Author: Tim Sayles

We said that 4 boats were packed off for Garda.  Four US teams, there are more attending. From the US we have:

• USA 36 – Lin Robson with Richard Phillips (GBR), the team that just won US Nationals
• NZL 145 – Paul Scoffin and Pavel Ruzicka, both veterans of many Worlds and a team that placed 4th in NZL
• GBR 367 – Jonathan and Nigel Gorbold, a father and son team from Canandaigua.  Nigel has gotten big since the 99 Worlds and his days driving USA 1426
• USA 251 – Tim Sayles and Serge Leonidov, Serge is a former Star Olympics campaigner who will clearly add polish to tactics
• Also, Paul Hemker will be teaming up with Peter Doran in GBR 382.  Paul on the wire! Yea!

Everyone has their posses and we’ll introduce them all later.  Good luck to everyone!{jcomments on}

The USA team decided to make use of the new website to keep a combined record of our trip to Lake Garda for the 2011 World Championships. Looking back on prior trips, so much of what happened during WC adventures became lost and never reported to the rest of you.  So we decided to take advantage of the features of the new USA Class Website and provide an ongoing log of things that happen, places we see, conversations we have, new sailors and friends we meet and of course, racing results and thoughts.

A lot of folks are going from the US contingent – both family and friends – and we will all potentially report back in one way or another – through quick notes, pointers to race results, interviews and so on.  We may even be able so schedule a chat time that we all will participate in, so so watch for that. This should be fun.  At the same time we want to provide a lot of information to all the sailors here about Sant Crus Worlds next year. Much of that will be coming online very soon. 

Stay tuned, and pass the word around to check into this page so everyone can see what’s going on.{jcomments on}

After Nationals at the Noroton Yacht Club four boats were packed into a container for the boat trip to Malcesine, Italy.  At this point the ship is somewhere mid-Atlantic. We are hoping to have the container arrive at the Fraglia Vela Malcesine – the Malcesine sailing club – by June 27.   

Garda is the place you want to go if you want lots of wind, flat water and totally outrageous scenery. Been a favorite of FDer’s for many years.  Just check out the entry list – 125 entrants as of this writing!!! Wow!  Now that’s a regatta!  We’ll be providing some narration and pictures and even video of this Italian Alps location, so check back!

As for the loading of the container, we start out with a standard height container, 40′ long.  This is capable of handling 6 FDs with plenty of room for additional gear.  This time, there are two boats hoisted up against the ceiling and held in place with straps, along with a couple safety lines, just in case.  The other two boats were just strapped down to the floor.  Other packages include sailing gear, spars, tool boxes and extra parts.  Notice the bikes also.  Petrol is quite expensive in Europe!

The shipment must be accompanied by a Carnet, which is like a passport for property.  The items – individual packages – being shipped must be carefully listed and submitted along with fees and bond information so that official Carnet papers can be issued.  Like a passport, the Carnet is inspected and stamped when leaving or entering a country.  If there is any question about the shipment, the container may be opened and inspected by any customs authority.  So we hope our count is correct. 

All of the arrangements for this trip were handled by Kurt Hemmingsen, of Agility Logistics. Kurt is also an enthusiastic FD crew, typically seen on USA1, although they could not make this trip.  More on Kurt and Agility later.{jcomments on}