Steeplechase Logistics Questions

Is the Caribbean Club on board this year? Is it the same deal as last year? What is the weekend trailer storage fee? Who do we pay?
OR
Are we on our own to find launching?

yeah, what he said...

We have always had really good relationships with Gilberts. If you have a room, the beach is free. There is a place for the trailer and a nice bar.

The dockmaster can probably fit you in on the beach without a room reservation (for a small fee like a rolled $20 or two), but the rooms are reasonable. Perhaps a little tacky, but a place to sleep without a lot of hassle.

In the past we had to pay on top of the room at Gilberts... if we get free storage with the room it's worth the rate there.

The past 2 years ,I showed up at the Carribean club first and they had no idea what was going on. There are some communication issues between the owner's and the bartenders, that take awhile to sort out. I got the info for the owner's and forwarded the contacts to Rick last year. I can probably dig them up again if you need them ,Ding. I'll try to forward to Rick and Mary again also.

Todd
p.s. Gilbert's doesn't have the room to fit the entire fleet, I don't believe.

For the past couple of years, most of the fleet has launched from the Carib (thanks to Tawd for getting there so early and working out the details). The finish, awards, and food on day 2 were also at the Carib. If this is what Rick is still planning, I will rig and launch at the Carib, if he plans to have the finish and ceremonies at Gilbert's, I will rig and launch there. IMO, the Carib is a much better location. Maybe Rick can chime in with his plans.

I too would prefer this arrangement. Not having Todd there to run interference will be a bummer indeed, if nothing else he is a people pleaser.

I will be setting up Spot tracking for the Steeplechase like I did for the Tybee 500. TrackLeaders will have units available for rent and if you have your own unit send me a link to your tracking page and you will be added at no charge. Let me know if you want one for the race.

I met with the public relations manager for Spot at the Ft. Lauderdale boat show and they are going to try to get TrackLeaders rental units upgraded to the newer ones. Might not happen for Steeplechase but probably for Tybee.

Craig,
You PM box is full and will not receive any more messages. I need a unit for the race.

Great!

It said I still had over 100 left in my Quota. I deleted a bunch so I should be set now.

Series Contact Form >>>

Craig... the new ones are half the size! Pretty impressive... you can buy them at west marine right now for $150 with a $100 mail in rebate... then you need the service obviously.
How much for the rental?

Wow, Gus that is great.

One launching, last year The Caribbean Club did not want folks wandering in one at a time, and asked us to collect from everyone. At th is moment I am away at a conference, but If I remember correctly, Mary said she would go down and work this out with the Crib. That is where we finished last year.

Gilberts has always been so iffy.
Rick

I am not as concerned with the size as the better antennae.

I had a long talk with the PR person. I learned a lot during the Tybee 500 and he was surprised at some of my findings. He also verified that TrackLeaders, the company I have been working with on the internet interface, have a direct line to their programmers. They are the only company that Spot is working with for online applications. I really got lucky hooking up with those guys.

Did they ever figure out the problem where a unit wouldn't update for like 8 hours?

1 update right after the start.

1 update right before they finish :P

Probably just blocked signal. As each boat came in, I pulled them off the boat and made sure it got a final signal. The most consistent location was on the mast rotation limiter bar. The newer spot beacons have a better antanae and will transmit the last two locations in case the prior location was not uploaded via satelite.

There was also a problem with supplied black foam cases. Once they absorbed water, they would not transmit. I figured that out in one of the legs that I tried them on a few of the boats. The SPOT PR person was really shocked at that. I told him if he needs some prototypes tested, send them on.

bump...
Rick... how come you don't have anything on the front page or this forum about this race?
I love this race (apparent by the effort we go through to come!) and I wish it would hate to see attendance dwindle. Tradewinds is obviously the event to go to and it's great seeing a blurb about it here and there, but it's not your only event.
Right now there are 6 boats pre-registered, 3 are from New England.
Who else is coming? Jay unforunately can't make it this year... not sure what that means for the rest of his 20's.

Mike and I are coming on the F20c.

Pre-reg is never good for Steeplechase.Numbers are always pretty good though.

