Thanks to all who are coming to the ACC's in Charleston. Thirty boats is a tremendous accomplishment for the class. Simply fantastic.
If you'd like a warm-up regatta, please come to Miami, to the Coral Reef Cup, March 20-22. It's hosted by the Coral Reef YC, and Biscayne Bay is simply a fantastic place to sail. Stuart Hebb, one of our newest and most enthusiastic Viper owner in Miami, is hot after us to get some boats on the line. There are 3 or 4 Vipers being delivered to Miami in February. The fledgling Miami Viper Fleet wants to make a showing at this event to really launch the fleet, generate some excitement for the Viper and sell some more boats to build their fleet. I'm in, and I expect Justin and Brian Bennett will be as well. That should get us to 6 or seven to start. 20 Vipers would be great!
If you've sailed on Biscayne Bay, you know that it's close to sailing heaven -warm blue water, reliable breeze and reliably sunny. If you haven't sailed there, you'll love it! A perfect escape for us pale and cold northern sailors. It will also be a great warm-up for the ACC's in Charleston.
We're working on arranging storage options in Miami, for those planning on going to St. Pete, so you can leave your boat in Miami in between. The US Sailing Center is right next door, and Shake-a-Leg Miami can store boats too. After the Coral Reef Cup regatta, you can drop your boat in Charleston on the way back north. Email
[email protected] now, they have 19 free spaces available in Charleston right now, I've already got my name on the list.
This will clearly be THE top stop on the Viper Winter Circuit in years to come. No official sign up or NOR yet, we're just looking for verbal commitments. Please join us for the inaugural Biscayne Bay Viper 640 regatta!
I'm in #77 Savannah
Great!
Who else?
I'm going straight there from ST. Pete. Be sailing on the bay by Tuesday afternoon.
Jason
Cool Beans is in. IS there anyway to update the website (I know a new version is coming) to show a list of who's going to what regatta.
Being able to SEE the Charleston list helped generate excitement and early commitments. We should try to incorporate this into the new website to help all see who's going to what regattas.
JP
cool beans - Viper 26
This is great gang! I think we're probably at 9 or 10 for this regatta already. I just saw the draft NOR and registration. We'll put that up on the current site as soon as the final version is released.
I was hoping to have the new Viper site live by now, but I've been busy with work and family stuff. It's at about 75%, but not quite ready for prime time. Soon, I promise! The new site will have a way to "register" yourself for a regatta on the schedule than may not have an online registration list. It won't be official, but it will be able to show who's going. We realize how important that is in driving regatta attendance.
Adding that particular but of functionality prompted a back end upgrade, which prompted a redesign, which prompted a content overhaul, which prompted a bunch of new content, which all means we THINK you'll be pretty impressed when we launch it. It also means it turned into a bit more work that originally expected!
Dan
Guys,
Your Miami regatta looks excellent. I am trying to put together yet another sportboat regatta in Florida for the month of March - designed to be a dirt cheap recession-buster and sponsored in large part by Sailing Anarchy.
This regatta would be in Fort Pierce, entry fees will be nearly nonexistent, the racing is on the open ocean, and the parties will be remembered for a long time. THe intent is to replace Miami Race Week for size and popularity, and a tiny fraction of the price. All boats will be moored at the hotel, which is big and inexpensive and has two pools and a bar/grill. Would anyone who is doing this regatta bring their boats to Ft. Pierce for the Sailing Anarchy Cheap-Ass Regatta for Sportboats (SA CHARS) on say the weekend before the Miami event? Two day only, spend less than you would at home...
I think the Melges fleet will buy in because there is nothing else to do in March, would love to see some Vipers and maybe a small mixed M20/U20/Laser fleet to something. The party alone would be worth it.
It sounds like it could be a cool regatta. IF I could turn the time in between into a business trip in the Miami area and stay down there, I might be willing to do it. It's all a bit much travel otherwise.
