US Snipe Sailor If your e-mail is like mine you have just been covered up recently with e-mails concerning the Snipe Midwinter Circuit. Perhaps too many. Left unattended for a couple of days over the Thanksgiving holiday, my inbox filled up and shut down. And I’m told Facebook exploded with comments. Whew!!
In the meantime, stay tuned. It is a healthy sign that so many of our fellow sailors care as much as they do and take the time to express their opinion. May it always be so. For the coming year, dates and events are unchanged, so make your plans to be in Clearwater March 18 for the start of the bestever Midwinter Championship and as many of the Circuit events as you can make.
For those fortunate enough to have missed the electronic exchanges of ideas, here are the basics in a nutshell: for 25 years or more And if the winter blahs make you feel you can’t the Midwinter Championship, a regatta that wait that long, there other regattas in sunny has been held for 75 years, has led off our Florida including the Miami Snipe Invitational annual “Spring Vacation,” followed by the Brainard Cooper, on New Year’s Day and the Gaspar/Florida State Don Q Regatta in Miami. After this boats US National Secretary Championship in St. Pete on Jan. 10. would be shipped to Nassau for the Bacardi and Gamlin regattas, giving Snipe sailors the opportunity Not to be outdone, Snipers in District 6 are getting to compete in a truly international event almost on our an early start on the year by holding their District doorstep. The Circuit is and has been a bellwether event Championship in February. that other classes envy, and it has attracted the very best Snipe sailors in the country year after year, as well as So, as we wrap up another great Snipe year, the Board of Northern Europeans escaping the snows at home. In SCIRA USA wish all Snipers everywhere a Happy Holiday recent years, however, entries in the three venue, four Season and the Best Serious Sailing-Serious Fun New Year regatta Snipe Midwinter Circuit (the Southern Circuit) ever! - bc have been somewhat less than we would have hoped, especially for the two Nassau regattas which draw the Europeans, but few US sailors. Thinking to “change the equation,” District 4 Governor Steve Lang has floated the idea that perhaps we should alter the schedule by holding the two Nassau regattas first, followed by the Don Q in Miami and then the Clearwater Midwinters, leaving the dates unchanged. The response to this proposal has been nothing short of overwhelming. Many have written in support of the change, while the minority of the respondents object. In fairness to those who support the change, change simply for the sake of change can frequently lead to a positive outcome. Those opposed, on the other hand, cite hard fact to support their position, the most germane of which is the unreliability of ship borne transportation from Nassau to Miami, a situation which has become worse in the years since the tragedy of 9-11-01 with the addition of TSA screening in addition to customs and security. If SCIRA USA is going to support then proposed change in schedule, it goes without saying that this transportation problem must be worked out.
SCIRA USA 2812 Canon Street San Diego, CA 92106 619-222-0252 Danielle Richards, Executive Administrator danielle@odmsail.com Sherri Campbell, SCIRA Finances sherri@odmsail.com Jerelyn Biehl, SCIRA Executive Director jerelyn@odmsail.com or scira@snipe.org
Winter 2015
SCIRA US Perpetual Fund For over 25 years, the SCIRA USA Perpetual Fund has generated income for the purposes of promoting the class and making grants to junior sailors from the US representing our country at international Snipe events. Its partial impact is demonstrated in the following quote:
“Thank you SCIRA for the generous grant to my crew… and I. Without your grant, our amazing trip may not have been possible. Thank you so much.”
The letter excerpted above was received at the US SCIRA office from one of the junior sailors who represented SCIRA USA at the recent Junior Worlds in Rio de Janiero. The grant came specifically from the Perpetual Fund. We’d like to thank the 2014 Perpetual Fund donors listed below. Consider a donation for 2015 to help support SCIRA USA junior sailors. 2014 SCIRA USA Premium Memberships Premium Gold Memberships Premium Platinum Members
Robin Baker, Fleet 51
John Beall, Fleet 1
Renee Bartell, Fleet 495
Martin Bebb, Fleet 68
Kathy Bronaugh, Fleet 330
Lee Bradley, Fleet 330
George Buck, Fleet 495
Charlie Bustamante
Ned Daly, Fleet 532
