2005 NA's

Time to sound off on something here.

I'm looking at the NOR for the NA's and see that the regatta for regular sailors is from Wednesday to Friday. The Monday and Tuesday is for juniors, right? I need to be there for W-F correct? Is there a fleet split prior to Wed?

I also find it interesting that the race is scheduled entirely on weekdays. I know that like a lot of other people, for me vacation time is precious and I would rather have a Fri-Sun or Sat-Mon regatta for 3 days. What was the thought process here? Anyone....?

And finally, the entry fee, at $225 seems to be way up there. What is up with that? I hope there are some very good door prizes or something!

FYI: Laser NA's are $140 this year in Seattle.
JY-15 NA's are $150 (for 2 people).
J/22 NA's are $250-300 depending on crew#.
Thistle NA's $120 (3 people).
I could probably go on from here but don't see the need.

GET WHAT I"M SAYING???? So much for the affordability factor argument, right? Maybe I'm getting it all wrong? Geezer, what'ya think on this one? You'll be there? I'll be there, but I'm not going to withdraw my opinion on the cost YET.

Here's my beef: If this regatta was scheduled on the weekend and it cost less to attend, would we see a whole lot more sailors? I know this is always a well attended regatta, but would attendance go through the roof?

Flame away...... :p
 
Well originally the week long regatta was actually from pre registration on Sunday to the Banquet on Friday or occassionally Saturday. That gave folks driving time to attend. Having it on a weekend meant folks still had to take off before the weekend and after for driving time.
Remember it's the North American's not the local regatta.
Been awhile, but IIRC the meals make up a large portion of the pricing,
 
I agree - $225 for a 3 day regatta is outrageous. (As another point of reference, the Laser US Nationals are $130 for 4 days of sailing). I will pass on this one - Sunfish NAs are always fun - but there are limits.
 
Am I paying for meals on days that I'm not even going to be there? That would really stink. Perhaps they could fax or email me my dinner :D
 
i was reading the reg form and noticed that the jr's only have food for sun- tuesday. if a jr is sticking around for the NA's are they paying the senior fee for wed-fri meals and racing? whats going on with this?
Joe
 
Strumolo said:
i was reading the reg form and noticed that the jr's only have food for sun- tuesday. if a jr is sticking around for the NA's are they paying the senior fee for wed-fri meals and racing? whats going on with this?
Joe

You are right. It does say that. And it says you are going to be paying $190 for a TWO DAY JUNIOR REGATTA!!

Hope these kiddies all have rich daddies. :eek:
 
The $225 seems a bit high to me as well. $190 for a junior event very high and I doubt they will be having prime rib and lobster at the JR Banquet. Any way enough on the money issue. Is there a fleet split? if so how, when are they normally done at the NA's
 
jsdeimel said:
The $225 seems a bit high to me as well. $190 for a junior event very high and I doubt they will be having prime rib and lobster at the JR Banquet. Any way enough on the money issue. Is there a fleet split? if so how, when are they normally done at the NA's

Some years they have two days of qualifying races to determine who will be in the Championship Fleet and who will be in the Alcort Fleet. I think they usually put the top 60% from the qualifiers and also the top 5 juniors in the Championship Fleet.

The NOR for 2005 NAs doesn't have a qualifying series so I assume everyone, including all the juniors who stay, will race in one fleet in the second half of the week. Then you have a choice. If you think you can win the championship fleet, go for it. But if you are good at sandbagging, the trick is to end up at the position one lower than 60% down the fleet. If you can achieve this you will be the 2005 Alcort Fleet Champion. And the person who beat you by one place will get zippo. Ain't life grand?
 
Rumor and innuendo has it that it was voted on last year to eliminate the split fleet and just go down the overall standings to set the Alcort fleet when it's all done. Lot more fun to sail all together as one fleet if you asked me.

So basically, they cut 40% of the sailing out.
(and kept the price the same)

Like I said b4, let's hope for good door prizes! ;)
 
tom whitehurst said:
I have been it touch with Connie Miller about the cost of the NA's and they should be revising the NOR shortly.

Tom Whitehurst
8689

YEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWW!!!!!!!!

The forum rules. :cool:
 
Since the entire objective of cutting the NAs back to 3 days was to REDUCE vacation days needed and BUILD ATTENDANCE, hows about we ask Connie to run the regatta on either Thurs/Fri/Sat or Fri/Sat/Sun. That way, for the many many local sailors they can sail in the regatta with fewer days off from work. For those driving from a great distance, it will still be the same number of days off, but I bet moving the dates (and cutting the entry fee) could add 30 or more boats to the event.

BB :confused:
 
I am under the impression that there are some "regional" sailors living near the event that are not coming due to time off and/or pricing. You have a good point, Beldar. I doubt that the host club is in a position to change dates at this point though. Maybe thoughts for next year though.

Assuming there is no change in the dates, I wonder if some informal organization could be made for people to stick around and sail saturday after NA's. Maybe do some team racing or have a distance race or some type of other fun event. If no RC is available, we could rabbit start the fleet.
 
