Tried the email thing but no reply
Does anyone in Mhead know when the regatta is going to be next year? We have another NA's that is trying to book a date and we don't want overlap.
Thanks
Tac
I haven't heard firm dates yet, but I've got to think that it wouldn't be earlier than late August and way more likely would be some time in September. Hopefully it won't overlap with M32 Worlds for those in the class who would like to participate in that event at the end of September in Newport.
I don't know if they are set in stone but according to this post...
http://forum.viper640.org/index.php?topic=626.0
Quote from: Justin Scott on November 08, 2010, 04:21:23 PM
Here are the Viper NA Plans for the next three years:-
2011 - Sarnia Yacht Club, Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada. Date in September TBA.
2012 - Eastern Yacht Club , Marblehead. September 27-30th 2012.
2013 - Western Region (To include submissions from CA & Texas)
Late Sept. incidentally is a great sailing season in Marblehead, especially as far as breeze goes. It's very early fall so it generally not baking hot but not cold either.
Olaf,
Are the viper na's sept 27 to 30 2012 in Marblehead?
Thanks John
FYI, it looks like the 2012 NAs will be September 6-9, 2012, hosted by Eastern YC in Marblehead.
I heard Sept 6-9 at EYC is set in stone. Racing is Thursday - Sunday
Practice race on 5th, but there is also the Labor day Regatta the previous weekend, so folks from can come up on the weekend, rig boats, and use that regatta or one day of the regatta as practice.
Is it definately 4 days of racing? This is cool, but also makes it hard on money and work. We have the potenial of having 50 vipers. Do we want to risk this by adding another day? I was planning on coming, but to be honest 4 days is alot and I am not sure I'd be able to make that work. Also have to think about crews. Makes it harder for skippers to have crews give up 4 days plus travel time. Thoughts?
Doug, almost all of the major one design classes will have @ least 4-6 days secheduled racing for the top-o-the-ladder championship. This allows a possible down day of no racing if the conditions are not favorable. It's the biggie, take a couple of vacation days.. :)
Yeah I know that just wanted to see what everyone thought. There has been a trend downward over the last 10 years to 3 day events vs. 5 day events and we have seen the 3 day events do much better. I think it be awesome to race 4 days, but lets not let it keep boats off the line. Our class is great because we have always done things very efficiently so lets make sure we are keeping in line.
The 3 day vs 4 day question has been batted back and forth by the exec repeatedly over the years. For relatively local people, 3 days works well, but if someone is traveling a long distance it really sucks if one or two of the 3 days is a bust due to weather or lack of wind. We lost a full day or more at both 2011 and 2010 NAs. A 4 day event increases the odds of getting enough sailing days in to justify the trip.
There is no easy answer, but my I come down to "it's the big one, so go big!"
my two cents: Only 3 days of racing was the main reason we didn't make the trip to Sarnia. For me, a big regatta like this is more about taking a vacation with the family and spending more than a couple nights enjoying the Viper Family, too.
-Jimbo
Doug, I will personally issue sick notices to any and all that need them. Let's make this our first 60 boat regatta :-)))
There's talk of west coasters and even Australians (not counting the Brits and hopefully a Bermudian or two) coming to NAs. If a 4th race day entices them to come, great. In a lot of ways, the date change makes it easier for the east coasters too. Ways to rationalize the 4th race day:
1. It's the week of Labor Day. You can either take a full week vacation, and it's still just 4 days off. Or, use the 3-day weekend to move the boat up to Marblehead early so that a travel day isn't required -- you can always race up there the weekend before, rig the boat, leave it rigged, and just drive up Wednesday night to make the first race Thursday morning.
2. Or, you can always offer to work Labor Day (which presumably most of us wouldn't have worked) in exchange for taking off an extra day for the 4th day of racing, and try to trade with the supervisor to pretend that you don't need an extra day of vacation as a result.
In any case, with more folks being willing to travel in, you can take some solace in the fact that you'll have a chance to race against Vipers that you've never seen before on the east coast.
For what it is worth, an inhibitor to people from WA getting to the 2012 na's was only 3 days racing and discussions have been around whether your program had a regatta the week before so we could make the trip worth 2 regattas. Do we have the answer in your labor day regatta being the weekend before your na's sailed from the same yacht club. If so the interest here will increase. I remain confident you will see some of us in the USA for the na's.
How would it be best to ascertain availabiliy of charter boats.
Will the rules allow us to use charter boats with AU# sails?
As a matter of interest the Vipers in 8 race sports boat regatta from south of Perth yc last weekend have positions 1, 2 and 3
Sarnia was great. Getting back to Texas on Sunday around lunch was also nice, but my wife just made me mow the lawn.
4 days, 3 days - it's all good. Having a regatta we could attend the weekend prior would be a bonus.
We're getting our 2012 Texas Circuit sorted, let me know when the NA's are. This year we had a conflict, be nice to avoid that if at all possible.
John - One place to start looking for a charter is posting here in the forums in the Charter section. There are about 60 Vipers in the northeast US and I can't imagine everyone will be able to attend the Marblehead NAs. Advantage Boating in Canada has chartered boats in the past at events like Charleston. The new US Rondar team is in Marblehead and may have some good ideas. Suggest starting with Paul Zimmerman there.
Not issue using AU# sails on a charter boat. GBR, CAN, and NED are already on the race course.
