Coming Next August...VALUE For Your Hard-Earned Regatta $.

Delivering Value For The

Sailing Dollar:

Here in Sheboygan We’ve Been Obsessing About That.

Question:
 “Hey your organizers of the 2014 NA’s, I’ve heard you’re only charging $299 for the NAs. Is this some bare bones bait and switch? How can it really be that cheap? What’s included with my entry fee? “

Answer:

We are SO glad you asked that. We are proud of the value we can offer even at this relatively low price point.

Included in the ‘Regular’ NA’s $299 entry fee:

-At least 2 kegs of free microbrew after each day of racing with daily SWAG raffles.

-Traditional “Sheboygan Brat Fry” dinner on Sunday evening

-Dinner on Tuesday

-3 tickets to the Awards Banquet at The Blue Harbor Resort on Friday evening

-2 “What Was Happening Out There?” debrief/coaching sessions led by Greg Fisher

Included in the $150 for the Masters and Women entry fee and the $50 Junior entry fee you get:

-1 keg of free microbrew after each day of racing (Sorry, Juniors don’t get this but they do get entered in the SWAG raffles)

-Mexican Fiesta dinner party on Saturday evening

- Traditional “Sheboygan Brat Fry” dinner on Sunday evening

-Greg Fisher will be on the water shooting video and observing on Friday and Saturday. He will lead a video debrief and coaching session each of those days after sailing. This service is being funded by a grant from SEAS (Sailing Education Association of Sheboygan)

Options:

•Extra tickets will be available for all of the events. If you have friends and family along who would like to join the fun they are most welcome.

•Sheboygan Yacht Club will also be open for dining on the nights when event dinners are not held. You are welcome to eat in the dining room and order off the regular menu (reservations appreciated.)

•There will also be a short order  grill operating every evening for those who want to hang out outside or under the tents.

 •The club will be offering a la carte breakfast items each morning.

 • Competitor lunches to take on the water will be available every day for $6. You may order these for every day of the regatta with your online registration, at on-site registration, or the evening before you would like them.

• One of the neatest things about Sheboygan is that it has a whole generation of new restaurants within walking distance of the club. You will want to try some on the off nights. In fact that's why we've PLANNED the off nights! Sheboygan is wired so that the local merchants are actually EXCITED when sailors come to compete. That's kinda nice...and its actually true. There will be information about these options in your registration packet.

• Last, but certainly not least,  the famous Sheboygan Yacht Club bar and the “Tiki” bar in the Club’s  brand new Lowell North Pavilion. You will enjoy getting to know Barb the bartender and our club manager Sean.

• Temporary club memberships will be available so you may charge food, drinks…bail. Unfortunately I just checked and SYC does not have any Underhills on the member roster.

Update:

We continue actively on the look-out for sponsorship funding. The plan is to use additional donations to add features to the offerings at the same price point. SOLID MIDWESTERN VALUE…THAT IS SHEBOYGAN. We may not be LA baby, but have you looked at the rack rate at the Beverly Hills Hotel?! Here the beverages are cold and inexpensive and consistently available. 

Subliminal message: 

100 boats. 

Introducing A Person You Will Be Very Glad You Know In Sheboygan.

This past weekend marked the addition of a new member of our 2014 North American's Organizing team. Tess Larson joined us as COO. Todd Wake who is the Off-Water Regatta Chairman  and Bill Faude On-Water Chairman are delighted Tess has decided to join our squad.

                                                    -Faude photo which Tess does not particularly enjoy.

                                                 - Larson action photo Tess prefers.

As COO, Tess is responsible for helping make sure the W-M-Js and the NAs...operate smoothly. Before the regatta dates, Tess will help make sure the different committee chairmen are making the necessary progress on their deliverables. She will help keep us on schedule and when we discover we need something we  don't have a plan for, she will help make it happen.

During the regatta Tess will be the daily contact functioning as a go-between for the Sail Sheboygan and Sheboygan Yacht Club staff and the regatta organization. She will be a great asset in that roll for two reasons: 1. She has seemingly never met a problem who's A _ _ she couldn't kick. 2. As a local who practically grew up at SYC, she is well known to most everyone we're counting on. She also has more energy than most small Middle Eastern Emirates.