Vince Casalaina, Fleet 12
Packy Davis, Fleet 12
Peter Commette, Fleet 7
Henry Filter, Fleet 532
Tarasa Davis, Fleet 330
Martin Fraser, Fleet 777
Henry Davis, Fleet 309
Doug Hart, Fleet 495
Peter Devlin, Fleet 554
Matthew Heywood, Fleet 762
Berkley Duck, Fleet 409
Robert Hunt, Fleet 654
Past Commodore Peter Fenner, Fleet 1
Philip Lee, Fleet 309
Sigrid Festersen, Fleet 309
Harry Levinson, Fleet 77
Jose Fuentes, Fleet 532
Michael Mack, Fleet 12
Hal Gilreath, Fleet 630
Eliot Payson, Fleet 640
Past Commodore Lee Griffith, Fleet 256
Lisa Foulke Pline, Fleet 532
Donald Hackbarth, Fleet 330
George Rood, Fleet 309
Mark Hasslinger, Fleet 532
Greg Saldana, Fleet 520
Tom Henderson, Fleet 330
Dave Schibler, Fleet 495
Thomas Hunt, Fleet 654
Steve Snider, Fleet 68
Andrew Klein, Fleet 77
William Swanton, Fleet 77
Carolyn Krebs, Fleet 495
John Tagliamonte, Fleet 244
Eric Krebs, Fleet 495
Jim Tomassetti, Fleet 18
John Lally, Fleet 77
Bill Welch, Fleet 801
Andrea Levinson, Fleet 705
Sherry Welch, Fleet 801
Gilmore O’Neill, Fleet 777
Peter Wolcott, Fleet 231
Michael Papp, Fleet 828
Joel Zackin, Fleet 231
Andrew Pontious, Fleet 12 Neal Snebold, Fleet 77 Eugene Soltero, Fleet 1 Berta Swanson, Fleet 77 Doug Swenson, Fleet 210
Winter 2015
Premium Silver Membership Ellen Booth, Fleet 18 Robert Bowden, Fleet 495 Jim Bowers, Fleet 77
2
Larry Briggs, Fleet 567
Rick Scofield, Fleet 309
Larry Bull, Fleet 330
Chris Scofield, Fleet 309
Mike Choquette, Fleet 68
Robert Smith, Fleet 532
J. Scott Cline, Fleet 142
Steve Stewart, Fleet 495
Tom Colligan, Fleet 444
Jim Stillson, Fleet 1
Charles Courtsal, Fleet 103
William Thomas, Fleet 567
Robert Coyle, Fleet 244
David Tillson, Fleet 495
Carol Cronin, Fleet 17
Simon Verghese, Fleet 77
Norman Dahl, Fleet 103
Kenneth Voss, Fleet 7
Gary Derrick, Fleet 14
Chuck Wahl, Fleet 567
Ian Elliott, Fleet 330
Darryl Waskow, Fleet 256
Martin Fetsch, Fleet 532
Mark Williams, Fleet 1
Patrick Flood, Fleet 309
William Worster, Fleet 433
Cameron Fraser, Fleet 777
Clifford Wright, Fleet 444
Jack Gannon, Fleet 77 Neil Gerren, Fleet 110 Richard Grant, Fleet 137 Ernest Hardy, Fleet 244 Brian Hetherington, Fleet 532 Kevin Hetherington-Young, Fleet 77 R. Douglas Howson, Fleet 12 Stephan Irgens, Fleet 705 Monica Irgens, Fleet 705 Robert Jackman, Fleet 495 David James, Fleet 444 James Lampros, Fleet 533 Steve Lang, Fleet 801 David Lence, Fleet 7 Dee Lockwood, Fleet 533 Dick Loomis, Fleet 12 Pedro Lorson, Fleet 258 Jim MacKenzie, Fleet 210 John MacRae, Fleet 244 Theresa Manning, Fleet 24 John Marx, Fleet 10 Shan McAdoo, Fleet 554 Terry McSweeney, Fleet 747 Stephen Milt, Fleet 77 Ava Moore, Fleet 330 Michael Otto, Fleet 190 Jaime Peva, Fleet 532 Ken Redler, Fleet 495 Bryan Reich, Fleet 7 Phil Richmond, Fleet 532 John Rose, District 7
3
Perpetual Fund Donors Mr. William Brush
Mr. Richard Tillman
Mr. & Mrs. Charlie Bustamante
Mr. Gustav Wirth
Mr. Tom Colligan
Lake Manawa Sailing Assn
Mr. Brainard Cooper
Prima Distribution, Inc
Mr. & Mrs. Charles Courtsal Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Dalgleish Mr. Jno Disch Mr. William Felder Mrs. Sigrid L. Festersen Mr. & Mrs. Patrick M. Flood Mrs. Jane Flood Mr. & Mrs. Jose Fuentes Mr. Neil Gerren Mr. & Mrs. John Gondring Mr. & Mrs. Richard Grant Mr. David Haggart Mr. Philip Lee Mr. & Mrs. John MacRae Mr. & Mrs. John G. Mauel Mr. Todd S. McBride Mr. Terry McSweeney Ms. Laura D. O’Leary Mr. & Mrs. Robert Recker Mr. Harrison Reisinger Mr. & Mrs. George A. Rood Mr. Frederic C. Scofield Mr. & Mrs. Robert Smith Mr. Bill Swanton Mr. Douglas G. Swenson
Winter 2015
SCIRA USwww.snipeusa.com Racing Calendar Month
Date
January January January January/Feb February February Feb/March March March March July July August
1-4 10-11 24-25 31-1 6-8 21-22 28-1 16-18 21-23 25-29 3-5 10-16 7-14
August
14-15
Winter 2015
Event
Host
Miami Snipe Invite Gaspar/Florida State Championship Las Vegas Regatta Comodoro Rasco District 6 Championship - Worlds Qualifier Georgia State Championship E.E. Manning Series Snipe Midwinters Don Q Rum Keg Bacardi/Gamblin/Kelly SCIRA North American Championship Pan American Games SCIRA USA Junior & Special Junior National Championship & Classic Boat & National Championship GFU
Miami, FL St. Petersburg Yacht Club Mission Bay Yacht Club Coconut Grove Sailing Club San Diego Yacht Club Valdosta Yacht Club Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Clearwater Yacht Club Coconut Grove Sailing Club Royal Nassau Yacht Club Royal Hamilton Yacht Club Toronto, ON, CAN Mission Bay Yacht Club Mission Bay Yacht Club
Sanctioned
Y Q
Y, Q Y, Q