15ish boats.... Tradewinds has what... 60?
Maybe the Steeplechase doesn't have room to grow like Tradewinds, but it would still be cool to have say, 30 boats.
I guess i'm just wondering why everyone wants to come to tradewinds but no one wants to go through the effort we do to sail both steeplechase and tradewinds. I think a lot of it is because it's just under the radar and in the shadow of tradewinds. What Ding has done with the F18 Southern series could bring interest in doing several events, instead of just 1.

Apples and Oranges, my friend.

I believe the best turnout we had was around 45 boats.
Sorry, not trying to down key the race.., I love it as well. Great venue that we happened upon over two decades ago that is still going strong.

Will put a story and NOR on the front page of the site within a day or so -- working feverishly on the Oct/Nov Issue right now.
Rick

+1.

Adventure/distance racing and buoy racing are completely different animals and require a different skill set as well as a different mindset. There are far fewer people that find it enjoyable to grind it out for 5-8 hours straight in a race where there is still just one winner. Plus the lack of bail out points and the fact that you really are on your own can push folks to spend their limited time and money on a different type of racing/sailing.

I think the lack of promotion for this one is deliberate. Mary genuinely worries about us when the conditions go to sh!t. He!! ask her how she felt about letting Randy Smyth sail solo last year. It still makes me chuckle thinking about Mary giving Randy the stink eye.

Thanks Rick!
I was really just trying to get your attention to do something like this.
I know 60 boats is unrealistic, and 40 would be tough both to even get that many boats to come and safety wise. But it just simply stinks to make the effort for any race for 10-12 boats, 15 is even a stretch.... a solid 20 would be very cool and i'd be elated if it hovered around there or just above.
There are plenty of people that go to Tradewinds that would be totally capable and competitive in the Steeplechase, but they don't go, and I don't think it's because most of them don't like distance.
Let's look at last year's Tradewinds F18 & N20 fleet that wasn't at Steeplechase... Tomko, Nigel/Alex, Easton, Krantz, McCulley, Brown, Kohl, Newkirk, Carter, Pecorak(ha), Trinque, Robinson .. these guys are all the active distance racers that I know of, most of them haven't made the race in the last few years... you can add a bunch others that were at Tradewinds that I could see distance racing.
How can these guys be convinced to make the extra effort?
And I know there are guys that did Tradewinds but not Steeplechase, but I tried to convince Jay and Todd Hart to go, but man is it hard to convince a distance guy to do buoys!

Speaking personally here,

Steeplechase comes at a bad time of year. When I was in school it was during exams, and when I was working, it was at the end of year when I was out of vacation time. I really have always wanted to do this race but, the fact that it takes a lot of driving to get to, necessitating at least a day on either side of the weekend for transportation always presented a problem for me.

That being said, now that I'm closer, that mitigates the problem, however, I've retired from competitive sailing. (Cue up the jokes about how I was never in it, its ok, I'm a big boy)

Frank and I both like doing the steeplechase but it's a long way to go to the Keys. For me, I like to sail in the A-cat week and then do Tradewinds in the same trip. I can't swing the time to make two trips to the keys a month apart so I have to choose between a weekend race (Steeplechase) or spend 7 days sailing between A-cat and Tradewinds....chicken dinner.

You got the chicken part right!

Well, for 26 years we have kept it the same time -- the second weekend in December. I am a big believer in keeping events at the same time yearly, whenever possible.
The reasons are this is a good time of the year for wind and the water is still warm; room rates are at the lowest, just before the season starts; and the Keys are not jammed packed.
By the way, the reason for the Tradewinds on MLK weekend is that room rates are lower juste after the New Year, and for some this gives you an extra day on Monday to get back home.
Rick

Rick,

Are we all set at The Caribbean Club? They know we are coming and all that?

A chicken and an egg are lying in bed. The chicken is leaning against the headboard smoking a cigarette with a satisfied smile on its face. The egg, looking a bit ticked off, grabs the sheet, rolls over and says ... Well, I guess we finally answered "THAT question!"

I don't get it

I bet your soon to be wife sure does.

That is just cruel...

Damn, the Gumbo man slams it out of the park!

I think he just called you a chicken.

we are working on it. Mary said last year she is taking charge of the crib.
Rick

That's great Rick, thanks! The Carib is a great location.