Tess will also be a great contact for you when you arrive. Need to know where to be or when to be there? Just Ask Tess. You can always go to Fred and Gail the regatta concierge team but when in doubt your can also Just Ask Tess. That's kinda catchy.

Tess Larson grew up in Sheboygan. Her family has a J-80 docked in the club slips. She graduated from The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a degree in Comprehensive English Education. She then got her Masters Degree from the University Wisconsin-Green Bay in Applied Leadership in Teaching and Learning. She is currently employed as a High school educator teaching English and journalism. Her Journalism students produce the school newspaper...among the first nationally to distribute their journalism 100% on-line. They are a very tree-friendly bunch and all social media'd up.

Prior to becoming regatta COO, Tess was a member of our social media committee. Come to think of it, she still IS a member of our social media committee. Through some clerical error, she was not allowed to divest herself of those duties, so she will be on the water during the regatta tweeting mark rounding positions, assisting with getting finishing scores and photographs quickly posted to the Sail Sheboygan website. To bad Tess didn't have Tess to help solve that problem...

Just over 184 days until the first day of measurement. We are very psyched to welcome more than 100 boats!!!

Happy...Yes. Spring...No So Much.

Good Morning, it is February 1, 2014.
All the best from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

NOAA Photo

As of this morning, there are six months and six days until (187 Days) until the first day of measuring for the WMJs at the 2014 North American Championships. This morning, we are having our February organizational meeting where we are going to be discussing:

• The Electronic Registration Form and the included credit card payment option.

• The menu and the costs for the daily 'on water' lunches that will be available at the club every

   morning.

• Updates on the boat and car parking plans.

• Additional thinking about RV parking options.

• The registration packages and the regatta program.

• Guest charge privileges. 

• The on-site sportswear and regatta equipment provider arrangements.

• Options to open the harbor with explosives should the ice not have melted by August.

Faude Photo

The above photo was taken during some recent through-ice recovery training by the local fire rescue team. (News flash: They did not locate the rudder I lost just about right there during the Brotz Regatta of 1997.)

Yes, Polar Vortex and Son of Polar Vortex (PV-II) have been through these parts and they remind properly-aged people of 1978 when we used to have...winters like this. We're told that Lake Michigan is now approximately 45% frozen. But we can still see open water from the Sheboygan Yacht Club Bar. It's blue and liquid and we could probably plane across it for about 3 minutes before requiring a hot toddy and a head examination.  If anything, the lake is quieter than usual. There is no sound of breaking waves because the ice shelf extends a ways out toward the race course.

This is all to say that we are NOT letting this winter slow us down!! Our outstanding team of volunteers will be out in force this morning. We've been joined by one more VERY important member who you will meet in my next blog post. We're excited for this weather to reverse itself and welcome you at the 2014 Lightning North Americans in just, lets see... 4,488 short hours from now. Whew, that is right around the corner. I recommend you go out to the garage and check your trailer light connection right this minute.

The Best News About Sail Measuring You've Ever Gotten In January!

Up here in Wisconsin, we are always on the lookout for ways to make attending the North American Championship Regattas more enticing. An important component in that is an ongoing effort to ferret out annoyances (By the way, how come ferrets get that verb? I think a hamster could 'hamster' things out and be very effective...more on this emerging topic in the coming months...)  that often accompany any out-of-town regatta. Our thinking is that the more little pains we can remove, the more fun we’ll all have. It’s a simple idea. Now to execute it well…

                                           Credit for all photos in this post goes to: Fergus Henderson  

One thing that has always been a little annoying about the NAs is boat measurement. As a class we’ve made big strides in making that very necessary process less painful. And this year we’re going to make one more. We will not be measuring every boat’s sails.

Let me say that again: We will not be measuring every boat’s sails in Sheboygan.

Measuring boats goes pretty quickly. If you keep your crew with the boat and the crew knows where everything is, the measurement hosts help keep the process going in a pretty- ahem- ‘measured’ fashion. But sail measurement requires one or two crew to carry the sails to the measurement floor…

Removing them from the boat right when they are really needed to pull out safety gear or fold up a travel cover. In addition, measuring 5 sails per boat takes exactly as long as it takes to do it right…which can be awhile. Bottom line: for a lot of effort, very very few sails fail to measure.

