Charlotte Harbor Regatta Feb 5 -7 2010

[Justin Scott]

I had a wonderful conversation with a gentlemen from Charlotte harbor on the West Coast of Florida. Charlotte Harbor is a huge and largely unspoilt natural harbor on the West Coast of Florida. They were clobbered by Hurricane Charlie in 2004 and as part of their efforts to rebuild the community they are launching this regatta to help energize small sailboat racing and one-design racing. They alreday host a couple of well known big boat events including the Conquistidor Cup (I may have misspelt that).

Three sailing/Yacht Clubs (including Charlotte Harbor YC & Punta Gorda SC) are hosting the event in conjunction with a new marina at the restored fishery pier.

I have never been to this part of the coast but Brian (the gentleman from Charlotte harbor) described a large natural harbor with no commercial shipping with depths from 6 feet to 20 feet surrounded by miles of undisturbed mangroves and the shores dotted with historic Old Florida towns like Punta Gorda, Boca Grande, Englewood and Placida.

I note that SAIL magazine ranked it as one of its "10 greatest places to sail in the United States" and in the past it has hosted the U.S. Olympic Soling trials and the U.S. Olympic windsurfing trials.

What I really liked is that Brian works for the local paper "The Sun" and his paper have asked him to take on sponsoring this regatta because its good for their community. Brian bought his first sailboat last year. He is brimming with enthusiasm, and I like towns and local newspapers that still have people that care so much about their community.

I told him that its probably too close in time to St Pete, and that our winter schedule is getting a little crowded and we are still growing the local class in Florida, so maybe its a regatta for the future. But damn it all, I like the sound of your home so send me an email and I will post it on our forums. This way at least it is on our radar. This is the email that he sent me. 

You know what, I might even try and schedule a little vacation time for myself around February 5th next year. This place sounds charming   

PS
He also invites Rondar to come and demo the Viper at their club. They are looking for ways to revitalize their sailing scene.



"Justin:

It was a pleasure to speak with you this morning. I appreciate your
time and your interest in the Charlotte Harbor Regatta, a new
one-design regatta to be staged Feb. 5-7, 2010 in Charlotte Harbor,
Florida.

As you may know, Charlotte Harbor is the second largest harbor in
Florida and was named by SAIL magazine as one of the 10 greatest
places to sail in the United States. Charlotte Harbor has played host
to the Sunfish Midwinters, the Olympic Soling Trials and the Olympic
Windsurfer trials, but it did not have an annual one-design regatta --
until now.

Knowing that your Viper 640 fleet is rapidly growing in the Southeast,
we believe introducing the class to sailors on Florida's Gulf Coast
will both grow the class and give your members a chance to race a new
venue, especially just before the annual NOOD Regatta in St. Pete.

Please consider this the Charlotte Harbor Regatta's warm invitation to
the Viper 640 Class Association. We think the timing of the event --
plus a boat storage offer we plan to make part of the registration
fee, will make the Charlotte Harbor Regatta a very attractive race for
your members.

We are still working out many details, including the registration
fees, notice of race, onshore activities, etc., but have firmly set
the date and are feverishly recruiting classes. We plan to limit the
number of classes to seven for the first year and we have already
received strong interest and/or commitments from the Sunfish folks and
the Flying Scots. We also are reaching out to the Laser SB3, J-22,
J-24 and Hobie 33 classes. We would like to see 15 to 20 boats from
each class.

The Charlotte Harbor Regatta will include a Saturday night Regatta
Pahty at our waterfront Laishley Park, which is next to the city's
municipal marina. Within walking distance of the marina are four
hotels and a dozen restaurants. We plan two days of racing, but will
work with class association reps if they prefer to have three days of
racing. Our mission is to make our event a racers' regatta.

The Charlotte Harbor Regatta is a non-profit event, patterned after
the very successful Charleston Race Week. We aim to be an affordable,
fun and competitive regatta.

Our Web site is still in the works, but we have a placeholder page up
and running at www.charlotteharborregatta.com. More information will
be available and posted there soon. For more information about the
Charlotte Harbor area, please go to www.charlotteharbortravel.com

Thank you for your time and I look forward to answering any questions
you might have about our event. We're certain the Viper 640 fleet will
love racing and playing in sunny Charlotte Harbor come February 2010
and for years afterwards.

Brian Gleason
Director
Charlotte Harbor Regatta
941-206-1133
[email protected]"

[Jay Harrell]

Do they have a sea breeze in February?  If so, and if we have a fleet there, I would be likely to skip "light air" St Pete NOOD and do Charlotte Harbor instead.  I like the small-boat focus they are pushing, as opposed to the big pro boats that come to NOOD.  He mentioned including boat storage - how about storage until Coral Reef in March - that would be ideal.

