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2009 Nacra North American Championship Wrapup
2009 NACRA North American Championship
The 2009 Nacra North American Championships was held in Fort Walton Beach, Florida the week of October 12-15, 2009 and was sponsored by Performance Sports, Inc, the manufacturer of NACRA racing catamarans, Annapolis Performance Sailing, Harken USA, Emerald Sails, and ZHIK USA. The event was hosted by the multihull friendly Fort Walton Yacht Club on beautiful Choctawhatchee Bay. The North American Championships, or NAs, was open to the Nacra 20 class, the Nacra F18 class, and the Nacra F17 class. However, the Nacra F18 class decided not to attend leaving only the 20s and F17s to mix it up on the bay. Four races a day were scheduled for the 4 day event.
DAY 1 – Monday, October 12th
Monday dawned with sunny skies and a south to south west wind building to 8-12kts. The FWYC Commodore said a few words welcoming all the teams and after skippers meeting, the sailors finished rigging their boats and set sail for a 1200 start. The order of starts for the week was the 20s first followed by the F17s not on a rolling start. The courses were US Sailing multihull courses 5G and 6G with an upwind finish leaving one more chance to be a hero or a zero!
After the fourth race of the day in the 20 fleet, Alex Shafer/Nigel Pitt wrapped up the day with finishes of 1, 1, 1, 2 to lead the fleet. Wisconsin favorite Guy Selsmeyer was not far behind with finishes of 2, 2, 3, 6. There was a big collision at the start of race 1 involving Kirk Newkirk and Chris Blake resulting in one of Kirk’s rudders coming off the boat. Chris quickly sailed up to Kirk and the crews swapped boats. Nice!! Kirk went on to sail scoring a 4th and setting up a redress situation for the end of the day while Chris headed back to the beach for repairs.
In the F17 fleet, former 2 time class champion Bob Curry showed the way with an awesome first day score of 1, 1, 1, 1 followed by Jim Leonard with a score of 2, 3, 2, 2. Curry was challenged at 2 A mark roundings and 1 gate by Bill Gillispie. The battle line was being drawn between Jim and Bill as only 2 points separated them after the day’s racing. It wasn’t very long after the races were concluded that the boats were washed off by mother nature.
Gilligan's Run: Endurance Series Round Two
After a three month break, the Endurance Series heads to Daytona Beach on August 1st for round two. The race boasts fierce competition, a great venue, online tracking, a leisure start time and a great fish fry.
Fierce Competition
The competition will be fierce with 18 boats preregistered including three of the past series champions and the defending Gilligan's Run champion. The defending series champions Bret Moss and Mark Jones with Carbon Cruising will definitely be the ones to watch. They suffered a broken spinnaker and had to retire early from the Keys 100 after a perfect start. Team CyberSpeed won the Endurance Series in 2007 and also won the first round (The Keys 100) of 2009 series. Rob Behrend was injured during the Keys 100 after he hit the port shroud to avoid a pitch pole in heavy wind and seas. Tristan Fiedler will be Rob's replacement teaming with Craig Van Eaton. Dave Ingram who won the first Endurance Series Championship will be competing with his wife Cathy forming Dingo Racing. This is their second year competing together and they are always at the top of the score card. Also making it a family affair is Team McDonald. Matt McDonald will either be racing with his wife Gina or his daughter Riley. Matt and his son, Peyton, won the race last year.
Fierce Competition
The competition will be fierce with 18 boats preregistered including three of the past series champions and the defending Gilligan's Run champion. The defending series champions Bret Moss and Mark Jones with Carbon Cruising will definitely be the ones to watch. They suffered a broken spinnaker and had to retire early from the Keys 100 after a perfect start. Team CyberSpeed won the Endurance Series in 2007 and also won the first round (The Keys 100) of 2009 series. Rob Behrend was injured during the Keys 100 after he hit the port shroud to avoid a pitch pole in heavy wind and seas. Tristan Fiedler will be Rob's replacement teaming with Craig Van Eaton. Dave Ingram who won the first Endurance Series Championship will be competing with his wife Cathy forming Dingo Racing. This is their second year competing together and they are always at the top of the score card. Also making it a family affair is Team McDonald. Matt McDonald will either be racing with his wife Gina or his daughter Riley. Matt and his son, Peyton, won the race last year.
Slip To Ship Regatta, Memorial Weekend, Ocean Springs Yacht Club
Ocean Springs Yacht Club, Ocean Springs, Mississippi Discuss Slip to Ship
It's getting close to the Slip to Ship Regatta (May 23-24, 2009). This is a fun two day distance regatta in its 24th year. It is a blast and we are ready to put S2S "Back on the Map."
I have listed the top three reasons not to miss it this year.
1. New club: Katrina be damned. We now have a beautiful facility, full kitchen, fuller bar expansive balcony.
2. New management/New Value: With the openning of the new building, we have sailors at the helm. We have heard your complaints and are responding.
Entry Fee: $50.00 (single handed), $60.00 (double handed). Late registration (after May 15, 2009) will be an additional $10.00. Entry fee will include the following:
a. a custom S2S regatta t-shirt for you and your crew (if applicable) b. contintental breakfast Saturday morning c. Beer and chicken out on the Island d. A Saturday Cajun dinner extrodinaire created by Robbie Halstad; e, An automatic entry in the sailor's door prize; f. Two Raffle tickets for the raffle;
3. Old school: We remember what makes a regatta fun: good wind, good food, good drink and friends. This year, we are striving to bring back the fun from the days of old. Call it our Reggatta stimulus package.
