That is the scene that I missed and, to this day, I still miss. I am immersed in catamaran sailing, as a way of life, and I sure do miss all the great times that I have missed.

GARY

I store my boat at home and tow it every weekend to club racing about 30 mins away. Not being a member of a club is a foreign concept to me.

How do you get rescue/start boats at regattas that aren't held at clubs? Do the regatta organisers also organise people to supply and man boats?

We usually leave this up to the club that is hosting the regatta, whether it be a class championships or an all-boats style regatta.

Of our local events, I would estimate that 10 of the 12 are actually held at sailing clubs. In my case, my nearest club (the one I belong to) is a one hour drive away - so it makes just as much sense for me to keep the race boat at home on the trailer and go to weekend regattas.

My club is catamaran friendly...most are still quite astonished at the speed and when I bring the cat out for club races I regularly lap the entire field (that's usually my challenge I present to myself). The problem is, relatively few cats make it out to sail club events. I joined this club because it is so catamaran friendly...the cats have just sort of evaporated.

I do wednesday night club races on a mono. But what Jake said is true, the cats don't have enough mass to have a presence at every club.

Before wife and kid, 20-25 races a year including two nationals and Alter cup. I couldn't accumulate vacation time quickly enough, so I went part-time - which is to say, I did 50-hours a week at the office until it was race time.

First year after Sara was born, I was dirtside for all but a couple of weekends. Participation is back up again as the kid gets more portable. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I have 12 races on the schedule this year, including a week at F18s and a week at Alter Cup. I've also found the time to do a little day-sailing with Sara in school. Also just found out the Rudder Club does Wednesday Night racing, so I'm probably in for some of that, too. There is also a minimum of one three-day USSA meeting, and a lately a good bit of time spent on the phone... this is definitely more than a hobby. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

We're involved on the ground floor of a Sailing club opening it's own dry storage. They (Thistles) already raced 20 Saturdays per year, so we (Hobie fleet) have the opportunity to be a part of club racing now. I have mixed emotions about this. Looking forward to the chance to race "at home" say 12 out of the 20 Saturdays, but it seems if a boat is in the yard with the mast up, the likelihood of it getting packed up and towed 3 1/2 hours to a "major" race are slim to none. I think this is unfortunate.

This is half the fun! We sailed two or three regattas last season with no wind on one day and still had a blast.

Most Hobie fleets that were formed in the 70's & 80's have seemed to hang on to, and maintain at least their committee boats. Chase boats are usually friends of friends and can be a problem to pin down (line up four so two will actually show up), but yes, still the responsibility of the organizer.

(Note: We're hosting our first regatta this Spring and having the "Club" spring to volunteer the use of the committee & chase boat, marks, etc, is a HUGE benefit and of great relief in planning.)

Wow this is scary. Looking at last year's calandar.

96 race days, including two NA's, an Alter Cup, a Key West race week, a world's, and a nationals. That's not including practice days or pleasure sailing. Believe or not I had a job somewhere in there...

Yeah but your job IS sailboat racing!


No fair <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

For me, a weekend not spent racing is the exception. I belong to two clubs and typically race with them 2-3 weekends per month year-round. The remaining weekends are spent going to away regattas - either to sail or to officiate. This past year, I sailed fewer regattas (Spring Fever, Clark Cup, Mayor's Cup, Governor's Cup, CatFest, Nationals, and Loose on the Neuse) and officiated more (Thistle Orange Peel, Edenton Bay Challenge, Flying Scot ACC, North Points 7, NC Offshore Championship, Charleston Race Week, NC/SC Offshore Governor's Cup, Jane at the Lake Regatta, GA Special Olympics, Sunfish Worlds, Melges 24 Nationals, A college points regatta, and club racing) than previously. My wife and I are also getting more involved in SAYRA (South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association - aka US Sailing Area D). She's taking a board position and I'm on the appeals committee.

I presume we're more gung-ho than most, and home maintenance is definitely suffering. We've bought yet another boat; we're sewing two new suits of sails ourselves; and we're fitting a spinnaker to an Isotope in hopes of racing it F-16 class (after replacing the mast we broke last year).

So, for me, the question is not how often we go to a regatta, but how many weekends do we stay home.

Regards,
Eric

Getting man and machine to support the sailors is the biggest hurdle for organizing regattas in our area. We spend $500 per regatta for fuel, mileage, boat rental, etc. for committee boats and chase boats at our fleet's two biggest regattas (we sponsor three, of the seven events in our Division). Travel time ranges from 45 min. to eight hours for Hobie Div. 5 events. All of them offer camping, which almost everyone does, with about half in motorhomes or hard-sided campers. This aspect of regattas is at least half the fun of these events. Camping on the beach, tinkering with your boat, drinking barley juice and playing with the kids is what makes catamaran sailing so unique.

A relatively new club that is catamaran friendly has established itself in our area. Though the lake they are on is smallish for two hulls, it gives me a chance to race on Wed. evenings and almost every weekend. This year, including Wed. nights, I'll hopefully get in 12 events plus nationals or about 20 race days. Once my son is a little older, I suspect we'll travel to many more events, unless he decides (God forbid) that one of the mainstream sports is to his liking.

JW, what age (approx) is this so I can mark it on my calendar? I had to push my anticipated schedule back somewhat, partly due to crew still being overseas.

The good thing is she's taken to swimming, and if I can get her comfortable wearing a PFD (not water wings) before she can walk, she'll be in line to grab a tiller before she can run... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Although, I will have to add some corrector weights (she's 10 kgs),or maybe sail the Tornado in China!) <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Dude - I got her this really cool Speedo suit with built-in flotation. At 3.5 yrs, she is taking the tiller on the Wave. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Got one of those suits for my daughter as well! Haven't tried it out yet though. I am light as it is and her 24 pounds isn't going to be enough for my light boat !!

3.5 years and at the tiller. That is excellent news on an otherwise bleak day. 1.5 years to go.. My wife will never belive it <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />


We travel to 3-5 regattas a year, but that is never less than 8 hours of driving away. Otherwise we participate in around 20 wednesday night races + 15 "real" regattas where we can sail to the starting line.

CRAM (Michigan) runs ten regattas a year, and I try to go to all of them. Add a Nationals once in a while. Your description is exactly what CRAM does. Kids, dogs, frizbees, and motorhomes.

Roger