The 4 day NA's following a weekend regatta is the format that is being set-up for 2014 in Long Beach. It will also be during the Labor Day week. I think this format gives the travelers the most bang for the buck, and we have a couple of down days in between for that tourist stuff. :)
And added bonus, the club is 20 min for the largest container port in the US. Now we just have to figure out how to re-pack some of the Down Under snakes in their boxes and get them up here.... ;)
Quote from: John Park on November 14, 2011, 08:56:29 AM
For what it is worth, an inhibitor to people from WA getting to the 2012 na's was only 3 days racing and discussions have been around whether your program had a regatta the week before so we could make the trip worth 2 regattas. Do we have the answer in your labor day regatta being the weekend before your na's sailed from the same yacht club. If so the interest here will increase. I remain confident you will see some of us in the USA for the na's.
How would it be best to ascertain availabiliy of charter boats.
Will the rules allow us to use charter boats with AU# sails?
As a matter of interest the Vipers in 8 race sports boat regatta from south of Perth yc last weekend have positions 1, 2 and 3
To spell this out more clearly for everyone, here is what the schedule looks like for NAs:
Sept. 1-2: Marblehead Labor Day Regatta (NA tuneup for visiting teams who want to come in early -- non mandatory)
Sept 3-4: relax, go be a tourist in Boston or other parts of New England -- lots of interesting places to see within 2 hours or less (most much less).
Sept. 5 (Wednesday): registration, practice race (practice race is non mandatory -- just for those who happen to be around and who want to
Sept. 6-9 (Thurs-Sun) 4 days of racing with the largest congregation of Vipers on a single starting line in class history
No issues using AUS sails on charter boats -- in fact, we'd all hope/expect to see AUS sails, as long as you agree to drink whatever American beer is offered to you post racing for making the trip. Definitely post an expression of interest looking for a charter boat. I suspect that charters will be in high demand, so the earlier a boat can be lined up, the better.
So what is the going rate for a charter?
Quote from: Doug Mroz on November 11, 2011, 06:10:14 PM
Yeah I know that just wanted to see what everyone thought. There has been a trend downward over the last 10 years to 3 day events vs. 5 day events and we have seen the 3 day events do much better. I think it be awesome to race 4 days, but lets not let it keep boats off the line. Our class is great because we have always done things very efficiently so lets make sure we are keeping in line.
Hi Doug,
I like what the 2012 organizers have done. The 3 day regattas have been Thursday to Saturday, so its still 2 days away from the coal face for locals. Four days seem more appealing to the long distance travellers.
Anyway, its not a regatta, its a must attend industry conference which your employer would be crazy to let you miss.
4 day regatta is key for making it worth the trip if a day is lost due to weather.
just my 2 cents
Quote from: David Furna on November 14, 2011, 06:57:57 PM
So what is the going rate for a charter?
Usually depends on charter availability and demand. If there are only a couple of boats that could be available and a lot of people interested, price could be higher. Also depends on what is involved on getting the boats to/from the venue and who would be bearing that cost, etc. I could throw out a number but it'd be pure speculation. Think about it this way: how much money would it take for you to part with your boat for a week to someone you didn't know well, if they promised to use their own sails and had the proper insurance, and agreed to deal with transportation, boat set-up, etc. I think that needs to be the starting point for the conversation, with a second set of parameters of "and they need to borrow sails." Any charteror who also wants delivery to/from the site and owner time for setup is looking at a totally different rate, and charteror paying for charter insurance at whatever rate your insurer wants to charge needs to be baked into any deal.
Thanks Peter, I sent you an email.
Quote from: David Furna on November 14, 2011, 06:57:57 PM
So what is the going rate for a charter?
If you use the class insurance package via Gowrie, then charter insurance can be added for a reasonable sum.
The going rate for charters has varied. We have seen from $1500 to $2000 for 3 day regattas between class members and from as little as $500 to a bottle of rum between friends. Advantage Boating actively chartered for a while....contact Harvey Barnes.
Quote from: Justin Scott on November 15, 2011, 10:19:25 AM
Advantage Boating actively chartered for a while....contact Harvey Barnes.
if you can't reach Harvey, try Ron Schute at Advantage (http://www.boattraining.com/)
Thanks for the info guys. I'm considering a 2nd boat to keep in New England during the season and chartering it when possible. $500/day on sight rigged without sails? Pocket change to the Melges 32 guys...probably expensive for others...
Quote from: David Furna on November 15, 2011, 10:39:07 AM
Thanks for the info guys. I'm considering a 2nd boat to keep in New England during the season and chartering it when possible. $500/day on sight rigged without sails? Pocket change to the Melges 32 guys...probably expensive for others...
I think that Piet was paying more than that when Blixem was chartering a pair of Vipers for cross training ahead of the M32 worlds.....but then he wised up and just bought a boat.
The 2012 Viper NAs were moved a couple of weeks earlier this year to so that they are 3 weeks ahead of the M32 Worlds at Newport RI. Four North East M32 teams have bought Vipers and will be getting it on at Marblehead as a prelude to the M32 worlds. I would not be at all surprised to see other M32 teams looking for Viper charters as we get closer to the date.
Thanks Peter for the program info.
We have 2 crews ready to come to the 2012 Na's and a third is a maybe.
It is now down to getting the boats.
On to the charter posts I go.