It's winter up here in NJ/NY. We're waiting for spring, and it's already itching. Some folks are fixing their boats, some are working on upgrades, some are hanging out in this forum, but we're all basically just keeping busy.
In our club (SHBCC), we just decided to make our Statue of Liberty Race this season something really special. It's our clubs' 30th anniversary. So just for the fun of it we pulled together this invitational video clip . We're hoping to see MANY of you at the start this year. Sailing New York harbor and rounding the Statue of Liberty is a "once-in-a-lifetime-must-do-can't-miss" event for every catsailor . We're inviting you early cuz we know your season will be booked up before you know it! Here's the links to the clip:
2006 Statue of Liberty Race Preview Clip

There's lots of information about the race on our website.
Preregistration is at http://www.fleet250.org, go to >>Race Menu >>Statue Race >> Pre-register

Book your calendars for the Statue Race on Sunday July 2nd in Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club in NJ. See ya!

PS - Many thanks to Stefan Ewald who managed to produce this clip from some shaky footage of the 2005 race, many thanks to Kenny Vu for providing the pictures. Also thanks to the folks of Extreme Raid 500 M'Iles in France and the eXploder Sailing Team in Poland for gratiously allowing us to use some of their footage.

Great way to promote the race!

The web site is fantastic! The video is so good for it's purpose I almost registered! It is another one of my dreams to sail that race...Scheduled to work that weekend

Great video. I would suggest mentioning two additional selling points of your race. First, you have a special exception to be able to round close to the statue. Secondly, it is one of the very few open class events in the area.

Very good idea.

Matt

Thanks Matt. It's also worth mentioning that traditionally we have an "outing" for the larger cats the day before the Statue Race (that would be July 1st this year). We sail to the Ambrose Lighthouse , off the tip of Sandy Hook in the Atlantic, and back. This is the last beacon before ships enter NY Harbor. If you remember Francis Joyon's record for his (last) cross Atlantic Crossing on IDEC a few months ago, the Ambrose Lighhouse marked the official starting line of his trip. So if you come down for the weekend, there's definitely enough sailing to do...

This is a race my skipper has been asking me to sail with him for a few years now - He has sailed it many times and swears by the experience (Ken Hilk, DE - Div. 11). This year, I will make a bigger effort to get there. Sailed Sandy Hook 2 years back - closest I got to the experience...time to buck-up. Look forward to being there. B

Great promo!! It looks like I'll be able to make it this year, always one of my favorites. The Ambrose race is icing on the cake. This is one race where you can meet people from all over the country. Very cool. Ed

This race is well worth the time and effort to make it there! I am planning a trip to Europe this summer around this weekend so that we will be able to be there, and last year Nate postponed moving and starting a new job so we could do it in '05 as well!
Chris
www.acceleratedchaos.com

Thanks to this video, we've added this event to our schedule for 2006.

Question, just what is the deal with sailing around new york? Is it as bad as I've heard people say about the water?

Good question. It's definitely not turqoise water like in the Keys. The answer can be very subjective depending on who you're talking to, but id you want to stick to the facts, go to the site of the Department of Environmental Protection . You should also know that New Yorkers have been holding the annual Manhattan Island Swimming marathon for years now, and the swimmers seem to come out of it without green or purple appendages...I've personally been swimming in the Hudson several times and I found it just fine.

One of the things we do caution for at the skippers' meeting is to watch for driftwood, especially in the harbor. Stories about dead bodies floating on the water on other hand are somewhat exaggerated or date back from the 1980's

It's them Jersey whitefish that I hate getting stuck on the blades...

-Mike

We are getting a team together from Texas to come this year, I grew up on Manhattan Island and back then('81) there was raw sewage being dumped in the east river. Today I am going on faith that it is clean enough to sail through, I do not intend to capsize and will wear clothing that sheds water so as long as I do not get too much spray in the face I am expecting to live through it. If the Department of happy water of New York city blesses it then I believe them,

Greetings,

I would like to know more about the expected conditions for the race. What is the typical water temperture and wind speed range? Is the water dirty with high amounts of algea, bacteria, oil or jellyfish? Does one need to have a wetsuit, drysuit, or spray top to endure the conditions? Is a GPS unit needed to navigate the course? Do the smaller and slower catamarans (e.g. H-16, SC-17 or P18-2) usually finish the race? Are power boats available for towing if one wishes to abandon a very long race due to weak wind conditions?

Average water temp: 63-67 degrees.
Wind speed range: Varies a lot, even during the day.
Water quality in general is fair. See my previous post.
Clothing: It can be a long race. Assume wetsuits.
GPS units or other electronics are not allowed. See our website re. visual marks.
We have limited chase boats available that are primarily dedicated to emergencies (injuries, illness and material failures).
Smaller boats like Hobie Waves and 16's frequently participate in the race. It happens that they get turned back but more often than not they finish the race.

We do not recommend that complete novices try the race. We also call the race the Statue of Liberty Marathon. Teams should responsibly plan and prepare themselves and the boat: food, water, sun protection, make sure your boat is sea worthy. Good conditions may allow you to finish in 4-6 hours. If the wind doesn't cooperate, count on being underway for a longer time. We also reserve the right to turn back stragglers (detailed racing instructions will soon appear on our website .)

Hope that helps.

What is the reasoning behind not allowing gps units? I remeber hearing at the skippers mtg that if you miss the hook on the way back you'll be in the open ocean.

On the same line, I'm planning to come. I'm planning to race. I will be taking a GPS, VHF Radio, and Cell phone on the boat with me. If you have rules against them then perhaps we can seal them somehow so that I am DSQ'd only if I use them for a non-emergency purpose, or I will race "for exhibition only". But anymore I would not consider doing a "offshore" race without what I consider to be reasonable safety gear.

I look at this in much the same way as I look at RRS Fundamental Rule number 4 - Decision to Race "The responsibility for a boat's decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone"

And finally, just some food for thought... At my club we used to have similar rules about electronics. They used to be expensive to the point that they were not generally available. Now that they are "generally available" to the average competitor, we would not consider taking on the responsibility as a club of discouraging sailors from carrying equipment that could be construed as reasonable safety equipment.

Jamie Diamond

Not allowing GPS is a bit of a surprise to me too - what's the reasoning behind that?

Just to add to my previous post... This sounds like a really great race. The whole family thinks it sounds like fun. I should have closed the previous post with the thought that I believe this race will be worth doing whether my finish "counts" or not.

Jamie Diamond

I believe the SI's prohibit using the GPS for the Race... So, I carried all of my saftey gear and did not use them during the day. If you feel that you need to use the GPS for some saftey reason, then you are retiring from racing and just need to DSQ yourself at the finish.

It's not a big deal and it certainly is a level playing field.

Its a fun race with 70 boats, boat trafic, NYC skyline, and the Statue.... Bring a camera... the pic's are priceless!

Mark, that would be my plan too. I would carry the gear, and plan to not use it. It would only be used in the case of personal safety or in response to a rule 1.1 situation. If I used the gear for something other than a rule 1.1 situation I would withdraw ("disqualify myself") by reporting to the RC or OA after the finish. I would be happy to work something out to mark or seal the electronics so that it would be evident if they had been used.

My take on personal safety gear is:
1 lifejacket, wear it all the time
2 knife, be able to cut yourself loose
3 whistle, be able to summon nearby help
4 radio/cellphone, be able to summon help at a distance
5 GPS, be able to tell the help you are summoning where you are.

I believe in keeping the above gear on me, not simply on the boat.