The fee was reduced by $25 to $200? The Midwinters were $70 for the same number of days racing. It looks like Lewes has some nice really meals planned. Regardless, this seems slightly excessive. I cannot find a single Laser regatta in North America that costs more than $180... and that is a late registration fee with four days of sailing.

I agree about the timing/scheduling of the event. Why wouldn't you take advantage of the weekend? I too have heard several people in the Mid Atlantic region say they will not attend because the regatta requires too much vacation and costs too much for the amount of sailing.
 
No. According to the latest NOR on the Lewes Yacht Club website:

"The regatta fee for the Senior NAs is $200.00 before June 12, 2005 and $225.00 after that date. The regatta fee for Juniors attending only the 3 day Junior NAs is $140.00 before June 12, 2005 and $165.00 after that date. The fee for Juniors sailing all week is $200.00 before June 12, 2005 and $225.00 after that date. Registration fee includes daily continental breakfast, dinner, after sailing beverages, T-shirts and favors."
 
The REDUCED fee is $200!?!?! Is the purpose of this event to get a bunch of retired great grand masters to show up for a food fest (with no concerns about vacation days since they are retired) or is it to run a North American Championship for what is supposed to be a decent racing class? I recommend that the lobster and prime rib be replaced with clams and hamburgers and the pig roast be replaced with McRibs from McDonalds and have the entry fee come down to $100 or so. We are going to have a 40 boat worlds in Martinique and follow it up with a 40 boat NAs despite the fact it is being held in one of the most populous Sunfish regions in the country.

BB
 
I am glad that the class took notice of the forum and tried SOMETHING, albeit a slight change. I think the process is probably too far along to change significantly at this point. MAYBE this kind of activity on the forum will lead to a re-think of the game plan for future (as yet unplanned) events. Keep your fingers crossed. ;)

I think the worlds thing is just about location, location, location. While it's probably a stellar place to sail, it is an isolated place. If you look at the NEW pricing for worlds, it is actually pretty affordable and even comparable to NA's if you are flying in and chartering a boat.
 
OOPS, forget the last part of my last post. Unless you sail to Martinique, you're gonna pop a grand into airfare. Maybe THAT's why nobody wants to go.
 
Dear Tim and other concerned SF sailors,

I hear you - and I share your concerns on the cost of the NA's. We are working to reduce the cost but may not be able to acheive much for this year beyond the small reduction already posted.

We will be working up some guidelines to conducting the NA's with an eye to preventing this situation from recurring. I for one am a proponent of a club submitting a budget for a regatta prior to being chosen to run a major event.

I would suggest you address your concerns to Connie Miller, Cindy Clifton and Vic Manning regarding this years fee and reduction in the number of days sailing. This will be the most productive course of action. Their contact information is on the website.

Also, please feel free to contact me directly, I will do what I can to help.

See you on the water,
Susan Mallows
National Regatta Chair
 
Thanks, Susan :)

It's good to see a response from the organization. I don't think anyone is expecting a miracle, and we all want the regatta to be a sweeping success this year and in future years as well.

Looing forward to seeing everyone at NA's. See you in Lewes.
 
derekcjackson said:
No. According to the latest NOR on the Lewes Yacht Club website:

"The regatta fee for the Senior NAs is $200.00 before June 12, 2005 and $225.00 after that date. The regatta fee for Juniors attending only the 3 day Junior NAs is $140.00 before June 12, 2005 and $165.00 after that date. The fee for Juniors sailing all week is $200.00 before June 12, 2005 and $225.00 after that date. Registration fee includes daily continental breakfast, dinner, after sailing beverages, T-shirts and favors."

This is getting really confusing. Because if you access the NOR or Registration Form via the Sunfish Class website you still get the old prices.

And excuse me, but I object to that reference to "the 3 day Juniors NAs". The Junior NAs is a 2 day event - with a practice race on the Sunday. $140 for a 2 day junior regatta is still outrageous.

Everyone seems to assume that these exorbitant fees are going to buy gourmet dinners. But the fee for guest dinners is $20 - which I assume covers the real marginal cost of each dinner. Not enough to justify a regatta fee for the seniors of almost $70 a day. Or are the sailors subsidizing the guests??????
 
Hey Geezer,

Maybe if you show them your AARP card, you'll get a senior citizen discount! :D

Really, though, have we beat this subject as far as we can? Maybe it's time to let this topic sink into the shadows. Hey there's our new poll.....
 
Tim Polaski said:
Hey Geezer,

Maybe if you show them your AARP card, you'll get a senior citizen discount! :D

Hah! :eek:

I dumped the AARP when they supported Bush's bogus prescription drug plan. The Sunfish class also need to be careful - if they aren't responsive to the needs of their members, then pretty soon there won't be any members.
 
