Dear Parents,
In an effort to clarify our approach to regattas and the regatta schedule, I am posting excerpts from some of the letters that have gone home with sailors, and some further information about Marblehead Jr Race Week. You will also find our working schedule posted to the blog.
As the season gets underway, I invite your input and perspective on our regatta schedule and participation. Due to transport and lodging logistics of regattas, we must rely heavily on parent support for our participation and success. This might include trailering coach boats or 420’s, car-topping Opti's, or supervising racers between events. We will provide as much coach support as possible, but as in years past, we need to continue running our program here at AYC, even while regattas are underway elsewhere.
I understand that regatta participation has been an area around which many questions existed in the past, and I hope that you will each feel free to contact me, either in person or via email, to discuss your hopes for your child’s regatta participation this year. I am interested to hear your ideas and open to your insight. As a general guideline, I hope to strike a balance between regatta participation and success that will allow each of our racers to feel both challenged and accomplished at their own level - be it our Friday in-class race series, or more competitive regional regattas. A copy of our working regatta schedule is attached. If there are additional regattas that I have not included, please let me know and we’ll be happy to see if we can accommodate them.
The regatta season is beginning today (July 9) with Opti racers headed to the Linda Wieditz Memorial Regatta at Sandy Bay, and 420s heading to Crane’s Beach for the Essex Bay Mudflat Regatta. We are excited to have such an enthusiastic bunch - a total of 17 AYC sailors will be participating in regattas today! We are doing everything we can to accommodate sailors with a desire to race this summer and as such, we really need your support in helping to transport sailors and boats, and supervising racers while at regattas. As I’m sure you understand, the logistics of these regattas can sometimes become complicated!
Just to clarify, when competing for the club in a 420, sailors are permitted to use the AYC fleet of 420s, pending availability. We have a trailer that can carry up to three of these boats, however we will frequently need help with the towing as our access to vehicles capable of it is limited. Similarly, we will sometimes need assistance towing coach boats when the regatta venue is not immediately accessible by water. Another limiting factor to our regatta participation is our commitment to continuing program at Annisquam even whilst regattas are being held elsewhere.
When competing for the club in an Opti, sailors are encouraged to use their own boats. Barring this possibility, it is the responsibility of the racing sailor and his/her family to arrange to borrow a boat from another family. Please let us know if you need assistance finding families who own boats; we can only release boats to regattas when we have permission from the owners. For Opti regattas, we hope to be able to tow by water for most. For some, we will need parents to transport their own Opti’s. Always, we will look for parents to transport sailors and their rigs / blades. Exceptions will be made for Chowder Cup and, of course, Squam Day.
We have one of our largest regattas coming up in the next two weeks -- Marblehead Junior Race Week July 19 - 21. This regatta is larger and more competitive than our local series and we suggest that sailors who are confident in their racing skills and comfortable in tight maneuvering attend. That said, there are green (beginner) fleets for and we hope to have healthy attendance and to get as many kids who are interested in being there out on the water. We encourage you to talk to your racer about his or her goals and ambitions for the summer.
If your child is enrolled in a racing class and would like to attend Marblehead Jr Race Week, please register for this regatta online. If you are a 420 sailor, you may leave the sail number blank while we determine which boats will attend. If you sail and Opti, you may enter your own sail number or should seek to borrow a boat from someone else. If your child is not enrolled in a racing class, please direct him or her to discuss this regatta with his or her coach. You may also feel free to contact me directly.
Our hopes for support in Marblehead will include carpooling, towing the 420 trailer, and helping with supervision ashore. For the Opti fleet, we will also need assistance with Opti transport (by land or water). Please let us know if you can help with any of these support roles! We will post a sign up sheet for regatta volunteer positions (carpooling, boat transport, etc.) on the bulletin board outside of the classroom (upstairs in the club). Again, please do feel free to contact me with any questions or insights.
Looking forward to a great regatta season!
Click here for 2010 Regatta Schedule.
Kate Sundquist
aycjrsail@gmail.com
Director of Junior Sailing
Annisquam Yacht Club