Chief Measurer Clausen is willing to think progressively. He has agreed that this year we will inspect each sail for an ILCA royalty and distinctively mark the 1 main, 2 jibs and 2 spinnakers each boat is permitted to use in the regatta.  Every sail being used in the event must display the ILCA royalty and the regatta mark. Any boat using a sail that doesn’t have those two marks is assuming a risk that can lead to disqualification. During the regatta, the sail mylars will be in place to allow Chief Measurer Clausen to spot check any sail he requests.

Please remember, as a competitor, you remain responsible for using legal sails…just as you have always been. The number on your sails must still match a boat you own. The number on the main must match the number on the spinnaker And all numbers must be rendered in colors that contrast their backgrounds so they may be easily read. None of that changes. If you have concerns that your sails might be living near the edge, you can request a measurement, although clearly the Association doesn’t think that is roundly necessary.

We hope this little change helps stamp out hassle and squeezes in a few ounces more fun.  The same level of measurement compliance--less aggravation...FUN! And MORE FUN is what we’re up here in the arctic section of balmy Wisconsin scheming (obsessing?) about. If you have any questions or comments about this, just drop me a line at bfaude@gmail.com or just make a comment following this post.

January 6, 2014: Minus 15 degrees and almost completely unlike the conditions you will experience here next August.

A Lifetime of Lightning Learning...Listen Up.

As you are no doubt aware...our 2014 Lightning North American Championships organizing committee is constantly on the look-out for ways to VAPORIZE any barrier that might stand in the way of a Lightning team's attending the regatta next August.

One of those potential barriers might be childcare logistics. We're on it. Our team has been looking at ways to provide a safe/giggly/educational experience for kids who would not normally be sailing in the NAs. I'm a marketing guy so I've given the project the following working title:

Kids eating ice cream, cooling out at the beach rainbow looming, killing time with new friends, also sailing, while seriously supervised. (A KickA_ _ time).

KICKA_ _  will be available to children from the hour gun before sailing each morning until you sign them out after your team hits the dock each afternoon.

Jake Faude at the helm. Photo courtesy of Faude Family Foto Foundation

Some of the activities planned are:
• Opti Sailing in the Sail Sheboygan Opti Fleet. (Bring your own tiller extension if you are serious).
• Laser Sailing on a Sail Sheboygan Laser if you are too big for an Opti.
• A trip to the Blue Harbor water park.
• A trip out on the water in a big powerboat or a big sail boat to watch the days races.
• A group sailing trip out on a J-24 with instructors and nutritious food (gluten free options available).
• A picnic lunch at the beach of the group's choice.
• Organic farming. (No, no organic farming whatsoever, just checking to see if you were still awake).

We hope to tailor the activities to make them age-appropriate, so that nobody is BORED and nobody is sniveling while you get a beer after winning both races that day.

This program will be an extension of the Summer program of Sheboygan Youth Sailing
http://www.youthsailingclub.us and be staffed with its certified instructors and use its facilities.
Here is a link to a webcam on top of their building. Please do NOT go there now:
http://youthsailing.axiscam.net/axis-cgi/mjpg/video.swf

The ballpark cost of the Kick A_ _ week would be in the $350 neighborhood/camper.

Here's What We Need From You:
We are building the structure around this week. And to do so, we need some idea of how many instructors to retain. I think I know of 9 students right now who are likely to enroll. Without violating any one's privacy:
3 are girls under 12 from South Carolina
2 are girls under 12 from Western New York
1 is a girl under 12 from Chicago
1 is her brother who is under 7.
1 is a boy about 12 from Wisconsin.
1 is a 52-year-old man. (Me! Sounds like fun.)
Some of these kids are already Opti legends. Some will be by next August. Some haven't taken sailing lessons yet at all. All of them will have a Kick A_ _ time. We could accommodate 3X this number of kids if we could get them.