NOR and entry form Coral Reef Cup for the are now available.
Please chime in here if you're planning on coming!
Dr Who and the Daleks are definitely "IN".
Sailing on Biscayne Bay is a dress rehearsal for heaven.
I have also had a request from a group in Bermuda to charter my other boat. I've said I'm willing to do this. If ANYONE else wants to CHARTER out their boat for Miami, St Pete or CRW please could they let Brian or myself know. People want to do these regattas and will pay a fair charter. We want as many boats out there as we can find so please consider it.
#94 is in.
Jonathan
Justin, I will get in touch with you shortly re chartering my hopefully soon to be delivered boat.
Just need to check in with Paul monday or tuesday get latest delivery schedule.
#73 is in!
Mike Meissner
Hey all!
Just a reminder that the late entry fee kicks in in your entry in not received in Miami by January 31, so get your entries in NOW! I can't imagine a YC in Miami needs that extra money more than any Viper sailor does, so why give it to 'em?!? :)
Right now it looks like 10-12 boats from the commitments we have above. Anyone else interested? My wife is racing on Biscayne Bay THIS WEEK while it's in the teens here in Marblehead, and they're talking about 8-12 inches of snow.
I WANNA GO TO MIAMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sure I'm not the only one :)
Daniel....
Please can you post your list of who you think is coming so we get a good fix on numbers. I believe that we are at 13!!
Cheers
J
Stu Hebb #107 -New Miami fleet
Dr Clark # tbd -New Miami fleet
Jeff Lee # tbd -New Miami fleet
Dave Guggenheim #77
Jason Weisberg #82
John Porter #26
Jonathan Nye #94
Mike Meissner #73
Somer Kempe #54 (charter)
Justin #86
Me #50 -with Antonio Vidal, a very enthusiastic prospective Miami owner
Have I missed anyone?
We also have interest from people looking to charter a Viper to sail in this regatta, including a former Viper owner we're trying to encourage to return to the Class. If you're interested in offering your boat for charter, please contact Justin or I.
Stu Hebb #107 -New Miami fleet
Dr Clark # tbd -New Miami fleet
Jeff Lee # tbd -New Miami fleet
Dave Guggenheim #77
Jason Weisberg #82
John Porter #26
Jonathan Nye #94
Mike Meissner #73
Somer Kempe #54 (charter)
Justin #86
Me #50 -with Antonio Vidal, a very enthusiastic prospective Miami owner
Two new additions bring us to 13 as of today, with a couple more still in the works:
Bill Griffin #86
Tim Dunton #74
It's snowing in Marblehead right now. How soon can I leave??
There may be at least one more Viper available for charter for this...
Not sure we can make Miami ... Got to be in Atlanta on the friday
We are in for St Pete and are looking hard at charleston
Tim
Quote from: Vibroman on February 03, 2009, 07:11:07 PM
Not sure we can make Miami ... Got to be in Atlanta on the friday
We are in for St Pete and are looking hard at charleston
Tim
So come for 2 days! We'll give you a special participation award! :)
Stu Hebb #107 -New Miami fleet
Dr Clark # tbd -New Miami fleet
Jeff Lee # tbd -New Miami fleet
Dave Guggenheim #77
Jason Weisberg #82
John Porter #26
Jonathan Nye #94
Mike Meissner #73
Somer Kempe #54
Justin Scott/ Simon Strauss #86
Dan Tucker/Antonio Vidal #50
Kay Van Valkenburg/ David Eve.
Hi Dan ,
Kay reports that he is definitely coming.
Can we get confirm on these attendees and if there is anyone else who is coming.
What about the Lanier folks?
Cheers
J
Looking forward to it!
We will bring the Goslings and Ginger Beer!
Quote from: fairdinkum on February 15, 2009, 03:14:21 PM
Looking forward to it!
We will bring the Goslings and Ginger Beer!
Good, Bring lots! :)
Are you in our count of attendees above??
