Nova Scotia may be more known for their smoked salmon than for their yacht racing, but we dig the energy and the new ‘Exchange’ idea coming from the folks at the Lunenberg Yacht Club in Nova Scotia, home of what looks to be a fun J/29 North Americans. Check out their thread here, and here’s their latest note:
You have to pull together a lot of pieces to participate in a major regatta. You need a decent boat to start with. You also need a decent crew not to mention enough of them to do all the jobs involved. You also have to get to the event, which can be the single biggest challenge if the event is not in your own backyard. If you are travelling from away, furthermore, you will likely need a place to stay, which can also be a substantial challenge if you have a large crew and are, perhaps, going to a smaller place where they don’t have an 11-storey Marriott to accommodate everyone together.
We have 16 committed boats for the J29 North Americans in Lunenburg. We want at least 20. We know there are lots of competitive boats that have not tossed their “hats” in the ring. Several of them are in Atlantic Canada and several of those are floating right on Mahone Bay where the regatta will take place. There are also good sailors interested. I’ve spoken with a top Laser sailor who once finished in the top three in the world, has sailed many big boats since, and has strong Nova Scotia connections, and he has expressed an interest in coming to Lunenburg to mix it up. We’ve also had notification from many local keelboat crew of their interest in filling out crews. These include good local keelboat helmspersons, foredeck people, pit monsters, and others of varied size and capability who can do everything from sit quietly but effectively on the side of a boat to run the whole show.
We realize that if we are going to get the 5 to 10 boats that we would really like to add to our list we are going to have to bring some things together. Consequently, we are starting an Exchange page today where we will post any notice you want us to have concerning the J29 NAs. Its kicking off with a notice about Joe Blair’s cottage on Second Peninsula, which sounds like a lovely place to put up a J29 crew for a week or so during the North Americans and Chester Race Week.
We are interested in adding other information and offers. We have a form for formal offers and the page allows the entry of comments. You can offer stuff for rent or sale, or your services or the services of others. You can also enter a comment to indicate your interest in getting organized with others perhaps as the leader of a potential team, the provider of a boat for loan or charter, or as filler for someone who has 1,400 lbs of crew but figures it would be useful to get a bit closer to the 1,600 lbs maximum. We’ll try to organize the concrete offers under headings like Accommodations, Boat Charters, Crew, and so on, so that folks can find what they need quickly to meet their needs.
We are having a party and we want everyone to come out. If you don’t have the clothes, the limo, the date, or the after party venue, we are here to help. Put it on the wall and see who you can work with.