Do you know some kids who will participate?
Please comment to this post to let us know if you could be interested. We need to get an idea of how to scale the offering.

Have you ever waved to your child as you rounded the weather mark leading the blue fleet at a North American Championship while they were in a beautiful powerboat noshing on nutritious food (gluten free options available?) You haven't have you?! And you say you like to live life to the fullest...

Jack Is Onboard

The ILCA's class representative on the Race Committee boat is an important, sometimes very important position at any large Lightning regatta. For anyone who doesn't know, the Class Rep's job is to assist the regatta PRO with delivering racing that broadly falls within the comfort level of our Association members who have traveled to the event. Lightning sailors are very lucky to have had the benefit of some outstanding Race Officers serving as PRO at our events over the last several years. It's always amazing to listen to them to coordinate their on-water armadas over the VHF when they let us listen.

Now, PROs obviously come in all different shapes, sizes and psychological make-ups. Sometimes, they are experts on local weather conditions and amazing sailors in their own rights. Sometimes they have recently returned from running the America's Cup regatta. Rarely have they attended the last several Lightning North American Championships. This is where the Class Representative enters. This person provides Lightning context. The Sailing Instructions (which likely the PRO helped author or at least approved) will provide course options. The PRO might ask the Class Rep if selecting the  5 Leg W/L course option and using the upper limit of the leg lengths is appropriate for the second race of the day on an occasion when the breeze is 17-21mph and the waves are 11' high. The Class Rep might reflect generally on his/her perception of the condition of the stomach muscles in the middle of the Green Fleet and say "Go for it!" Or they might suggest the lower end of the leg length...Or they might suggest the 4 Leg option...or they might be throwing up on the low side and request a moment to compose themselves.

PROs...we need them on that wall. They need to be very confident. They made space in their schedules two years previously because they are great and their schedules are packed. The regatta organizers are lucky to have obtained their services. They have their teams allocated precisely the way they need them organized to respond to changing weather conditions and get us racing early and often. They can probably tell you every on on their race committee's standard lunch order. They don't know the Class Representative from Adam. Fitting into the culture on the RC boat can be a real challenge. Class Rep-dom is an art. A necessary talent is the ability to become selectively invisible, reappearing at precisely the right moment to have max impact.

Bill Clausen has been our Class Rep at major regattas for years. He understands the vibe of this class...this tribe, as well as anyone in the world. He's been on the Executive Committee of the Class for longer than many of us have been paying our annual dues. But Bill is also the Chief Measurer and he's also a great resource as a regatta photographer. He's volunteered to come out to Sheboygan to the Midwest District Regatta 45 days before the NAs to help our Measurement Team do a dress measurement rehearsal. He doesn't really need the Class Rep gig this year. How to replace him...

The job needs class history. It needs a sense of humor. It needs someone who has experience dealing with stressed/crazy people in stressful/crazy situations. Ideally the person would be uncommonly handsome. The job is just crying out for someone like... Jack Mueller. Thank heavens that when Todd Wake and Bill Faude were prowling the boat park at the Wild Oyster regatta with an "Open to Beg" job opportunity for a NAs Class Rep, Jack was up for it.

(Thanks to Priscilla Parker for this great Jack shot from the Wild Oyster Regatta!!)

Here's a little background on Jack:
• He lives adjacent to a great lake in Cleveland so he knows big water.
• In 1967 with Carl Eichenlaub, he started building Lightnings.
• Between that time and 1998, he built between 700 and 1000 of them.
• He has sailed in the class for about 60 years.
• He has won both St. Pete and Savannah stops on the Southern Circuit.
• He has finished in the top 3 in 6 North American Championships.
• He was runner up to Bill Shore in the Lightning World Championship in Finland.
• He currently sails Lighting 14860 and is going to sail the Masters NAs in Sheboygan.
• He is the father of Jay Mueller (see the previous paragraph where I noted that experience dealing with crazy people in tough situations is a key skill set for this job...)
• He smiles a lot.

We're so happy to have him on the RC boat next August as a resource for PRO Rich Richelsdorfer and the great RC team from Sail Sheboygan. You will learn more about Rich in due time on this blog.