Yep - Somers Kempe #54
Quote from: fairdinkum on February 16, 2009, 03:08:57 PM
Yep - Somers Kempe #54
Good. Looking forward to meeting you.
Dan
There's a 50%/50% chance that 102 will be there. I wont know until the last min.
Looking for cheap accomodation near Coral Reef YC.... anyone know what the options are?
Where is everybody staying?
Matt
Miami + cheap? Not so easy.
ARGH. Can't remember the name of the chain that's up by Rt 1. Hampton Inn maybe? I've stayed there for OCR a couple of years ago. Decent free continental breakfast, and Pollo Tropical right across the street, the bagel shop just across the way too. Behind the Shell station at the top of Aviation Ave. Many details in my head, but not sure which chain it is! ITHINK it's Hampton.
Dan - you are right :-)
For the those you still need a place the Doubletree is walking distance and costs about 190/night for a double and the Hampton in is a couple miles away and costs 180/night....
More hotels here: http://www.coconutgrove.com/channels.cfm?channelcat=4
Looking forward to it.
Just got this from the organizers at CRYC:
Dan ? just saw your note about hotels on the Viper web-site. We have piggy-backed onto the Jaguar event at most of the hotels in the Grove. If you call and mention Coral Reef Cup/Jaguar there should be a special room rate. I believe the following may be the best bet:
Residence Inn by Marriott Coconut Grove
2835 Tiger Tail Avenue
Miami, Florida 33133
(305) 285 ? 9303 Phone
(305) 285 ? 9672 Fax
I think the one bedroom suites are $229 and easily sleep three. Also the Hampton Inn you mentioned should have a special rate as well.
Sorry for the late info, I thought I had sent this to you guys earlier. Let me know if there is anything else we can do.
For those attending, don't make plans for Friday night. Plans are underway for dinner at a nearby residence featuring the best home made pizza you've ever had. Details to follow.
Jonathan
Home made?
Hey guys, what are plans for Thursday night? South Beach?
Viper 77 crew is booked at the Residence Inn.
Quote from: Justin on March 05, 2009, 09:18:03 PM
Home made?
Hey guys, what are plans for Thursday night? South Beach?
Absolutely home made. The dough and the sauce get started several days in advance. Several pies will be ready by the time folks arrive and more will be made continuously. It's quite a production.
I just heard that we have 13 Vipers registered for the Coral Reef Cup. That's 1-2 MORE than expected as of a few days ago. Fantastic for a 1st year event! Anyone else on the fence, come on down! It would be great to have 15+ Vipers showing off for the locals ;)
Blue water, warm, homemade pizza Friday night, pretty sure there will be rum...
It's snowing again in Marblehead, can I leave now?
Quote from: jnye on March 05, 2009, 06:02:43 PM
For those attending, don't make plans for Friday night. Plans are underway for dinner at a nearby residence featuring the best home made pizza you've ever had. Details to follow.
Jonathan
Pizza party has to be scrubbed since Friday night is now the dinner at CRYC and Saturday is unavailable. May still do drinks after Friday's dinner if there is interest.
Jonathan
Quote from: Dan-T on March 09, 2009, 09:39:58 AM
I just heard that we have 13 Vipers registered for the Coral Reef Cup. That's 1-2 MORE than expected as of a few days ago. Fantastic for a 1st year event! Anyone else on the fence, come on down! It would be great to have 15+ Vipers showing off for the locals ;)
Blue water, warm, homemade pizza Friday night, pretty sure there will be rum...
It's snowing again in Marblehead, can I leave now?
Hey Dan, USA #91 paricipating. Staying @ La Quinta Airport (LaJune Rd.) I hope it is a safe area. $85.00 a night.
By the way could you post the latest list?