Yes, thank you Mary! Come on now, we all know Mary is running the show

Don't have many registered. It would be nice to have some numbers to discuss with the Caribbean Club. If just a few boats it makes talking with them more difficult.

I am also trying to get a number on SPOT Rentals. The cost is $30 for the weekend and I am handling shipping. I have 10 units definitely coming but I can order more. If you have your own unit with tracking enabled, I can have it added to the tracking system at no charge. I just need a link to your tracking page.

I am pushing hard to have the units upgraded but this probably won't happen before the Tybee.

I have learned a lot about the older units and the best placement for them are on top of the rotation limiter or in a deck bag with a clear window.

I am planning to be there with my friend Jan on his F18HT. He likely has not registered, so just giving a heads up that we are coming. Definitely will rent a SPOT transceiver.

Talk about travel I am coming all the way from Anacortes! Haha not really will be in FLA already and how can I say no to the chance to sail this event!?!

No, Dave, we are not all set. I have not contacted the Caribbean Club yet. I need to know how many people are coming and are planning to use that beach. EVERYONE who plans to come, PLEASE go here and register: http://www.catsailor.com/registration/sign-up.php?regatta=103

We can't afford to commit to a flat amount like we did last year ($1,000) and pray that we will get enough sailors willing to pitch in to cover the cost.

Right now only 11 boats are registered. And I don't know how many of those are even planning on launching at the Caribbean Club. You do the math.

I am pre-registered and plan to launch at the Carib.

I'm also pre-registered, and planning to launch at the Carib

Since we are just 10 days out I'd say it's pretty safe to assume we are looking at the fleet. I would also assume that at most there will be 10 boats that will launch from the Caribbean Club ($100 a boat). It also needs to be known from those that plan to launch at the Caribbean Club if they would be willing to make up the difference if less than 10 boats launch there, right?

Mary, is there minimum flat fee besides the $1000 that could be worked out with the Caribbean Club, something like a $500 minimum plus a per boat charge? Or is that not negotiable?

This needs to be hammered out this week, even at $100 some may consider the launch fee a bit harsh and look for cheaper yet less ideal launch locations, plus it will spread the fleet out all over the island making awards a bit sparse.

I think I would start a new thread requesting registration.
There are people who don't frequent this forum enough to dig into this thread.
Unfortunately I won't be there, have fun and eat extra fried turkey and lasagna for me.

Team Punk is in along with 2 other New England F18s that are registered, Greg Vadasi and Cosimo Malesci
Tawd is scared

$100 seems a bit high to launch and retrieve a small boat... But if that is the option, I would rather pay it and launch with the other competitors. Being my first time doing this event I would appreciate some other people around at the staging area, for the info and also the camaraderie (and by that I mean drinking partners).

Righting Moment is registered.

Dave, I am going to assume that for a small group, they will just charge their normal launch fee ($10) and daily rate for storing trailers there ($10 a day). That is what I am going to propose to them.

That sounds very reasonable!

Mary,
That sounds like a great plan, I think that's what we did 2 years ago isn't it? Can you get back to us to confirm this and let us know who you talked to? I'd like to show up early Friday and would prefer to not have any hassle.
If it were to be $100, I would prefer to get a room at Gilbert's and take advantage of the free launching.
Thanks!
-Todd

Gilberts resort website says $20 flat fee to launch, and is much closer to the starting area...

For the past couple years, the finish of the race has been right in front of the Carib and the post race events were at the Carib. Folks who rigged and launched at Gilberts missed out. No info has come out yet about where the finish will be. I think that will determine where people finally decide to launch. Right now, I am ASSUMING that the finish will be at the Carib and plan to launch there.

Its only a couple minutes sail from the Carib to Gilberts.

Ok so what's the verdict?
I hope to show up Thursday Morning to set up my boat.

Okay, here's the verdict -- and it ain't pretty. I talked to Kathy at the Caribbean Club, and first she said we would have to pay $1,000 to use the beach, same as last year. I told her that was just not possible.

She says they now have the beach rented permanently to someone, but she was still going to make it available to use if we would pay the big bucks up front. I said, "No can do."

