Viper 640 Class Association Forums

Viper 640 Public Forums => Viper Regattas and Events => Topic started by: Travis Yates on October 17, 2016, 12:10:57 PM

Title: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Travis Yates on October 17, 2016, 12:10:57 PM
Hey All,

The Sarasota Winter Series registration is now live and and seven boats are in already! We are very much looking forward to hosting you again this winter and it is time NOW to get registered so we can lock in our plans.
The first boat from up north is due to arrive in Sarasota next week, as much of the class (and the Sarasota fleet) heads to Bermuda.... then back to Florida in time for the Dec 17th/18th Winter Series Kickoff!

Please take a moment to register today so logistics can be more accurately planned.

http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/13514

If you need help getting your boat down from Fernandina Beach to Sarasota give me a shout at 941.350.0908 OR [email protected] and I will do what I can to help you out. I am working on getting a group rate for the Fernandina Beach to Sarasota one-way delivery and will give you an update once I get it locked in..... but I need to know if you are planning on shipping your boat from Bermuda to Florida.

Very best,
Travis
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Peter Beardsley on October 17, 2016, 01:42:50 PM
We've done this series each of the past two years and it is really well run with a lot of races, easy setup, very Viper-focused, super convenient, haven't had to miss any work (fly in Friday night, fly out Sunday night) - as affordable as you can hope for when doing a winter circuit with good bang-for-the buck with number and quality of races, mast-up storage, etc.  We will be back this winter and every other winter that Sarasota wants to host it.  Strongly encourage everyone to make the trip at some point if you're able - it's always been a major way to relieve the winter blues knowing that in a couple of weeks I'd have someplace warm to go and be able to sail in shorts. 
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Travis Yates on October 20, 2016, 01:53:01 PM
Shipping Update for the Sarasota Winter Series for NA boats headed south in December

I confirmed a shipping deal today for all those that are planning on sending your boats directly from Bermuda to Sarasota in December, in time for the first winter series event on Dec 17/18th.

The one-way delivery between Fernandina Beach and Sarasota will be $250 each boat from the port to my office (or the Sailing Squadron). The boats will be coming off of Voyage 1074 (arriving the 10th of December) if you want them to make it to the Winter Series. I will handle all the transport logistics (based on your boat being cleared by customs) and pay the driver as each boat is delivered, owners can just send me a check or hand me cash in December.

Please email me ([email protected]) if you want to be in on this deal, the shipper I am working with is Chris Gonzales, who has moved many of the classes boats in the past and dropped one NE boat off at my office today.


Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Peter Beardsley on November 01, 2016, 10:13:02 AM
At least from NYC, flights got really cheap today - tickets are purchased and we're ready to return to Sarasota. 
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Peter Beardsley on November 29, 2016, 02:36:16 PM
If anyone is on the fence about attending, I know of a number of very experienced Viper sailors who are available as crew. 
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Nick Ward on November 30, 2016, 11:21:09 AM
17 boats signed up to date (based on site), any sleepers out there planning to sign up?
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Peter Beardsley on November 30, 2016, 01:36:12 PM
Allegedly there are sleepers.  Some GYA teams who say they're coming but won't sign up until late, among others.  More PR is coming. 
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Peter Beardsley on December 07, 2016, 09:53:58 PM
21 entries now and more to come.  Getting some good momentum.
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Craig Wilusz on December 08, 2016, 04:16:37 PM
Some of the youth are bringing the Club owned Viper from Fort Walton YC, they have not registered yet, but Kip bailed on D and I to sail with them (lil' bastard) so pretty sure they will be there.
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Eddy Parker on December 09, 2016, 03:32:44 PM
Don't you need to change your signature Tulips?
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Geoff Ewenson on December 13, 2016, 03:08:18 PM
looking for an open hitch from anywhere north of Annapolis down to Sarasota in time for the January event.

Happy to cover cost of fuel going down.

Cheers,

Geoff Ewenson
[email protected]
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Peter Beardsley on December 13, 2016, 03:47:41 PM
For that matter, I think Eric White in Annapolis would be willing to make his boat # 238 available to a team (free) who wanted to sail the Jan. and Feb. events if they were willing to move the boat south (at their cost) so that he can sail it in Miami.  Pretty good deal if someone is heading that way over the holidays or has friends who are.
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Peter Beardsley on December 19, 2016, 03:34:54 PM
Results from the first event.  Really great conditions - 4 races per day with building breeze into planing conditions for Saturday, and planing conditions all day Sunday.  23 boats for what was supposed to be the "small event" - larger turnouts expected for each of January and February.  Lots of photos posted on the Viper 640 Facebook page. 
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Travis Yates on January 16, 2017, 09:08:41 PM
Hey All, getting geared up for the last Sarasota Series event Feb 4-5th with Zeke's tuning/training clinic on Friday the 3rd. I have a couple of folks that have made travel and housing arrangements to be her for the event and are looking to crew for folks. Please email me direct if you are looking for crew for your boat that is here OR if you need an extra person to get you off the fence and down here for this event and then Miami in March.
Travis
[email protected]
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Peter Beardsley on February 06, 2017, 10:36:36 AM
Standalone February results attached.  Final circuit results posted at http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/13514
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Travis Yates on February 07, 2017, 01:47:01 PM
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/
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Nick Ward on May 22, 2017, 02:08:52 PM
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
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Peter Beardsley on May 22, 2017, 02:46:26 PM
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. 
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Geoff Ewenson on May 27, 2017, 07:20:26 PM
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
Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Justin Scott on June 06, 2017, 02:51:59 PM
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.

Title: Re: 2016-2017 Sarasota Winter Series registration is now open!
Post by: Steve Chapman on June 13, 2017, 02:42:34 PM
 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