i550class.org

On another note, there is a SportBoat only regatta on Lake Ontario in July. Right now, it's invited classes only. I have participated in old version of this regatta for over 20 years. I know the person chairing it, and I am very confident that I could get the i550 included. It is based out of the Youngstown Yacht Club in Youngstown New York. It was named one of Rolling Stones Top Ten parties. If you would like me to take the lead on this I will. Are there any interested parties. Excellent facilities for launching and damping as well as the best run race management.
If there is a desire. I will start another thread.

Geoff.

Do it!
Due to another poop-storm on another front, in another country, far far away, I will not be going to Screwpile this year (Chesapeake's biggest regatta) and that frees up some time in July to get to Youngstown. So unless I am totally broke (depends on what Mister IRS says in April) I could get a trailer and bring hull#87 up.

I'm planning a big ol eastward road trip this summer. If this race happened, it would be great! And, being 2014 now, we should start talking about summer schedules, in general, hmmm?

(Hey admin, is it possible to move... Edit, you did it, thanks!)

These 3 posts were removed from the 2014 AGM Member thread and plopped down here. Hope no one minds.

This is the link to the Can Am Challenge sailed out of the Youngstown Yacht Club.
Right now it's invited classes only. If there is enough interest here, I will contact the proper people and see if the i550 can be included. Lets see what happens by mid February for interest.
http://www.yyc.org/index.php/sailing/can-am-challenge/

And the yacht scoring link that shows the number of pre registered boats.
http://www.yachtscoring.com/current_eve ... fm?eID=969

Geoff.

Excellent, thanks Geoff! --TF

It seems they have opened it up to non sportsboat classes. So it should not be a problem to get the i550 included.
The 4 plus knot current coming down the Niagara river is a bitch though.
But the race management, people, parties and food and good times make up for it all.

So, if you really really screw up, does the boat go over the falls?

Lol...that's why there's such a current..you are below the falls.

Pshewww, that's a big relief. I always forget the Niagra runs north, counter-intuitive to us Chesapeake Bay watershedders.

Is there current relief along the shore? -otherwise, I need a battery upgrade, or a real outboard…

And….
Any midwesters interested in Brookville Lake again? It looks like they have races on Mother's Day weekend (Sat, May 10th) or the weekend after Memorial Day (Sat, May 31st), just guessing at the dates based on last year's calendar. This is a very low-key, friendly group of people, that gets maybe a dozen boats out for their races. There's free slips, and a nice campground just around the corner.

The current is strongest in the river. There can be be quite a mash where river meets lake. 9 times out of ten you can motor sail through very well, then once past the coast guard station veer toward the USA shore and get out of the current.

In some casual talks with friends over the weekend, it turns out that I have two crew who are very excited about doing this YYC event. Now the thing is, how do we get a decent body count so that the i550 will qualify for a start?

Start querying green dots within 3 -4 hundred miles?

I wish Watershed would update the map! (hint hint)

As my wife's work schedule changes, my more-than-a-long-weekend road trip window has shifted from July to June, which puts the NY event a bit out of my reach at the time it is scheduled.

A few of us chatted about a gathering in Indiana again in late May, perhaps Brookville again, maybe Wawasee.

And then in July trekking over to Lake Erie and doing something around Put In Bay.

Here are my dates...

May 24-26 Only viable weekend open.

June 7-8, 21-22, 28-29

July 19-20, 26-27

August 2-3.

Both Wawasee, IN and Sandusky, OH are doable for me. I would most likely be solo for at least one of the 2 dates, so I'll be looking for crew.

Do any of these dates work for anyone else?

Kevin.

Bodymore, Murderland to Sandusky OH....422 miles 6 hr 27 min
Bodymore, Murderland to Youngstown NY....380 miles 6 hr 38 min

half of one, six dozen of the other. Another 11 minutes ain't gonna kill me. Do we have "people" there?

Phil has stomped around there and knows the area.
625 mi, 9 hours 52 mins for me, which is about the end of my tether.

Kevin wrote:Here are my dates...

May 24-26 Only viable weekend open.

June 7-8, 21-22, 28-29

July 19-20, 26-27

August 2-3.

Both Wawasee, IN and Sandusky, OH are doable for me. I would most likely be solo for at least one of the 2 dates, so I'll be looking for crew.

Do any of these dates work for anyone else?

Kevin.

I'd like to use Memorial weekend, May 24-26 for one of the smaller lakes, Brookville or Wawasee, etc.

How about Bayweek at Put in Bay, Aug 1-3? See link. I think this was discussed a year or so ago? (this is the 2013 event, I assume similar date this year..)

Is there a Baywatch at Put-out Bay? Now that would have some potential.

Tim, I do not remember any Baywatch, maybe Babewatch at Pat Dailey’s, Round House and FROSTY’S. I know that Jon R has been in those fine establishments.

Not sure why, but the Texas 200 ( http://www.texas200.com ) sounds kind of appealing to me, even after allowing for it being in ... Texas.
5, 40-mile mostly downwind breezy legs, behind the barrier islands, rugged beach camping overnight. Not really a race (kayaks and PD racers and a Mac26 seem to be in the mix), more of an endurance event -maybe EC-lite?

I suppose I'd need to de-bulb and shorten the keel, and make a breakaway cassette rudder like Canary, to deal with the shallows.

Hmmm.
Where does this put me on the nut-o-meter?

Sounds like great fun to me. Go for it!

Hopefully Better than Hot Canary's. They broke the rudder yesterday and were towed in.
http://blog.excitableboyandrunswithbeer.com/

EC Tracking is down, but showed that #129 was located in Boca Grande - Port Charlotte last night.

129 out with a broken tiller.

i550's go 0 for 2 this year, both steering related.

Keeping steering system together probably would have been possible if we had been more conservative about reducing sail and raising centerboard early. Both us (129) and Hot Canary blew it on the same sand bar, after about 70 miles of beautiful surfing conditions. In a conversation with Hot Canary guys on Sunday, after the great day we had on Saturday, I noticed we were both feeling pretty positive about the i550 in spite of breakages. As for us, we had limped down to a deep water anchorage to sort out a jammed keel and broker tiller, and sailed light into checkpoint one on a jury rig tiller. It would have been possible, but not prudent, to continue down the coast to finish, and really, it is not as fun to push a boat's limits with lashed together steering. Here are a few vids to encourage all y'all to join us on Fort Desoto Beach in March of 2015:
http://vimeo.com/88577411
http://vimeo.com/88577410