In the conceptual stage of organizing a regatta for those of us who are not part of an organized sailing club or non-racers just interested in being part of a fun event. If you are anything like us, weekend sailors who would enjoy the company of other all for fun sailors, then this may just be the event for you.
This summer, my wife and I, participated in a fun little regatta called the "Sippy cup" on the northern Chesapeake. It was probably one of the best little team adventures we have ever done as a couple. The race was geared to the pocket cruisers and casual sailors. The Sippy Cup however is an event that takes place in the northern Chesapeake and we would like to have a similar event for those of us on the southern Chesapeake. It's not my intention to steal their thunder, in fact, I would encourage everyone who has the freedom to move around consider this event. I will gladly share our story so you can see how much fun we had. You can read others accounts of that event by visiting waldenrigging.com. By all means, if any of my fellow "Sippy Cuppers" want to join us down south, c'mon down.
The initial idea is to sail from somewhere near the north Hampton or Mobjack Bay area, over the northern tunnel of the bay bridge tunnel, head south to cross back over the southern tunnel and back to the start/finish line. I would really like to plot a course of roughly 40 nautical miles. This would likely give each boat a tacking leg, a running leg and a downwind leg, At this point, I would like to find a co-organizer to help get this event planned.
If you have never sailed at night, I really suggest you give it a try. We can do it day or night, but I will attest that an evening start with a break of dawn finish is an absolute blast. Maybe we all dress like pirates or something.
One of the criteria here is to really just prevent the need for anyone to spend a ton of money. For this reason and to keep it fun, we'll say no spinnakers. Teams can be made up of families, couples, sailing buddies or whatever. It's really just a come as you are event. We could even consider there be some option that each boat have a scout on board (cub, boy, girl, brownie) who is interested in getting there sailing badge. I see no real reason for any money to change hands unless we have a nominal entry fee of like 10 bucks per boat just to cover some silly awards and ultimately to have a bunch of no-shows which happens when there is no commitment.
Depending on the number of boats, we can have various classes such as 20+ footers and 30+ footers. Again we are looking for the casual cruisers with boats like Columbia's, MacGregor's, Oday, Hunters etc. We'll handicap the race to keep it fair. Maybe we can talk to some local businesses about a no charge sponsorship, they can simply help us promote the event and in return they get mention. At the end, we set up a cookout and swap stories and present the awards
This summer, my wife and I, participated in a fun little regatta called the "Sippy cup" on the northern Chesapeake. It was probably one of the best little team adventures we have ever done as a couple. The race was geared to the pocket cruisers and casual sailors. The Sippy Cup however is an event that takes place in the northern Chesapeake and we would like to have a similar event for those of us on the southern Chesapeake. It's not my intention to steal their thunder, in fact, I would encourage everyone who has the freedom to move around consider this event. I will gladly share our story so you can see how much fun we had. You can read others accounts of that event by visiting waldenrigging.com. By all means, if any of my fellow "Sippy Cuppers" want to join us down south, c'mon down.
The initial idea is to sail from somewhere near the north Hampton or Mobjack Bay area, over the northern tunnel of the bay bridge tunnel, head south to cross back over the southern tunnel and back to the start/finish line. I would really like to plot a course of roughly 40 nautical miles. This would likely give each boat a tacking leg, a running leg and a downwind leg, At this point, I would like to find a co-organizer to help get this event planned.
If you have never sailed at night, I really suggest you give it a try. We can do it day or night, but I will attest that an evening start with a break of dawn finish is an absolute blast. Maybe we all dress like pirates or something.
One of the criteria here is to really just prevent the need for anyone to spend a ton of money. For this reason and to keep it fun, we'll say no spinnakers. Teams can be made up of families, couples, sailing buddies or whatever. It's really just a come as you are event. We could even consider there be some option that each boat have a scout on board (cub, boy, girl, brownie) who is interested in getting there sailing badge. I see no real reason for any money to change hands unless we have a nominal entry fee of like 10 bucks per boat just to cover some silly awards and ultimately to have a bunch of no-shows which happens when there is no commitment.
Depending on the number of boats, we can have various classes such as 20+ footers and 30+ footers. Again we are looking for the casual cruisers with boats like Columbia's, MacGregor's, Oday, Hunters etc. We'll handicap the race to keep it fair. Maybe we can talk to some local businesses about a no charge sponsorship, they can simply help us promote the event and in return they get mention. At the end, we set up a cookout and swap stories and present the awards