I had a wonderful conversation with a gentlemen from Charlotte harbor on the West Coast of Florida. Charlotte Harbor is a huge and largely unspoilt natural harbor on the West Coast of Florida. They were clobbered by Hurricane Charlie in 2004 and as part of their efforts to rebuild the community they are launching this regatta to help energize small sailboat racing and one-design racing. They alreday host a couple of well known big boat events including the Conquistidor Cup (I may have misspelt that).

Three sailing/Yacht Clubs (including Charlotte Harbor YC & Punta Gorda SC) are hosting the event in conjunction with a new marina at the restored fishery pier.

I have never been to this part of the coast but Brian (the gentleman from Charlotte harbor) described a large natural harbor with no commercial shipping with depths from 6 feet to 20 feet surrounded by miles of undisturbed mangroves and the shores dotted with historic Old Florida towns like Punta Gorda, Boca Grande, Englewood and Placida.

I note that SAIL magazine ranked it as one of its "10 greatest places to sail in the United States" and in the past it has hosted the U.S. Olympic Soling trials and the U.S. Olympic windsurfing trials.

What I really liked is that Brian works for the local paper "The Sun" and his paper have asked him to take on sponsoring this regatta because its good for their community. Brian bought his first sailboat last year. He is brimming with enthusiasm, and I like towns and local newspapers that still have people that care so much about their community.

I told him that its probably too close in time to St Pete, and that our winter schedule is getting a little crowded and we are still growing the local class in Florida, so maybe its a regatta for the future. But damn it all, I like the sound of your home so send me an email and I will post it on our forums. This way at least it is on our radar. This is the email that he sent me. 

You know what, I might even try and schedule a little vacation time for myself around February 5th next year. This place sounds charming   

PS
He also invites Rondar to come and demo the Viper at their club. They are looking for ways to revitalize their sailing scene.

[Brian Gleason]

The typical wind here in February is 8-10 kts easterly with northerly frontal systems that can push it into the teens or higher.

As for storage, our aim is to provide both short-term storage and long-term storage for regatta participants. Hoist and/or launch fees and dockage will be included in the registration fee.

Brian Gleason
Director
Charlotte Harbor Regatta
941-206-1133
[email protected]

[John Porter]

Florida West Coast events at this time of the year are largely light air regattas. 

I would vote (and I'm planning for sure) to do the Coral Reef Cup again in March next year.  This venue ROCKS with breeze, and darn it if these boats aren't just a hoot over 15 knots (geeze.... I kind've sound southern here).

I have done too many light air drifting regattas in my life at St. Pete to show there again.

Miami, Lauderdale, or even the "Mr. Clean" regattas I would vote for.

My 2 Cents.

JP
cool beans - USA 26

[Dan Tucker]

I'm with John. Coral Reef is a MUST. Great venue, simple, old-fashioned regatta with a $175  entry fee, all inclusive, no additional social fees. My kind of regatta - sail more, spend less!

I haven't been to St Pete for a few years, but spent tons of time there before the '04 Paralympic Trials, so I feel at home there. But I'd likely skip the NOOD and go to the Charlotte Harbor if it's modeled on Charleston... particularly if it's more affordable. CRW was not particularly cheap, NOODs are not cheap, and I can only afford so many pricey regattas, like I said above - sail more, spend less!

Dan

[Jay Harrell]

Florida West Coast events at this time of the year are largely light air regattas. 
...
I have done too many light air drifting regattas in my life at St. Pete to show there again.

That's what my crew said after this years drift-fest at St Pete NOOD.  We can have zero wind on our local lake any time - except that the Sinclair regatta had much better wind than St Pete this year, so we do have our moments.

I would vote (and I'm planning for sure) to do the Coral Reef Cup again in March next year.  This venue ROCKS with breeze, and darn it if these boats aren't just a hoot over 15 knots

Ditto.  We already have Coral Reef on our calendar too.  If I'm driving that far, I want WIND!

(geeze.... I kind've sound southern here).

It's spelled "kinda"...;-)

[Dan Tucker]

See all y'all soon!

How's that for southern?  :-O

[Brian Gleason]

It's great to see the discussion among the Viper 640 community about the 2010 Charlotte Harbor Regatta. My thanks to Justin for sharing our story with the exciting and exploding Viper class. We'd love to have a fleet of Vipers ripping across our beautiful harbor in February.

To address some of the discussion above, early February is not "light air" in Charlotte Harbor. National Weather Service records show average wind speeds of 9 mph and the prospect of seasonal frontal systems is ever-present that time of year.

