Here are the results from Fleet 43 for the first Wednesday night race series. The newly purchased Regatta Pro Start was used for the starting sequence and it made committee work a breeze! It was really simple to use and it seemed to be loud enough for the fleet to hear all signals. There was a soft timer that did a count down for the person running the flags, to ensure that each shape was hoisted and dropped at the proper time. When you begin a sequence, it gives three horns as a 1 minute warning for the 5 minute sequence start. From there, the sequence we chose had our sounds blasting at 5 minutes, 4 minutes, 1 minute and go. I think that everyone who has the task of doing RC will find that this device is more help than you could imagine. See below for the results:

Boat Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Total Points Rank

Flying Circus 1 4 1 6 1

Al 2 3 2 7 2

Mr. Hankey 3 1 5 9 3

Second Chance 4 2 6 12 4

Pit Party 5 6 3 14 5

Wabi Sabi 6 5 4 15 6

If you would like to get the Regatta Pro Starting system for your club or organization, you can find it here.

We know that you all love this time of year when you duck out of the office early to do some racing on week nights. In Casco Bay, each Tuesday, there is Etchells One Design Racing, Wednesday there is J-24 One Design Racing and every Thursday any type of boat is welcome for casual racing. The first gun is at 6pm sharp on all nights and we hope to see you out there!

New Amsterdam Gin has come on board as the Admiral Sponsor of the PYC Race Series. This means that there will be New Amsterdam Gin at all of the PYC Race series events in addition to our beer sponsor, Red Hook on tap. We are excited to share these products with you. As you enjoy them, think of all the fun you will have this summer participating in the PYC Race Series Events!

In addition, our sponsor Henri Lloyd will give away 15 $50 gift certificates to the racers involved in PYC Race Series Events, chosen at random. That’s right, you don’t even have to be a winner on the racecourse to enjoy this added bonus for the PYC Races. Each boat that registers for an event will be in the running for the certificates.

Finally, the Multiple Registration Discount ends May 31st

Time is running out and the discount on registrations of 2 or more events will end May 31st. Don’t delay and sign up today for your favorite events of the summer.

• June 21st & 22nd
  Pilot Regatta
• July 12th & 13th
  PHRF State of Maine Championships & One Design Regatta
• August 8th, 9th & 10th
  Monhegan Island Race
• September 13th, 20th, 27th & October 4th
  Fall Series including the popular Lightship Race

We have a great season of racing and fun lined up for 2008. Come on out and we promise you won’t regret it!

Reported today at 9:15am on the Fox News channel:

Senator Ted Kennedy is being moved by police escort from Mass General Hospital where he has been held for observation for about a week after suffering a seizure caused by malignant brain tumor. It is said that Kennedy who has participated in many Figawi Races does not want to miss the regatta.

If you haven’t seen Senator Kennedy on his yacht charge through the fleet, let me tell you its certainly a sight to be seen. This iconic figure sitting in a chair behind the wheel of a classic yacht waving to fellow competitors is a odd but at the same time can make you reflect on the patriotic feeling that the image produces on a race that happens during memorial day weekend.

The Figawi Race is one of the Northeast’s largest sailing and boating events with well over 200 sailboat and powerboats participating. The Race isn’t much for competition but the parties are huge and the joke tent is not to be missed. The race is a short dash from Hyannis on Cape Cod to Nantucket Boat Basin.

Check the race out here.

More news as it becomes available.

The J-24 Nationals in Staten Island, NY looks like it was a great event with 7 races completed in 3 days of racing. The twins, Chris and Waldek Zaleski took the top honors for the event, with Mark Hillman coming in 2nd, just 6 points behind the winners. From the pictures, it looks like there was plenty of breeze for the event.

We saw this and thought we would share it with you!

Saturday June 7th, 2008 (Rain Date is June 8th)

11am- 3pm Community Sailing for Maine

*Knot tying demonstrations

*sailing in SailMaine Boats

*Rigging demonstrations

*BBQ

*Apparel for sale

*Newsletters/ Brochures available

Located at the Casco Bay Community Boating Center, past the Ocean Gateway terminal off Thames St on Portland’s waterfront.  For more info check out www.sailmaine.org

This year the J-24 US National Championships will be held at Richmond County Yacht Club on Staten Island, NY. It will serve as a World Qualifier for the 2009 Worlds in Annapolis, MD. There should be a great turnout for this event as it is a world qualifier and we will keep you updated with results and more. Our local Fleet 43 will be represented by Mr. Hankey, owned and sailed by Andrew Carey and crew. He will be giving us a regatta report at the end of it, so stay tuned for the first hand scoop. If you would like m0re information on the event and how to sign up, go to J-24 US National Championship.

This is Regatta Management and Marketing done at its best for both amateur and pro sailors alike. Now if we could just do this in the U.S. it would be great!

Here is a first hand regatta report direct from Grapevine, TX, just outside of the Dallas area. The event was the 2008 Mayor’s Cup Regatta held on Grapevine Lake, just northwest of DFW Airport in Grapevine. It is a man made lake that is approximately 8 miles long and about 1 mile wide, completed in 1952. This event is sponsored by the Grapevine Sailing Club, an all volunteer organization with 175 members. Here is what Geoff Emanuel had to say about the event;

The regatta was excellent with temperatures in the low 70’s and wind speeds of 15-30 knots as well as great race management. I sailed on a Santana 30/30 called Roxanne with owner Tommy Gambulos. My favorite part of the event was when we did a gybe/broach and ended up putting our mast in the water. The Catalina 22s were out in full force, preparing for the Catalina 22 Nationals being held at the lake later next month. The worst part of the entire event was when we ran out of beer after the second of three races on Saturday. To view full results, see below:

photos from Shelley Stephens

2008 Mayor’s Cup Regatta

Here is a picture of “Seven” in action (photo by Tim Wilkes):

From all reports, Charleston Race Week was a success in every aspect of the event. The weather allowed for 8 races, Gosling’s rum provided refreshing after racing beverages and there was great competition on the water. We will have a first hand report from Tom Hall, who was sailing on his newly purchased Seven (An Elliot 770) in the PHRF class. Check back for more on what Tom had to say about this event. To see a complete listing of results and more information, go to www.charlestonraceweek.com.

The Star World Championships are underway as we speak.  Coral Reef Yacht Club, in sunny Coconut Grove, FL, is hosting this large scale event.  104 boats are competing for the title of 2008 Star World Champion.  There is only one race each day, with long courses and tired abdominal muscles for the sailors that are out there.  The Star is a very physical boat and requires long periods of hiking to keep the boat flat and fast.  Race 4 will take place today and Friday is reserved, in the case where they miss a race day.  There are 26 countries competing and for some, this stands as their country’s Olympic qualifier.
The top boats are in tight competition, and Race 2 gave many top boats a Black Flag Penalty, setting them back in the results.  It will be interesting to see if the boats in the top can hold their spots, USA 95 and AUS14 tied right now with 27 points.  Check it out if you are interested in seeing the results or reading more about the event.
2008 Star Worlds