SOOO, if you want to launch at the Caribbean Club, you will NOT be able to use the beach at all. You will have to rig in the parking lot and launch on their ramp. They will charge you $10 a day for your trailer storage and $10 each time you launch your boat. If you want to go sailing on Thursday or Friday, you will have to pay $10 each time you launch off the ramp.

Kathy says they will have someone at the ramp Friday, Saturday and Sunday to keep track and collect the money.
So, it's basically pay as you go.

NOW, I also talked to Gilbert's, and they have rooms available at $69 for 2nd floor and $79 for 1st floor, and they are going to charge $20 per boat, regardless of whether you arrive Thursday or Friday.

(At Gilbert's, that's $20 for the whole time, not per day.)

Sounds to me like Gilbert's is by far the best deal. And if everybody decides to stay there, we should have the finish line there, too.

Since they put in the bridge over Jewfish Creek, it is a whole lot easier to get in and out of Gilbert's than it used to be. They have on and off ramps.

I talked to them today and they said if you stay there then there is no charge for launching.
Mary, can they accomodate the whole fleet if we pay them $20 each?
I personally like when everyone stays at gilberts and launches there, plus the tiki bar is fun.
I think we are going to stay at GIlberts and keep our boats there, I would hate to miss the sloppy joe's though!
Mary, it's your race, therefore this is your call... can you let us know ASAP so we can book rooms?

Rick and I agreed that it would be best if everyone stays and launches at Gilbert's this year. They said they have enough rooms.

I LIKE IT!

With the tiki bar there and the cheap hotel rates, you can't beat it. Just wish I were sailing.

They shipped 10 SPOT rental units and one SPOT2 unit to play with. So far I have holds on two of them. Let me know if you want me to reserve you one or if you have one, send me your tracking page so I can add you to the race page.

They will be doing race replay at the end of each day. Below is a link to the Tybee 500 Replays:
Leg 1 >>>
Leg 2 >>>
Leg 3 >>>
Leg 4 >>>
Leg 5 >>>
Leg 6 >>>

The more we get tracking the better the replay will be.

Gilberts it is.

Thanks Mary!!!!!!

Yes, thank you very much Mary! See you all at Gilbert's!

See ya at the Tiki Bar...

will the start/finish lines remain the same? Why not move start/finish to Gilberts? The fixed bridge will make the start interesting but by no means impossible (probably neat for photos, too) and could reduce PRO logistics?

Personally I think a start at Gilbert's would be a bad idea. Depending on the wind and tide it could get damn unfriendly in Jewfish Creek with the boats tightly packed and demanding their rights.

Yeah, it would be a huge traffic jam. If the start were near the Caribean club, you would have a little run before you are funneled into the Jewfish Creek.

Start is going to be same as always, in Barnes Sound at the north end of Jewfish Creek.

Perfect! Thank you!

Finish will be at Gilberts, however.
Rick

Thanks Rick & Mary!
Anyone going to be there on Thursday? I'm going to be there tomorrow night but crew isn't flying in until Friday so I won't be able to set up the boat.

You can't set the boat up without your crew? Seriously?

Everyone knows Brendan has all the smarts on that boat.

And the muscle.

And the looks

Beth puts it over the fence, crowd goes wild...
God I hate that I'm gonna miss 3 days of punk roast along with one of the funnest races ever.

Flying Solo this weekend. Anyone want to share a room at Gilberts?

HAHAHA....I'M GLAD I LOBBED UP THAT SOFT PITCH.

(HELLL!!!! MY CAPS KEY IS STUCK!!! CAN ANYTHING ELSE GO WRONG THIS MORNING????!!!)

Aaaahh. Dropped the keyboard about 3 feet and it fixed it.

You old guys are just plain mean! I can't wait to beat you guys this weekend... Jake and tawd are just scared to come.
I always rig my boat by myself... but even ding can attest to how nice it is to have my big dumb animal of a crew to get the mast 7 feet in the air to raise it.

Todd, I have a feeling you're going to break something and not do so well in this race...just saying.

(remember the jinx you threw on me when I started the Harvest Moon Race?)

I KNOW you're not calling sweetness a big dumb animal,otherwise I expect Ding to kick your a$$ on and off the water.