Quote from: Gary_91 on March 12, 2009, 11:15:10 AM
Quote from: Dan-T on March 09, 2009, 09:39:58 AM
I just heard that we have 13 Vipers registered for the Coral Reef Cup. That's 1-2 MORE than expected as of a few days ago. Fantastic for a 1st year event! Anyone else on the fence, come on down! It would be great to have 15+ Vipers showing off for the locals ;)
Blue water, warm, homemade pizza Friday night, pretty sure there will be rum...
It's snowing again in Marblehead, can I leave now?
Hey Dan, USA #91 paricipating. Staying @ La Quinta Airport (LaJune Rd.) I hope it is a safe area. $85.00 a night.
By the way could you post the latest list?
I'm a bit lost, not sure if you make us 12 or 14!
Stu Hebb #107 -New Miami fleet
Dr Clark # tbd -New Miami fleet
Dave Guggenheim #77
Jason Weisberg #82
John Porter #26
Jonathan Nye #94
Mike Meissner #73
Somer Kempe #54
Justin Scott/ Jeff Lee #86
Dan Tucker/Antonio Vidal #50
Kay Van Valkenburg/ David Eve.
Gary #91
What happened to the third Miami fleet member? Send me an email if you want to (
[email protected]).
Thanks,
#91
Quote from: Gary_91 on March 12, 2009, 03:27:55 PM
What happened to the third Miami fleet member? Send me an email if you want to ([email protected]).
Thanks,
#91
Good question, I am supposed to be crewing that boat and had not heard that we had pulled...perhaps something iam not yet aware of. I am newbie to Vipers and Miami (live locally) so anyone able to give me a go pre regatta I would be most grateful! These days I am more used to two hulls I am afraid, but looking forward to giving this a shot, looks like a blast.
Quote from: Gary_91 on March 12, 2009, 03:27:55 PM
What happened to the third Miami fleet member? Send me an email if you want to ([email protected]).
Thanks,
#91
Sailing with Justin. Honestly, I've been so busy I'm a bit off on details...
Per Stu Hebb:
"showing up from wed. on at cryc is cool for all the vipers. if you showed up the weekend before there would be a $150 charge. they had to put these measures in as alot of stars were squating for long periods of time.
for the regatta there is no storage fee but boats have to depart on monday after the regatta at the latest to avoid the $150/week storage fee. they are pretty strict on this"
Hey everyone,
I want to thank everyone @ CRYC and Stu for arranging a great event for the Viper fleet, south Florida rules. The facility was grand, and the weather was worth writting home about. I would have to say that the the terquios water, waves, wind and pretty Viperettes made for a great series.
I would like to thank Rondar and Brian for attending the event and providing great input throughout the racing. It was an expensive weekend for me but I got to tell you I didnt really care (I'm still trying to explain everything to my wife). I think we need to have this one on the schedule for next year.
Kay, you may be happy to know that I'm installing a spare tire (Fender) on the front of the boat next year.
Lastly, it is a really good group of folks in this fleet and I really enjoyed everyones company. By the way, I'm trying to talk my wife into latino dancing lessons so I can participate next year @ the Mango Club (Dont laugh, I mean it). That was great entertainment!!!!
Let's see the pictures!!! I want to day dream a little bit.
Gary #91
Any word on why the rigs failed? I have sailed mine in 25-30 kts on 3 occasions without incident so I know the rig can handle it. My guess is that the mainsheet was out too far, but of course I don't know. Where did they fail?
Dude, I have to tell you that you just needed to be in Miami. I have also sailed the boat in 30 knots of wind several times with gusts in the 35 knot range. However, I know that you have a good idea of wind shear and micro blast like this one because, in Texas, it has caused havoc with several plane wrecks.
This blast just dropped on David and me in a flash. The boat was planning @ 18 knots just before the hit, all the loads were lite, and I would have to say the wind was very similar to a squaw that causes the boat to maintain 5-10 knots with a bare stick.
If you need more details send me an email.
Gary
Anyone know what the word is on the video that was shot at Coral Reef.... Vipers in 20 kn would make for a great one....
Just curious....