Just sitting here thinking about sailing and where to go in 2005. Yeah I know it is really early to start thinking about road trips for the next year but hey it’s normal for me due to work.
How far do others travel for sailing with other skippers within thier boat class? Not thinking about championships but just sailing and some informal racing
For me if I want to sail with other Victoria class skippers I have a travel time of 19 hours round trip. This makes the trip a three day event. two days travel and a day of sailing. If the club agrees to meet for a day of sailing and not just 4 hours.
Now to sail the Seawind that is ordered (Yes Cougar I ordered one today) it appears to sail with others will be a 8 day round trip. There may be clubs closer sailing the Seawind but the AMYA site doesn’t show any. ALso checked the Seawind class page and it appears major travel time would be needed also.
How many others are in the same “boat” so to speak?
As a side note I was in a hobby shop in Calgary Alberta on the weekend and the clerk there said they have sold a lot of the Seawind boats( 5 in last three months). But he did not know for sure who these owners are or where exactly they live. I left my name and number plus a email address and the clerk said he would pass it on to each Victoria and Seawind sale. So maybe instead of the long hauls for sailing road trips will be shorter in 2005
If that were my choice… I would take the money/time equivilant and buy another boat and either give it to a friend, or take it with me to the pond in the hopes that someone else would come by. Offer to sell it to them at half price… take the loss, make a new friend and have someone to sail with locally. All that driving would make me nuts. Then really try to get out the news, take pics and leave them off at the hobbyshop(s) send them to the local newspaper for human interest stories, start a club and now you are a non-profit organization… (qualify for free press… don’t forget the radio stations may run your ad for FREE… and one good mention at prime driving time might get quite a few responces.
Get it going and those guys out of town will come to YOUR pond to sail. That makes going back and forth better and more fun because then you can reciprocate with your group.[:D]
Jeff
I have been as far as Nanaimo (100 mi.)and will be going to Victoria (150 mi.)as I have found someone there that is willing to teach me the finer points. Any farther than that means the dreaded B.C. Ferries which puts another $100 in the already high gas price($.87 L.) You can stop in Camrose and get cheap gas.
Don
P.S. I know there is people in the world paying a lot more than that for gas but their cars probably get better mileage than my truck’s 9mpg.
Yeah BC ferries are way expensive from what I have heard. One two I have ridden in BC are the ones near Nelson and thank god they were free as the day we used them the interact was down. Had 15.00 on me till we got to Revelstoke.
Larry
Hmm free ads ,not likely here. As for starting a club well we are working on it but only two here sailing so growth is slow.
This sounds like a good excuse to plan a “Sail in” somewhere in the northern half of Vancouver Island - just to keep Don in company. Don - I get up your way about once every two years (I have family in Victoria, and they have a cabin about 80 minutes drive north of Nanaimo). I’ve already visited this summer - so how about summer 2006? All comers, all classes. It’ll be the biggest thing since Woodstock. Can you host us?
JEFF
i know this sounds wierd . but this is how it always works. you find a pond near you. and you form your own group of friends. Soon you call your self a club. but as you go along you find “hey there is a race next town over” and you travel. I myself drive 2 hours to barrie just to go to thier reggata. when you get big enough you have your own and you invite the other club to come. I dont know how many miles i have put on the car. just to GO sailing . i dont mention racing. but look around youself you should find a couple of clubs with a 4 hour drive. that is the limit i put on myself. 4 hour there and 4 hour back. my wife comes first and at times we have decided to spend the night at a given reggata. this is what we have decided. you have to decide what you neeed to expect and want . some of my friends go and drive over 10 hours just to race.
cougar
long live the cup and cris dickson
This sounds like a good excuse to plan a “Sail in” somewhere in the northern half of Vancouver Island - just to keep Don in company. Don - I get up your way about once every two years (I have family in Victoria, and they have a cabin about 80 minutes drive north of Nanaimo). I’ve already visited this summer - so how about summer 2006? All comers, all classes. It’ll be the biggest thing since Woodstock. Can you host us?
Possibly? At the moment we sail in an estuary that is being returned to its natural state by Ducks Unlimited and a couple of other groups.These people don’t even want you near the water let alone in it. It’s amazing to live in one of the wettest areas on the continent and we can’t find a good place to sail. All the lakes are surrounded by trees and you get no wind near the shore. I just got of the phone 10 minutes ago with a local politition about putting some buoys in the water and was told to just keep quiet and don’t let anyone know you are there. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. A park is being planned and part of it includes a wharf and viewing platform. This is close to the ocean and exposed so we would be getting the sea breezes. If it is the spot I am thinking about(it’s a large area) it was where I originally wanted to sail and was turned away by a float plane company that used it for emergency landings. Apparently they are getting the boot to parkize(new word) the area. I’m kind of pumped- this COULD be great. I’m going to have to cross my fingers all winter.
Don
Don’t just sit there with fingers crossed. I don’t know how many in your area are sailing r/c but ,try to get in on the planning of the park. at least on the water front of it. Looking at some “lakes” you see cement sidewalks all around it. and nice water depth near the shore makes lauching easy no wading. If you do it right you may end up with the best r/c water in BC. Might be hard to beat Kelowna as there area is very nice.
I have no problem in the idea of travelling for a regatta. Did this when I was involved in 3d archery. longest trip to a event was 22 hours one way. Like you I combined the archery event with a holiday and the wife loved it. COst a fortune but what the heck.
And even though the AMYA web site shows a club north of me in Calgary (2.5 hours)there isn’t. Calgary’s club has not operated in about two years. Few are sailing up there but no wants to work together to set up a day to sail. I have tried but do to thier work schedules and mine nothing seems to come together.
I guess it is a curse to live in western Canada as r/c sailing is not a big thing here yet. (I am working on it)
Oh well Road trips are fun. and she who must be obeyed likes to travel so no problems here.
Jeff…you want to come over here??..we are 2!!! and we can sail together once a month…best we can do…i d love to have more ppl…but no one seems to like rc sailing