Jack Mueller. Class Representative!! A position you might not have thought much about. But one we're psyched to have filled with someone who will do it so well. You really should consider attending this regatta!

You Are Getting Sleepy...

You Are Suddenly Thinking About Making Reservations...You Are Suddenly Thinking About Making Reservations...when you wake up after reading this, you will not remember anything...but you will be very thirsty and you will have an incredible urge to make hotel reservations for the 2014 Lightning North American Championships.

Greetings all. I hope this finds you all well and thinking hard about how you can squeeze in one or two more Lightning regattas before the water turns hard.

Our organizing group has been very active of late. We're almost done with our draft NOR and we've been planning all manor of social events. We've been in contact with the city of Sheboygan to discuss alterations we can make to city streets to make the traffic flow around our regatta site more convenient for what we hope is 300+ sailors. Since I wrote the last blog post, next year's PRO Rich Reichelsdorfer has run a few more regattas and in doing so, given all the mark set and RC boats their last bit of exercise for 2013.

The most important thing on our minds as planners now is the hope that people who are giving some thought to attending the North American Championships next Summer start evaluating the lodging options that are available and book reservations early! When we say early we mean early...this week would be great. We've already heard of several teams who have already booked and that makes us happy. 

Why the rush? After all, Sheboygan is NOT short of hotel rooms... In fact you will soon see that there are many options from which to select...at a wide range of price points. There will be VERY convenient accommodation for every team attending...if you want to be within walking distance of the club, you can have that...if you want a private beach you can have that...as I say there are MANY options and Sheboygan pricing isn't Midtown-Manhattan pricing if you get my drift. So why the rush? Well, August is a busy time here. And we already know that there will be some car races held the weekend of the WMJs at Road America in Elkhart Lake which is about 15 miles away. There are always lots of people who want to come up and play the Golf Courses at Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits which have hosted PGA Championships and Women's US Opens. Those folks book early and we don't want you to miss out.

One Bit Of Reality Here:

There are at least 10 hotels or motels within 10 minutes of regatta site..most are used to having sailors as guests. One has rooms over $500.00/night. Some are under $90.00/night and even less if you have discount codes. All of the following places are aware of the 2014 Lightning North American Championships.  But none of them is offering a 'special' regatta rate. Why you ask? Because we think the best way for everyone to get the best housing value is to look at the options and pick their own place to stay. No one place would ever be able to block off  rooms for the whole group, and what if you hated that place anyway?

I took a tour of the most convenient lodging options this weekend. My wife was VERY accommodating and accompanied me on the Tour 'd Parking lots.  These hotels are all viable places to stay. Personally, I would stay in any of them without a question. 

Sorry for the dorky poses...I am apparently a dork. Who knew?

This is the Holiday Inn Express. It's in a brand new area just off I-43 at Highway 28. There is a lot of retail around here. Restaurants...Starbucks...Target...Harley Davidson dealership and restaurant. In short, my kids would like to move here. It's about 8 minutes to the SYC from here.http://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/sheboygan/sbmwi/hoteldetail

 The America Inn is right across the street from the Holiday Inn Express. It too is brand new. So if you like the convenience of being able to buy anything you could ever need within 2 seconds of your motel, but you don't want to live with people who stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night, the AmericaInn might be for you! Plus they have suites...perhaps for drying foul weather gear somewhere else besides your teammate's bed?
http://www.americinn.com/Hotels/WI/Sheboygan

 This is the first of two VERY nice hotels in nearby Kohler, WI. The Inn on Woodlake is a Kohler resort which includes access to a variety of Kohler activities including a spa and sports facility including indoor tennis and massage and anything bones tired from hiking might need. Kohler is less than 10 minutes from the SYC and I'm going to predict that there will not be insane traffic on the route.http://www.americanclubresort.com/hotel/inn/inn_index.html 