I am not up on class governance, but it's my impression that the Class Officials just select the site for the Nationals and leave it up to the organizing club to do the rest (which involves an amazing amount of work, I am sure). I do remember that the Treasurer (Pat Manning) told me last year that the class doesn't make any money on an event like the Worlds. Susan Mallows (National Regatta Chair) wrote 3/28 that the Class may get more involved, which would be good considering this year's Nationals.....
 
Any idea how many SR's will show for the practice race on Sunday? It seems odd to hold a practice race three days before the regatta. I live quite close so I'm planning on going. I did find out you can leave your boat there in between.
 
I just looked at the Sunfish Class web site and noticed this posted.

Fees: The regatta fee for the Senior NAs is $180.00 before June 12, 2005 and $205.00 after that date. The regatta fee for Juniors attending only the 3 day Junior NAs is $100.00 before June 12, 2005 and $125.00 after that date. The fee for Juniors sailing all week (6 days) is $180.00 before June 12, 2005 and $205.00 after that date. Registration fee includes daily continental breakfast, dinner, after sailing beverages, and favors.

This forum is rocks. The regatta is still on the high end but at least they are trying. You coming now Geezer? :) :) :) :)
 
Looks like the Sr races are back up to $210 for the regatta if you want to eat on the water.
From the LYC notice of race.
Optional boxed lunches to be delivered to sailors on the water during the Regatta may be ordered. (Juniors $20.00—2 lunches: Monday and Tuesday; Seniors $30.00—3 lunches: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)
I feel the local market calling my name.
Please retract this rocks.
 
WHAAATTT???? :mad:

Amazing. We are going to have our wallets drained one way or another. I'm thinking 2 footlongs at subway per day in my inspection port for about 10/day.
Then I can let them fester for a few hours before I eat them.

I dunno, maybe they are having a surf and turf sandwich? Or perhaps a barge will be set up and we tie off and have a sit-down table service lunch with the linen.

OK enough of the flaming. I'm still going, EVEN though this may be, perhaps, be the most expensive per person, per day, regatta on the continental United States this year.

BTW...where's the geezer? did he go off on a bender?
 
I am still doing the math- 3 box lunches for $30 from LYC or 2 footlongs per day at $10 per day. Sounds like a toss up, but if the footlongs are in the inspection port, I do think I know what will be "tossed up"..
Moving back to Wavedancer's post on 3/29- from the Notice of Race, it seems like the LYC is putting on quite a spread (Pig Roast, Land and Sea, Prime Rib) along with liquid refreshments. I am not up on what was provided at past NA's, but it is implied that it is up to the host club to make the determination on what will be provided. I can't fault a club for trying to put on a first class event, as I am sure there is a lot of work being put into this event. I also do not know if there were other choices as I also do not know how hard (or easy) it is to find a club to host the event.
If the cost of this years NA's is in fact so high that it cuts into the attendance at the event it is counter productive for the class and then perhaps the class needs to get involved. If the class finds a fee for the event that most people that participate in the event are comfortable with, then perhaps they can set the amount to be charged and asked clubs to submit what they can provide for that amount.
Then the regatta could be awarded to the club that can give the best value to the sailor. I am sure the class would also have to look into location to make sure the regatta's location did change to optimize the chance for sailors of all regions to attend.
I am sure that hosting an event like the NA's is good for the host club also, as it gives them exposure.
 
This is an old thread, but here is a 'new' question:

How do I get my fish to swim? Does the Lewes club have a ramp?
Or do we launch from a beach?

PS: I don't have a (Seitech type) dolly....

Thanks!
 
I, for one, will be stopping at the local market to get some bananas, bread and PB ... And, as one allergic to things that grow in shells, well, it's not the first time I've footed the bill for many other sailor's enjoyment. That aside, there are a number of people who appreciate having a major championship feature the finer things of life. We have a limited number of people who participate on this forum. If we hear from a LARGE number of people with many views, there can be more change considered.

Hosts get chosen for a number of reasons. We need to have the championships move about the country. We need to have sites that can handle the size of fleets we expect. We need to have qualified race management available. We need to have clubs that can coordinate the size of budget involved with such an event. The number of clubs willing to host these has been dwindling, more and more each year. So, the days of "we'll go elsewhere" aren't as heady as they once were. Sailors are more demanding, too. They want ideal launch facilities, storage facilities, parking, club facilities, showers, camping, free housing, fancy hotels, and all the rest. Sunfish had a day where much of the fleet camped on the grounds of the club! That's a rarity these days. The hosts do the best they can with what they have to work with.

A part of the reason that this year's is set up W-Th-F is due to rental properties' lease terms--Saturday to Saturday, 10 am turnover. People renting "cottages" or houses have to be out by 10 am on Saturday, so to accommodate that housing is why the event was set up the way it is. I believe there were other considerations as well.

Whoever makes the trek will be treated to fantastic facilities, terrific sailing, glorious beaches, a warm welcome, and fair competition. If you're still thinking about it rather than starting to pack, START TO PACK!
 

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