On the water activities for a group of cruisers on the lake

[Nashville_Blues]

Hello fellow sailors,

we have an active yacht club with several regattas each year and Wednesday night "beer can" buoy races. Not everyone likes to race of course, and we'd like to have some cruising activities and we are looking for ideas such as -

Poker runs
scavenger hunt
follow the rabbit

Any other ideas or things that the members of this forum have done or can suggest?

Thank you.

 

[dlochner]

Here's a couple.

A GPS race. Set up a series of waypoints and have sailors navigate to them. They have to set a waypoint when they get to the designated waypoint. Whom ever gets closest on the most waypoints wins.

Have a truly fun race. Set some bizarre course (no triangles or windward/leewards) and add some additional factors to win, such as oldest crew, youngest crew, best costume, etc. Our club used to have a Great Pumpkin race. A bunch of pumpkins were labeled with numbers, as part of the race it was necessary to retrieve a pumpkin from the water and the number on the pumpkin would be added to the scoring system. This can be a fun family event. We used to end the season with it.

A not so family oriented event is held on my bay. The race is a Lemans start pursuit race. The first crew to get back to the dock and drink a pitcher of beer wins.

Pursuit racing is often more fun than traditional racing. Each boat has its own starting time, first boat back to the finish wins. All the handicapping is done before the race starts.

Social events after the race always enhances racing.

 

[PaulK]

We have an annual pursuit "Rat Race" to a nearby (15 miles) harbor. Sometimes the SI's call for starting from being anchored. Because it's often a light-air event, everyone is allowed 20 minutes of engine time, to be used whenever and however they like (one twenty-minute stretch, four five-minute stretches - so long as it adds up to 20 minutes.) Last year there was so little wind the RC extended engine time to an hour. Because it's a pursuit race the slower boats start first and the fastest boat starts last. The order of finish is the final result. The winner gets "The Rat" - a two foot stuffed animal on a plywood shelf that has brass plaques showing the year and the winning boat's name. In the destination harbor everyone rafts up and shares hors d'oeuvres and libations. Kids put the SUP's or kayaks over the side and swim around. At suppertime the raft breaks up so people can quiet down at dinner and then get some sleep. The next day people sail home at their leisure.

Typical post-race raft-up. With more boats behind the photographer, there must have been about 10 all told. The RC boat came too - they didn't want to miss the party.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I've had the dubious pleasure of competing in bailer propelled dinghy races over the years. It's back breaking, you're soaked, you go in circles and get nowhere fast but the first one to get from point A to point B wins a kewpie doll.

It's even more fun if there are two people in the dinghy, preferably man and wife. They often wind up trying to kill each other, much to everyone's delight.

 

[Mark Maulden]

Dinghy race..Around marks of choice. Two people in each dinghy..Rower is blindfolded. The other person gives orders.

 

[smokey73]

I like the idea of the pursuit race and the rat race trophy! I'm going to make some suggestions to our club. Pumpkin race sounds fun too. Are the pumpkins in a big "patch" and you just "pick one" or are there only a few pumpkpins available and it is a dash to one. A few more details like the racing instructions would be useful. Need to spice things up a lttle.

So, for those with these ideas and to make it easy for us, could you post a sample Notice of Race and Race Instructions for a few of these novel ideas.

 

[JBP-PA]

Long ago we used to have "Rally" races. Every boat had to estimate a predicted time for a course, usually a day trip to another harbor. Then complete the coarse without clocks or GPS. The closest to their own predicted time was the winner.

 

[dlochner]

Sorry, I don't have the SIs or NORs for these races. The pumpkins are of various sizes which have no relation to the number on them. They are placed in one area. Wind and currents move them around. The year I ran the race taking the race too seriously was grounds for disqualifying. The race was mostly focused in the harbor, with a leg up a river then out around a break wall, back in to the harbor and up a long Chanel before returning to the start. Make up your own scoring system, adding or subtracting time based on the rules. You can bend the rules to produce some desired results, such as more points for age or number of people, best costume etc.

One team got serious about the costume.

 

[kloudie1]

Back in the old days, we had a couple where 8-10 would head out and anchor up a bayou for the night. usually some folks would go ahead and make a woodpile for a bonfire ashore.. there might be a jambalaya cooking .. everyone donated a few bucks for the pot.

 

[CaptainStan]

Have a water fight on the water.

 

[Wyo George]

Scavenger hunts (photo style) can be fun. Hand out a list of objects that can be found within reasonable proximity, give a time limit and they go out and get pictures of them then return and see who got the most within the allotted time.

 

[All U Get]

Dinghy drift, bring along your drinks, snacks, and musical instruments. Raft together and start sharing lies.

 

[Parsons]

I've faced similar problems in yacht clubs, and somewhere one of the women on the planning committee said, "If you have the race committee plan anything, it turns into a race" - there is truth in that a bunch of competitive types will turn any activity into a competition - like some of the answers up here. Perhaps the best source of ideas is your own folks that do not want to race at all - the fishermen, crew members spouses, or other members that have never seen a sail race. I'll bet the result would not involve any words like "the first to ..."

The event should involve the boats, open to boats of all speeds / capacities, and engage the whole crew. There is the added problem that boats tend to isolate people, which is what you are trying to avoid. How about going somewhere for a party or games on the beach or raft-up? Consider swapping crews. Have an icebreaker activity (thousands of these posted online) to learn more about each other or the other's boats. The best non-boat time I have is walking the docks and asking other boats to tell me a story or why they chose that piece of equipment. Anything will work as long as (1) it is non-competitive and (2) a majority of the participants want to engage.

 

[CaptainStan]

In the old days before GPS navigation was by dead reckoning. Have crew down below with a chart and a compass and a watch. Let them know the speed you are going and have them inform the crew on deck what compass bearing to steer by. At the turning point the crew on deck records the actual GPS position. When finished you can discuss the results and make suggestions on what to do better then change positions and see if the deck crew can do better down below.

 

[Parsons]

In the old days before GPS navigation was by dead reckoning.

... olde days ...? That's how I get around my local cruising areas now - 2 hours on this course, take a sharp right, tie up at the dock.

 

[capta]

Rum tasting parties go over fairly well, as do "bathtub boat" events where people make a boat out of everything from cardboard to a literal bathtub. Then on the day, everyone gets together to see which "boat" actually floats and those that don't.

 

[Nashville_Blues]

Thanks to everyone for some great ideas. If you haven't looked at the thread since you posted, take a look at some great ideas.
George