Tawd

Either that, or he'll eat all of Brendan's food and drink all of his water and then float to shore on Brendan's bloated corpse. Then he'll proceed to tell everyone how worthless Brendan is was.

p.s. Chumlee,
Wasn't that the one where you so rudely and blatantly fouled one of the paid entries.How could you???

Yep, that's the one. Now I know why I don't post on SA.

So no one will be there Thursday?

Ricky it's one of the downsides to being employed.

Weather forecast:
Saturday, temp high of 77, wind ESE 10-15
Sunday, temp high of 80, wind SW 10-15

Awesome, Mary and I must have some pull with the Guy. Had great weather for the Wave Nationals (a bit cool), then freezing weather all during the week, and now a great weekend,
And, it appears there will not be much beating -- could be a record set this weekend,
Rick

Nice!!!

Loading up the van now, gotta make a couple of pit stops on Thursday, and will pulling into Gilberts Friday AM

On the road again....

Mike, you going down I75 or I95 when you get into FL?

I would think from ATL taking I75 down to the FL Turnpike in Ocala might be the straightest line to Miami? Lots of tolls on the turnpike though.

Be careful, lots of cops out there this time of year trying to generate revenue for their Christmas bounus...

from the ATL, 75 to the turnpike down to WPB is the fastest.

Mike if you need a place to crash - you're welcome to my home.

I'm heading south with my Sunpass

Depending on where I am by tomorrow pm I may take you up on the offer. I haven't seen Tybee and Kay in a while...

Update and clarification from Gilbert's. Now they are saying that if you are actually staying there and paying for a room, it is FREE to park your boat/trailer there. If you are NOT paying for a room there and want to launch your boat there and/or keep your trailer there, the charge is $20 a day for boat/trailer storage and launch.

Ran into Kirk Newkirk, who has been hanging around trying to do some diving this week (not likely with the freeze we have been having) and he stopped to talk to the Caribbean folks and said they were the nastiest, crazy people.
Then went to Gilberts and it was like a refreshing dip in a spa (or somthing to that effect)
Both places seem to alternate years for nastiness. Go figure!
Rick

Tell Kirk he still needs to scrape those paint marks off the Card Sound bridge he made with Jdub's N20... And I saw the picture to prove it!

Where are you getting your forecast from. Weather underground marine forecast.


Saturday
East winds near 10 knots. Seas beyond the reef 2 to 3 feet. Seas inside the reef around 1 foot. Nearshore waters a light chop. Isolated showers.
Sunday
Southwest winds near 10 knots...shifting to west to northwest and increasing to 20 to 25 knots in the afternoon. Seas beyond the reef 2 to 3 feet...building to 4 to 6 feet. Seas inside the reef around 1 foot...building to 2 to 3 feet. Nearshore waters a light chop...becoming very rough. Scattered showers.

Ihave never paid for the boat at Gilberts.... Be sure to smile big, take care of their property and tip big and they will be glad to see us every time we show up.

If you are renting a room at Gilbert's, there is no charge for the boat. If you are not renting a room, they charge $20 a day for the boat.

It looks like the front might be slowing down, but that could change tomorrow.

It's currently looking like Saturday could be a long day on the water.

Weather Graph

According to Windmapper, Saturday looks like 12 from the NNE in the morning, clocking to the east and dying down to 9 for the rest of the day.

Sunday looks like it starts out light - at 7 from the N, but then clocking to the west around 1pm and picking up in velocity. @ 1PM 12, up until 7PM @ 21. Then it starts dying again.

Arbo,
Wondered if you were sailing or possibly power boating. If powerboat, can I ride with you to start the race?
My Skiff is down at Founders Park. Not a problem, but if there is already going to be a powerboat there just observing, it would make life a bit less complicated.
Thanks,
Rick

Hi Rick,

I tried to get him to bring his power boat down but he has all of his upholstery pulled out to install new and he also has exams next week. So he is not going to be able to make it down.

Just got the SPOT units in. I have three reserved already. Please let me know if you want me to reserve one for you. The rental fee is $30 for the weekend and I will have them at Gilberts and the Skippers meeting Friday.

Craig, thanks for the reply.. Sorry Rick, I am hammered this week. I'll be there for Tradewinds though. Use me as you need.

Consider yourself USED!

save me a shirt and a few beers and I am there.