Cold-Icebox Meeting
Monday September 22nd @ 7pm
This meeting was open to all. And, yes, icebox is no longer full.
There was much to discuss, in particular choosing the day of the week for our "Wednesday-night" racing series. Moving from Wednesday had been mooted for several years. 2015 is the year we will make the switch to Thursday-night racing. There are complications. We will move the Open Series (2015 Thu July 2 – Thu 30) to match the Spring and Fall Series — competitors who usually race at the Yacht Club on Wednesdays will have to prepare their schedule so as to race their boat on a different day of the week for the five Thursdays in July. The dates are firm as of now. Further planning will take place over the winter by the 2015 committee.
The Monday-night series will remain on Mondays for 2015. And there is nothing preventing us from moving Monday-night racing to improve the overall balance of racing. Tuesdays and Thursdays would be nice to avoid the weekend crunch. Should the gathering be wedded to The Open Series on a Wednesday, one possibility is swapping in the Monday Night racing onto Wednesdays in the Spring and Fall and leave July for the Open Series.
So a series of questions for competitors.
Are there days of the week impossible for you or your crew? Speak now or forever hold you peace.
Only one competitor indicated an inability to race on Thurdays. The gains outweigh the losses.
Can you race your boat with a full PHRF crew on a different day of the week in July than in the Spring and Fall? Having moved to a different night, to merge the South Port and Yacht Club boats in the Open Series it will be necessary for one or the other fleet.
Non-member boats expressed a willingness to race on Thurdays in July.
Would you take advantage of the different days to race at both the Yacht Club and at SPSC? Would you do so as crew or would you want to take your own boat?
There was interest both ways.
Would you like South Port approach the Yacht Club with a proposal to provide a finish in the lake or in front of SPSC for one or more classes?
No one at the meeting was interested in or believed we should approach the Yacht Club for an SPSC class. So close but so far away.
Do you prefer ECPA or DRYA handicapping? Essex County PHRF Association membership is inexpensive, but the level of activity is low. PHRF handicapping has a credibility problem that DRYA has been actively trying to address. Using DRYA for club races deserves our serious consideration.
This deserves a whole section of its own. Will report on it later.
Would you race in the Invitational regatta if it were held on the the July 4-5 weekend? Canada Day occurs on a Wednesday so there is no long weekend in 2015. Pinning the Invitational to the Canada Day weekend for 2016, 2017, 2018 , 2019 could be a boost to long-term planning and provide a great opportunity for both social and racing activity. Do you like the current 2 day event or would you prefer a 1 day regatta?
There was a strong push for the Invitational to be moved to the beginning of July. It will require a certain amount of co-ordination with ECPA and quite a bit with DRYA to get it on their calendar as a viable event for PHRF boats.
As regards whether the invitational should be a 1 or 2 day event, only a few wxpressed a preference — 4 to 3 in favour with most abstaining.
Would you race on the August 1-3 long weekend? This is always a long-weekend so would only be a good candidate for a multi-day regatta.
This weekend will be reserved for the multiday dinghy regatta.
Would you prefer a weekend regatta earlier in the year?
Ho hum.
Did you attend the Harvest Moon Regatta and if so what made it successful? We would like to repeat that success but really don't know what it was that brought you all out.
Emails still welcome.
A History of Good Ideas
Much that is good about the racing programme at South Port cam about as a result of previous hot stove meetings — our eight mark octagon of marks, the Monday-night series and our Open Series all arose from suggestions made by racers at a hot-stove meeting. Please do not confine yourselves tho the issues addressed above. And pleas to mail to the list anything you would like discussed at the meeting, so others can consider it beforehand.
