Arizona Yacht Club - Birthday Regatta – 2010 - Leukemia Cup Weekend

Known more for its phenomenally beautiful ‘Par 5s’ the likes of what Troon North and the TPC Championship course offer than for roll-tacking and gybing, Phoenix, AZ is not widely known as a sailing venue.   Despite this, however, it is home to the rebirth of the Viper 640 in the western US and just last weekend served as the field of battle for 10 Vipers fighting for the first points of the 2010 season and the first ever ownership of the highpoints kite, “le maillot jaune” (the Yellow Kite) during Arizona Yacht Club’s annual Birthday Regatta.  On Lake Pleasant, there is no such thing as a ‘brisk and steadily growing breeze from 270 degrees, clocking right’, as is on any given sunny Long Beach day, rather, the winds are variably light and ever changing, though I am proud to say less so than many of our beloved politicos inside the beltway these days.  Though not the conditions for which Bennet designed the Viper, the Lake does remind folks that in order to win, one must remember how to sail fast in all conditions.

The Viper 640 Class Association is very pleased to announce that Rondar has appointed an East Coast Representative to handle sales and service for the Viper Class. Rondar has been building out a network of regional reps to provide local service and distribution.  

The new East Coast representative is someone that Viper owners have come to know and trust over the years.  Paul Zimmerman has been sailing Vipers since the class started.  He bought hull #55 in 1999. He was one of the nine founding members of the Class Association when the Class Association restarted the class in 2004. He served as the first Chair of the Class Technical Committee for four years, judiciously steering the class through transitions to a carbon mast, a keel bulb that met international standards and a new spinnaker shape.  He remains a valuable and “hands on” member of the technical committee. Paul built and tested a prototype track and car system for retrofitting to our Gnavs.  He is a regular fixture in boat parks at regattas helping class newcomers rig, tune and fix their boats.  

The Bacardi Cup is a truly legendary sporting event in the world of yachting.  The first Bacardi Cup was held in 1927 in Havana.  The annual competition for the Trofeo Bacardi, also known as the Cup of Cuba, quickly became the most prestigious regatta on the international circuit for the Star Class.  The tradition of competition and hospitality continued until political unrest forced the Bacardi Cup to find a new home in 1962 at the Coral Reef Yacht Club in Miami, where under the patronage of the Bacardi family it has flourished ever since.  The winners’ roster reads like a who’s who of sailing greats.   
In 2010 for the first time in “Bacardi” history, the event organizers decided to invite other Classes in addition to the Star to participate in an event that will be called Bacardi Miami Sailing Week.  The Bacardi Company and the organizers wished to broaden the event but preserve the integrity and the history of the regatta.  We presented the Viper as a contemporary equivalent of the Star, a modern flat out racing boat that will respect the tradition of the Star Class. The inclusion of the Viper was supported by Coral Reef Yacht Club and the Bacardi Company and so we are very proud and honored to host our 2010 North American Championships at the 2010 Bacardi Miami Sailing Week.

 Please refer to the Website  http://www.miamisailingweek.com/index.html

Preliminary Schedule for 2010 North American Championships.

• Sunday March 7th:  CRYC Race for Early Arrivals. Welcome Cocktail Event.
• Monday March 8th: R&R. Bacardi Bar Hopping in evening.
• Tuesday March 9th Registration in morning. Practice Race in afternoon. Bacardi happy hour in evening.
• Wednesday March 10th 2010 Viper North American Championships. Racing Commences!  Party at Coconut Grove Sailing Club hosted by Bacardi.
• Thursday March 11th 10.30 am. Fleet photo op’. 11.50 am First Gun.  Bacardi Bar hopping in evening.
• Friday March 12th Day Three of racing. 4.00pm -6.00pm Bacardi rum tasting in the race village followed by Viper rendezvous at South Beach. 
• Saturday March 13th. Final Day of Racing. Awards Party from 4.00pm to 8.00pm at Peacock Park.

 The Race Committee aim to run 11 races over 4 days with one discard if 5 races are completed.
 
 Racing Vipers on Biscayne Bay is a dress rehearsal for heaven.  Sign up now  http://www.miamisailingweek.com/registration.html

David Guggenheim and the Crew on “Black Mamba” Win the South Eastern Championship for 2009. 

David Guggenheim won the hotly contested South Eastern Championship for 2009 (not to be confused with the Securites and Exchange Commission). He sailed a great series and is a true champion. With a major win at the ACC’s (Charleston Race Week) and the McIntosh in Savannah he was propelled to become the SE champion for 2009. David had several crew members throughout the series that helped him achieve this great accomplishment. I know he will be back to defend his title in 2010.
 
We had several folks that were in contention right up to the final race @ Lake Norman that made the series a lot of fun to compete in.
 
The entire series started back in November 2008; at beautiful Lake Sinclair and from there we had 7 more regattas and over 35 competitors scored that made up the series. Because of the number of regattas the overall scoring included 2 throw-outs. This series is a true showing of a sailor’s ability to sail in all types of conditions (light air; heavy air and current) provided by all the great venues (Lake Sinclair, Lake Lanier, Lake Norman, Miami, St. Petersburg, Savannah, and Charleston).
 
We are all looking forward to the 2010 SEC which will include the NAs at Bacardi Race Week in Miami in March.