Remember, camping is permitted on our grounds.
Please fax or email your completed registration to fleetcaptain@osyc.com or (228) 865-7885. Also, while our physical address is 100 Front Beach, Ocean Springs. Please send all mail to P.O. Box 821, Ocean Springs, MS 39564
Please get your registration form in early to avoid the $10.00 late fee. I would also appreciate an email just to help us gauge the number os sailors to plan for.
More information can be found at www.osyc.com
TopoFusion.com to Provide Online Tracking for Tybee 500
TopoFusion.com in conjunction with SailSeries.com will be providing event coverage for the Tybee 500 using Spot Satellite Messenger units. TopoFusion.com has been providing online tracking for endurance mountain bike races and is excited to expand into endurance sailing. Their software is capable of linking multiple Spot units together on the same page with both an event page with team's last position and separate pages for each teams tracking.Team Cyberspeed drives to win the ‘Keys 100 Reef Run'
Team Cyberspeed drives through the wind and waves for a win in the ‘Keys 100 Reef Run’
Hardy souls braved blustery conditions to compete in the inaugural Keys 100 Reef Run, Saturday, April 25th. Five of an intended 10 boats decided to fight strong winds and go racing 80 miles from Islamorada to Key West. All were briefed on conditions. Averaging 18.1 mph over a five minute period, with gusts to 24, from the east, measured at the end of the pier at the Islander Resort. Major reef marks 3 miles off shore recorded wind gusts over 30 mph during the day.
Hardy souls braved blustery conditions to compete in the inaugural Keys 100 Reef Run, Saturday, April 25th. Five of an intended 10 boats decided to fight strong winds and go racing 80 miles from Islamorada to Key West. All were briefed on conditions. Averaging 18.1 mph over a five minute period, with gusts to 24, from the east, measured at the end of the pier at the Islander Resort. Major reef marks 3 miles off shore recorded wind gusts over 30 mph during the day.
Carbon Cruising Rebounds to Win the 2008 Endurance Series
The 2008 Endurance Series points were announced at the Keys 100 which was the season opener for the 2009 series. Everything came down to the final race of the year with only ten points separating the top seven boats. The last race, the Steeplechase, is a two day event covering 110 miles and navigation skills are a must.
2009 Endurance Series Round 1: Keys 100
The Keys 100 Reef Run will start Saturday morning April 25, 2009 from the Islander Resort in Islamorada (MM 82, US 1, Florida Keys). This race replaces the Hogs Breath race of years past. Several boats are already in position at the resort, to start on this forecasted 80 mile sled ride to Key West.
1989 Yellow Hobie 16 Stolen in Panama City, FL
Starboard Marine, Panama City, FL, April 19th, 2009 A 1989 Yellow Hulled Hobie 16 was reported stolen from Starboard Marine, Back Beach Raod, Panama City, Florda. If you see this boat or have any info, please contact Pat at (850) 235-4805, Starboard Marine. Download pictures and PDF Flyer
New Hobie Catamaran - Hobie F18 Wild Cat Test Sail
Latest test sail and pictures of the new Hobie F18 Wild Cat
Hyeres/France, April 3 april 2009 - Team Zwitserleven Booth/Nieuwenhuis (NED) had the chance to test sail the new Hobie Wild Cat in preparation for the 2009 season. The Wild Cat is nearing completion after a long winter development program and is expected to debut in Carnac, France during the Eurocat regatta at the end of April. The new Hobie is a state of the art F18, created to race at the highest level in the ever-expanding Formula 18 class. Booth and Nieuwenhuis will contest Eurocat, Zwitserleven Race Week (including the Round Texel Race), Duc D'Albe and Formula 18 World Championships in Belgium.
Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis were excited about the performance of the new machine and looking forward to the race season to kick off. Nieuwenhuis commented on returning to the beach: 'This boat feels great to sail and very responsive in the gusty conditions we had today." Booth added: "The helm on this boat is a dream and feels like you are gliding on ice. We have put the Wild Cat through some tough testing conditions and she has come out with full marks.'
The Wild Cat, designed by Hobie Cat Europe in conjunction with Martin Fischer (AUS), is along similar lines to the other current F18's with its wave piecing shape and reverse bow stem giving it a very distinctive look. The hulls are the most visible update for the new Hobie, but when looking closely every component has been developed to the latest and highest quality. The extreme high aspect centerboards and the super slick wing mast section just all add to the whole package of a great race boat, which is built by Hobie Cat Europe in Toulon/France.
2009 Endurance Series Schedule Announced
The long awaited announcement of the Endurance Series is finally here. The new schedule consists of only four races with all counting toward points. This will achieve two goals, one allowing all sailors to compete against each other head to head and two allowing us to focus on making the events higher in quality. The 2008 awards will be given out at the Key's 100 which is the first race of the series.
2009 Endurance Series Schedule
Apr 25–26 – Keys 100- Reef Run (Key Largo to Key West)
July 25-26 -- Gilligan's Run (Daytona Beach)*
Oct 31-Nov 1 -- Hiram's Haul (Melbourne to Sebastian)
Dec 12-13 -- 25 Annual Key Largo Steeplechase (Key Largo)
*- tentative date
2009 Endurance Series Schedule
Apr 25–26 – Keys 100- Reef Run (Key Largo to Key West)
July 25-26 -- Gilligan's Run (Daytona Beach)*
Oct 31-Nov 1 -- Hiram's Haul (Melbourne to Sebastian)
Dec 12-13 -- 25 Annual Key Largo Steeplechase (Key Largo)
*- tentative date
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