News Newport Regatta in a Sunfish?

58984 EW

58984 EW

Member
Hi everyone,

The Sail Newport Regatta - July 11-12 this year -- is one of the signiture one-design regattas on the East Coast. For the past several years a small group of us has raced Sunfish and had a blast.

This is a great event for a weekend away, as there is always a big seabreeze and the race committee rips off race after race for two days. Hundreds of boats, a big outdoor tent party on the water with free drinks, great food, and the city of Newport to explore at night.

Advance registration is strongly encouraged.

Learn more and register here: http://www.sailnewport.org/npt/m/_general/coastallivingnewportregatta.asp

It would be great to see this become a real destination event. Try it out this summer!
 
It looks like it would only take about another 10 Sunfish and we'd equal the turnout of Standard Lasers. I don't know if I can get my cone to Newport that weekend, but I am going to think about it. And an excuse to hang around Newport is always a good thing!

BB
 
I might be able to do it. IM new to regattas. Ive never raced. What do I need to do. I have a sunfish thats set up to race with a racing sail. Do I need to register with the class and get assigned a offical sail number?
 
Do contact Eric Woodman (he started this thread) to get a solid answer. For what it's worth, I doubt that you will have to register with the Class Office since this is not an 'official' Sunfish regatta. Of course, if you find out you like racing, I hope you will register at some point in time. Once you do, the Class Office will give you sail numbers.

For the Sail Newport regatta, the Race Committee will need to recognize you as you start and finish. I have seen boats with just a single digit number on the sail. You can 'manufacture' one from duct tape (and hope nobody else shows up with the same number).

It's likely some very good Sunfish sailors will show up, so don't get discouraged if you fall behind. No doubt that racing teaches you how to sail you fish optimally. And the racing crowd is really friendly, IMHO. Don't be bashful; ask for help on how to set up your boat for the prevailing conditions.

In the meantime, study the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS; http://www.ussailing.org/rules/) as much as you can. And familiarize yourself with the starting sequence. Do read the Notice of Race (NOR). Typically, it contains much useful information on how the races will be run.

Go for it!

PS: The RRS are available free on line. You don't need to buy the booklet, although, if you like racing, you will want to have the print version.
 
Hi,
Eric Woodman here. We'd love to see you at Newport, but if you have never raced before I'd recommend a one-day event to get started. Newport is fantastic, but it’s about a 45-min sail to the race course, there is likely to be a good amount of wind, and it’s a relatively complicated set of rules.
If you are a good sailor and comfortable on the boat, then you will have a great time, but if you are at all unsure of your skills as a sailor or with the rules, this is probably not the place to find out where you stand.

Now that I’ve scared you, we have another good race on June 27 in Weymouth, MA called the Northeast Challenge. It’s about as perfect a set-up as you will find to race a Sunfish for the first time: It starts at noon, so there will be a lot of time for set-up. New England Champ Bill Brangiforte has been known to give a free set-up/rigging/rules seminar on the beach in the morning. Other plusses include that it’s low-key, a short sail to the course, a nice beach and clubhouse, just one day and no other classes to get in your way.

The NOR for the Northeast Challenge is posted here: http://www.sunfishclass.org/newengland/blog/?page_id=222

Eric W
New England Rep
 
One other thing. You don't need to be a class member for either of these events, but will need some kind of number, even if just tape, as described above.

You should join the class, however!
 
Eric's advice is very sound. I would try a one day regatta first. Also, your Sunfish should have the white plastic centerboard and not the wood one if you want to race. You can't be competitive with the wood one, and you would definitely end up finishing a long way behind the rest of the fleet.

BB
 
Yeah Ive been sailing my two sunfish for a few years now. I feel confident in my skills but, I have never raced or sailed with many people around. I dont know if your familiar with westport, MA but I sail in 15-20mph winds out in buzzards bay most of the time. leaving from Gooseberry Island(there is a land bridge to get to it) and sailing out toward Cuddyhunk Island. I go out about two miles or so then sail around. I have both of my sunfish setup for racing. Maybe Ill just do weymouth, ma. Is there easy trailer parking at weymouth, ma? Any boat ramps?
 
No problem with trailer parking. I don't think there is a real boat ramp. Most everyone who races a Sunfish has a dolly for moving the boat from the parking to the water. No problem if you don't have one. You can borrow someone's, but you'll be running out to buy one when you see what a huge help it is.

Newport is quite comparable to Buzards Bay, in terms of the sea breeze you can expect in early July. Actually, there's probably more wind where you are. I hope to get to meet you soon. It's a fun group of people. Shoot me an email at woodbe67@(nospam)yahoo.com if you want to be added to the email distribution list for New England Sunfish racing.

Eric
 
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