sail.  This includes Miami.   I agree with Geoff, it is one of the outstanding places on the planet to race a performance sailboat. Sailing on Biscayne Bay is on many folks bucket list. It would be a sad day if Vipers stopped offering a chance to race on Biscayne Bay.

3.   However, many sailors do not want to go or cannot afford the time to go to the same destination every year.  Also, going to the same destination can pall after a while. There is a sense of "been there , done that"....but after an absence of a year or two...you start to miss it again. 
I think this is one reason why regatta numbers go through cycles.

4.   This also applies to Charleston, Kingston and several other destinations. I cant speak to the West coast but I imagine that there are similar destinations where you stoked to go but its not something you do every year. The European Vipers choose only go to Garda on an alternate year basis

So I find myself wondering if the US class would be interested in a cycle of alternating between different destinations on different years. So for example, should Miami and Charleston be focused regattas on alternate years.....Miami in one year, Charleston in the next?

Would it add more variety?  Would it focus the fleet a bit more?

Just a thought.

Viper - Mambo Kings
Right Coast Refreshments Committee

Steve Chapman

 I was looking for this discussion under "Miami" and so had to search a little further. I'll try to open this up in new Miami thread too. The more input we get the better.

I find myself conflicted on this discussion....

One the one hand I have been a Miami devotee. We had attended every year for the past 4 and have enjoyed every one. By dedicating the full 9-10 days to it we get in lots of sailing even when we lose a day to weather. We lost 1 day every year either to too much or no wind, so given the effort required to get there, the fact that we have the long event means we always get in at least 5 days sailing. I love the host clubs, the night life in Coconut Grove and above all sailing on Biscayne Bay. I also love that we get overseas members coming too.

On the other, I like sailing in Sarasota - easy to get to, great club, great people. Less of a "destination", but it also has some great night life ( as Northern Honey Badger can atest to). From a pure cost point of view, it makes good sense to stay in Sarasota and have a 4th weekend.

My concern is that there are many who make the effort for a big week in Miami, but can't do the Winter Series thing. It's often one or the other, only about half of the entrants in Miami did Sarasota too.

Given that both Charleston and Miami are more expensive events, alternating may be a good idea.

So let's get some more input!

Steve Chapman

Steve Chapman
Oshunmare - Viper #288
Chair International Viper 640 Class Association
Ottawa - Great Lakes Region