We’re ready to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Lake Hartwell Spring Fever Regatta.

The dates are firm, the food is ordered from the Honey Baked Ham Company, the sponsors are being lined up, the campsite's reserved, and several dozen other items are being finalized. In short, we are ready except for your preregistrations. Click here for The NOR, along with most of the details, and the on-line Preregistration pages are up and running at http://www.TwinHulls.com/springfever.

As in previous years, you do not need to send your money when you preregister. We will collect it upon your arrival. (Honest, we won't forget.) Once you have preregistered, we do ask that you notify us should something come up that would keep you from attending. Be sure and visit the "See Who Else is Coming" page and make sure your name is on the list. It will be updated every couple of days as time permits. Although we strongly encourage you to be active and support your class organizations and US Sailing as well, current membership in these organizations is not a requirement for this year's Spring Fever Regatta.

As always, we are open to all catamarans. All boats must carry appropriate insurance and all adults attending will be required to sign a Liability Release form before participating in any regatta events. Come join us for a guaranteed good time and we'll do our best to have enough wind available. See you in the spring! .....Nigel & Mr.Ernie

St. Petersburg, Fla. (February 16, 2007) – On the opening day of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta in St. Petersburg, Fla., wild weather conditions proved a challenge for the record 195 boats competing. Gusting 15-17 knot northerly wind combined with a sharp dip in temperature – where the high temp registered a mere 40 degrees – and created an unusual test for competitors who traveled to the west coast of Florida despite the snow storms that crippled the nation’s travelers earlier this week.

Newport, R.I. (February 13, 2007) – While most of the country is preparing for a winter storm this week, over 1500 sailors are headed to Florida for the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (N.O.O.D.) Regatta, in St. Petersburg, Fla.  Scheduled for February 16-18 at host St. Petersburg Yacht Club, the regatta’s organizers are preparing for 200 teams spread across 19 one design classes. Daily racing will take place on Tampa Bay under the guidance of Principal Race Officer (PRO) Peter “Luigi” Reggio, who also is known as the PRO for the America’s Cup. The 2006 defending overall champion, John Storck (Huntington, N.Y.), will return to J/80 class competition with his Rumor.

The largest class is the Melges 24 with 40 boats set to compete. “As usual the class is deep in talent this year,” said Reid Collins (Flowery Branch, Ga.), the U.S. Melges Class Southeast Governor and skipper of Desperate Measures.  “From the South, I'd have to say Bob Dockery (Longboat Key, Fla.) on Barracuda could be one to watch, while our class president, Scott Gregory (Marietta, Ga.), with pro sailor Scott Nixon as tactician is another.  Steve Jones (Silver Point, Tenn.) on Sick Puppy came close to winning the regatta last year, so he may be one as well.  If I opened this up to outside the South, I definitely would have to add Argyle Campbell (Newport Beach, Calif.) on Rock 'N Roll and John Pollard (Torquay, U.K.) on Excellent, both of whom regularly compete at the very top of the class.” The regatta doubles as the first of seven scheduled for the southeast circuit. 

Middletown, R.I. (February 13, 2007) – Sailing World and Sperry Top-Sider have announced an inaugural partnership with Sailing for Miracles, an organization created to raise awareness within the sport of sailing and to encourage giving back to the local community.  Participants in the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (N.O.O.D.) Regatta in St. Petersburg, scheduled for February 16-18 at host St. Petersburg Yacht Club, will have the opportunity to support Sailing for Miracles through donations and fund-raising efforts at the event.  All proceeds generated by Sailing for Miracles will benefit All Children’s Hospital, a leading center for pediatric treatment, education and research, in St. Petersburg.  All NOOD sailors who make a donation of $50 or more will be given an exclusively designed Sailing for Miracles burgee, donated by Sperry Top-Sider and Sailing World.  In addition daily raffles of gifts contributed by the regatta’s sponsors will be held as well.

The Fort Worth Boat Club (FWBC) is pleased to announce that it is starting a beachcat race series on Eagle Mountain Lake, located northwest of Fort Worth, TX.

The racing will begin on April 15th and run through Dec. 9th. The season will consist of 5, six race series which run every Sunday at the FWBC (see calender for exact dates; http://www.fwbc.com ), first gun is at 2:00 pm. Fleet membership is required to participate in the series. For more information contact me at fwbccatsailor(AT)hotmail.com. I look forward to seeing all of you on the line in April.

Kevin Yeoman
FWBC Multihull Fleet Captain