This is the second of the VERY nice hotels in Kohler, WI. It's called The American Club. It's the only 5 diamond resort in the Midwestern United States which (as you  know) includes some very large cities. The American Club is exquisite. It is at the most expensive end of our hotel pricing scale, but as you recall from macro economics class Freshman year, incredible value can be found at the most expensive end. You should certainly consider staying there. I'm willing to bet you a Fresca that you would find yourself sleeping in the most comfortable bed you have ever enjoyed at any regatta...ever. If you notice, there is no picture of me in front of the American Club. My wife forbid me from getting out of the car. She said it was too nice for the likes of me.www.americanclubresort.com/

 This is the Sheboygan La Quinta Inn. It is a really nice property that is very well kept. It is also less than 6 minutes from the regatta site, so I'd say it's the closest of the places that you need a car at all. They get closer from here so that each of the following places is literally walking distance away. This La Quinta is also close to I-43 and probably the closest Sheboygan motel to Road America, so if you like what you see on this site: www.lq.com/lq/properties/propertyProfile.do?propId=1005
you should probably move quickly and reserve some space.

 The Fountain Park Inn would be the PERFECT place to stay for anyone who loves the Beach Park motel in St. Pete. It's a classic motel. It's directly across the street from Fountain Park which is the scene of a twice-weekly farmers market that is absolutely delightful. Fresh flowers. Fresh produce. Fresh artisan cheeses and breads. Local honey...honey. The Fountain Park is also about 7 minutes on foot from SYC. Great option.www.fountainparkmotel.com/

 The Grand Stay is a very new property. It has suites with kitchenettes. It has ample parking. It is a 90 second walk from the restaurants in downtown Sheboygan and about a 6 minute walk in the other direction from the Yacht Club. This would be a great choice if you wanted to park your car immediately after measuring your boat and not start it again until after the awards banquet. Yep, that will be possible next August!www.grandstayhospitality.com/grandstay_sheboygan_wi.php‎

 The EconoLodge is just across the street from the Grand Stay. So it's is very conveniently located to sleep in and still get to the boat in the morning. We're talking 5 blocks from the lake. The only thing to keep in mind is that the EconoLodge does not seem to be very chatty. Nothing whatever on their marquis? I feel like you can learn a lot about a hotel based on what's up on their marquis...this place is just waiting to be taken over by sailors...with those 4" black magnetic letters. The mind boggles!www.econolodge.com/hotel-sheboygan-wisconsin-WI240‎

The Harbor Winds Hotel is intimate and it's right on the newly-rennovated Sheboygan river.
There are boat slips right outside your river view window. There are about 6 restaurants within less than 200 yards and a liquor store immediately across the parking lot. And there is a liquor store immediately across the parking lot. This might just be the closest hotel to the regatta. I'm going to say you could walk there in 4 minutes.
http://harbor-winds-hotel-sheboygan.magnusonhotels.com/

The Blue Harbor Resort is the largest property on our list of accommodations. Take one look and you think Hotel Del Coronodo in San Diego. The look is similar but Blue Harbor comes complete with a giant water park! Serious water park. It is probably the only property where if you stayed there and got the right view, you could watch your team launching your boat while still in bed. There are many room options here. Suites...conventional rooms. And free-standing Villas which are really nice and also offer immediate access to a very large beach out front. The lake view rooms will offer perfect viewing of the racecourse. I recommend you clamp the GoPro to the railing of your balcony and just come back and get ready to debrief. 
One more thing: I think they do bonfires with s'mores every night in the Summer. And one more one more thing...the awards banquet will be held here.
blueharborresort.com/


As I mentioned earlier, Sheboygan County has become a tourist haven. This will come as something of
a surprise to any Lightning sailor who was last here in 1976. But it's true! This is by of saying that there are lots
of vacation homes for rent in the area as well. I suggest you go to www.vrbo.com/ and select Southeastern Wisconsin.
You could put a few teams together and get a beach house. Just a thought.

Ok, almost done here. There will be more posts about what to do in Sheboygan and the surrounding area as 
we get closer to the regatta date. If you want to start getting to know Sheboygan and beat the rush, take
a look at www.visitsheboygan.com/
Any tourism site that has webcams of the harbor and the beach and has links to sailing activities rocks!
I'm willing to bet we interview someone from Sheboygan County Tourism in this space soon, so keep checking back.

Can't wait to see everyone here. BOOK ROOMS NOW!!