"Hillbilly Cat's" is now "Sewell Mountain Sailing"

West Virginia has 65 new sailors and we have a new name.

When I decided to give back a little and start a free sailing school for the youth of WV., I would never have believed the success and joy this effort would bring. At the end of 2009, we count our fleet of training boats, at 9..and our graduates at 65. We are now offering three stages of training. Basic,Stage Two and Three (racing and Keel Boat)Our first 22' keel boat will arrive in the spring of 2010.

The state and people of WV.have been very supportive of our grass roots group. West Virginia Sports Radio (22 stations) and WHOA TV-4, have both ran stories and interviews on Sewell Mt. Sailing and it's efforts to promote sailing. Take another look at what we are doing: http://www.soapysails.webs.com

Hobie will make a run of Hobie 18 Hulls if we can get hard commitment from at least 10 buyers.

Ok folks, after some lengthy discussions with Hobie Cat Company, we finally have some hard numbers. Hobie will make a run of Hobie 18 Hulls if we can get hard commitment from at least 10 buyers. At this point we are looking at a price for two hulls of $6950.00 plus shipping. As a one time deal, you can order anything else you may feed for the boat, Tramp, Sails, Standing rigging, Rudders, Daggers, whatever, at a 20% discount. This is a unique opportunity to freshen up your tired old Hobie 18, or to dig one out of a storage yard somewhere and essentially "build" your own "new" Hobie 18. If you are interested in participating in this unique program/opportunity.

Speak Up NOW.
We need commitments from at least 10 people by the end of the first week in January if we are to get this pulled together in time for a May/June Delivery. Now that we have hard numbers, we can quantify the true level of interest. I would imagine that at some point, we will need a deposit so that Hobie Cat Company can be assured that they will not end up with a bunch of hulls sitting in the warehouse.

For the time being, I have volunteered to be the liaison between Hobie 18 Owners and Hobie Cat Company as we build interest.

In the interest of keeping inaccurate rumors to a minimum, please direct your questions and interest to me, although, I am sure that at some point you will need to get in touch with a dealer to place an order and make your deposit. Once we have all the details worked out, and before you actually part with any money, you will all get good accurate and reliable information on how to proceed.

NO part of ANY financial transaction will be handled by me. This will all be handled through authorized Hobie Dealers Only.

Stephen Cooley
MUST429@aol.com

2009 NACRA North American Championship

The 2009 Nacra North American Championships was held in Fort Walton Beach, Florida the week of October 12-15, 2009 and was sponsored by Performance Sports, Inc, the manufacturer of NACRA racing catamarans, Annapolis Performance Sailing, Harken USA, Emerald Sails, and ZHIK USA.  The event was hosted by the multihull friendly Fort Walton Yacht Club on beautiful Choctawhatchee Bay.  The North American Championships, or NAs, was open to the Nacra 20 class, the Nacra F18 class, and the Nacra F17 class.  However, the Nacra F18 class decided not to attend leaving only the 20s and F17s to mix it up on the bay.  Four races a day were scheduled for the 4 day event.

DAY 1 – Monday, October 12th

Monday dawned with sunny skies and a south to south west wind building to 8-12kts.  The FWYC Commodore said a few words welcoming all the teams and after skippers meeting, the sailors finished rigging their boats and set sail for a 1200 start.  The order of starts for the week was the 20s first followed by the F17s not on a rolling start.  The courses were US Sailing multihull courses 5G and 6G with an upwind finish leaving one more chance to be a hero or a zero!

After the fourth race of the day in the 20 fleet, Alex Shafer/Nigel Pitt wrapped up the day with finishes of 1, 1, 1, 2 to lead the fleet.  Wisconsin favorite Guy Selsmeyer was not far behind with finishes of 2, 2, 3, 6.  There was a big collision at the start of race 1 involving Kirk Newkirk and Chris Blake resulting in one of Kirk’s rudders coming off the boat.  Chris quickly sailed up to Kirk and the crews swapped boats.  Nice!!  Kirk went on to sail scoring a 4th and setting up a redress situation for the end of the day while Chris headed back to the beach for repairs.

In the F17 fleet, former 2 time class champion Bob Curry showed the way with an awesome first day score of 1, 1, 1, 1 followed by Jim Leonard with a score of 2, 3, 2, 2.  Curry was challenged at 2 A mark roundings and 1 gate by Bill Gillispie.  The battle line was being drawn between Jim and Bill as only 2 points separated them after the day’s racing.  It wasn’t very long after the races were concluded that the boats were washed off by mother nature.

After a three month break, the Endurance Series heads to Daytona Beach on August 1st for round two. The race boasts fierce competition, a great venue, online tracking, a leisure start time and a great fish fry.

Fierce Competition
The competition will be fierce with 18 boats preregistered including three of the past series champions and the defending Gilligan's Run champion. The defending series champions Bret Moss and Mark Jones with Carbon Cruising will definitely be the ones to watch. They suffered a broken spinnaker and had to retire early from the Keys 100 after a perfect start. Team CyberSpeed won the Endurance Series in 2007 and also won the first round (The Keys 100) of 2009 series. Rob Behrend was injured during the Keys 100 after he hit the port shroud to avoid a pitch pole in heavy wind and seas. Tristan Fiedler will be Rob's replacement teaming with Craig Van Eaton. Dave Ingram who won the first Endurance Series Championship will be competing with his wife Cathy forming Dingo Racing. This is their second year competing together and they are always at the top of the score card. Also making it a family affair is Team McDonald. Matt McDonald will either be racing with his wife Gina or his daughter Riley. Matt and his son, Peyton, won the race last year.

Ocean Springs Yacht Club, Ocean Springs, Mississippi Discuss Slip to Ship
It's getting close to the Slip to Ship Regatta (May 23-24, 2009). This is a fun two day distance regatta in its 24th year. It is a blast and we are ready to put S2S "Back on the Map."

I have listed the top three reasons not to miss it this year.

1. New club: Katrina be damned. We now have a beautiful facility, full kitchen, fuller bar expansive balcony.

2. New management/New Value: With the openning of the new building, we have sailors at the helm. We have heard your complaints and are responding.

Entry Fee: $50.00 (single handed), $60.00 (double handed). Late registration (after May 15, 2009) will be an additional $10.00. Entry fee will include the following:
a. a custom S2S regatta t-shirt for you and your crew (if applicable) b. contintental breakfast Saturday morning c. Beer and chicken out on the Island d. A Saturday Cajun dinner extrodinaire created by Robbie Halstad; e, An automatic entry in the sailor's door prize; f. Two Raffle tickets for the raffle;

3. Old school: We remember what makes a regatta fun: good wind, good food, good drink and friends. This year, we are striving to bring back the fun from the days of old. Call it our Reggatta stimulus package.

Remember, camping is permitted on our grounds.

Please fax or email your completed registration to fleetcaptain@osyc.com or (228) 865-7885. Also, while our physical address is 100 Front Beach, Ocean Springs. Please send all mail to P.O. Box 821, Ocean Springs, MS 39564

Please get your registration form in early to avoid the $10.00 late fee. I would also appreciate an email just to help us gauge the number os sailors to plan for.

More information can be found at www.osyc.com