The Charlotte Harbor Regatta is branded as the "Fun, Affordable Regatta," with entry fees around $125 per boat and $40 for crew member social tickets that will include entry to three nightly Regatta Pahty events. Area hotels will be offering "regatta rates" starting below $100 per night. Please call 941-206-1133 with questions or email me at [email protected].

[Justin Scott]

BUMP.
This regatta came up for discussion while we were all at Lake Norman.

There was quite a bit of momentum for going here.

Tac and Brad said it is an awesome spot to sail and very nice place to stay.
.

[Justin Scott]

From the ever energetic Brian
With low fees, free slips, great hotel rates, generous sponsors and lots more, the Charlotte Harbor Regatta promises to be the fun, affordable regatta. Five classes already have committed ? Flying Scot, Hobie 16, Weta trimaran, S2 7.9 and Sunfish ? and there has been strong interest from class officers and members from several more classes, including the J/24, Melges 24 and your own Viper 640 classes. Class president Justin Scott posted a gracious note about our event a couple months back and we appreciate his comments and the replies. Since then, we have contacted Viper 640 fleet directors from Biscayne Bay to Ottawa to build interest in the event.

The Charlotte Harbor Regatta will feature fast, competitive racing, exciting onshore activities and beautiful Southwest Florida weather. Classes will race on three circles, grouped according to class compatibility and size. The race committee will work with class officials who want to incorporate regatta results into yearly or seasonal points series. Several classes already have sanctioned the Charlotte Harbor Regatta as a class event, including the Flying Scot, Hobie 16, S2 7.9 and Weta trimaran classes.

An early registration discount and a $5 US Sailing member discount make the regatta even more affordable. Regatta rates on area hotels start at $65, and early birds can snag a two-bedroom suite right at our regatta host, Fishermen?s Village Resort & Marina, for only $140 a night.

Virtually everything you need to know about the Charlotte Harbor Regatta is available on our Web site at www.charlotteharborregatta.com.

Participants may register and pay online via our US Sailing Regatta Network applet or print out a registration form and mail in your entry and payment. The Web site also will enable participants and prospective entrants to see who has signed up for what classes, buy regatta gear and follow the results come February. Lodging, directions, related links and a regatta store also are featured online.

If you have any questions about the Charlotte Harbor Regatta, e-mail Brian Gleason at [email protected].

Thanks for your interest in the Charlotte Harbor Regatta. We look forward to seeing you on beautiful Charlotte Harbor in February.

[Jay Harrell]

2a. Registration fee for each fleet will be as follows:

$125 for boats 20 feet and up. Early registration discount $15. Late fee $15.

$75 for boats under 20 feet. Early registration discount $10. Late fee $10.

Early discount if registration postmarked before Dec. 1, 2009.

Late fee for registration on day of regatta.

So why charge a 3 person Viper 67% more than a 3 person flying scot?   While I'm certain we would have at least that much more fun, I really don't see us having ANY more impact or cost to the race organizer.

[Brian Gleason]

Jay, thanks for raising that issue. The Flying Scots are racing Saturday and Sunday. We would like to stage a three-day regatta for the Vipers if that's what the class wants. If the Vipers want to do a two-day regatta, please get with Justin and your fellow class members and build a consensus. We will accommodate the class and price the registration accordingly.

[Jeff Jones]

Team Animal is interested, sounds like a nice family vacation.

I'd like to know more about storing our boats until the NA's in Miami.   Our plan would be to drive to this regatta- race.  Either haul the boat to Miami for storage until the NA's or store in the Charlotte Harbor area until the NA's.     I'd need to leave truck and trailer.

Looking a little ahead - any thoughts on storage between the NA's and CRW? 

The Charlotte Harbor regatta sounds like a good opportunity for some fun sailing with my wife and 10-year old.

JJ

[Justin Scott]

I needed to cheer myself up today. All this grey weather. So I've signed up.

It helped that when I showed Jackie the Charlotte Harbor travel bureau website, She sighed and said "That looks nice".  http://www.charlotteharbortravel.com/ 

I'm with Team Animal. A rendez vous regatta at a beautiful low key resort town with friends and family and a little sailboat racing thrown in. This could hit the spot.

Tac Boston says "Bring your golf clubs". When they used to race Solings here, they would do the front nine in the morning before racing and the back nine after racing. (Did I mention that I cant abide golf?)

[Justin Scott]

Ditto on boat storage. Right now my boat is stored for nothing at Lake Norman after the lake Norman regatta, until NAs. If someone solves storage it will bring more boats.