June Newsletter

The warm weather of June has brought good winds for club races, regattas and cruising rendezvous to the forefront of out clubs activities.  The club still is struggling with Blazing Bills after Wednesday night racing.  However, when they want to serve us or be open, the evening has been well attended.  The sail race committee wanted to pass along the importance of recording the correct starting time for our races.  With time on time scoring it is very important to know each fleet’s exact starting time. The sail race committee thanks you for attention on this matter.  The sail cruise fleet has their first picnic planned for the weekend of June 19, 2005, and it sounds like it will be well attended.

Congratulations to all GRSC boats that did well at the Mentor Regatta over the past weekend.  Several of our club’s skippers had the fortune to visit the podium to pick up awards. 

Our Regatta in now just two short months away, and it is time we start telling fellow sailors to make plans to attend our exciting event including the opportunity to race other Hospice Regatta winners in Annapolis on J 105’s next spring!  Regatta chair Louise Mills has included a very informative flyer detailing the weekend’s events. 

See you on the Water,

Robert Mock

Grand River Sailing Club Regatta News                                                                        The Grand River Sailing Club (GRSC) has a proud history of fundraising regattas, and we are looking forward to a very successful 2005! This year's event will occur August 25-28, at Grand River Marine, on River Street in the Village of Fairport Harbor, Ohio. This will be our 21st regatta. We are very excited to be able to join the National Hospice Regatta Alliance. Our regatta event will be known as the Grand River Hospice Cup. As part of the NHRA, our regatta will be observed by other sailors throughout the country via the web site http:/ /www.hospiceregattas.org/. Check us out! We will also receive billing on the annual regatta poster, which will be available to purchase at the regatta.

The top winner from our regatta will be invited to participate in the Hospice Cup National Regatta next spring in Annapolis. A huge bonus and just a fun thing! Hopefully this will bring more boats to our event and bring in additional funds for Hospice. West Marine is a sponsor for each of the NHRA events, and will be assisting with ours. too.

We have been busy putting together some of the long list of tasks that make the event possible.

Skip Maim has agreed to organize the Race Committee. Robbie Mock has invited US Sailing certified race officer Dave Schaffer of North Cape Yacht Club to join in on the committee boat. The Protest Committee will be co-chaired by Dave Shaffer's wife, Barb, and Clay Mock. Both are senior US Sailing judges.

Vector Printing will be creating, printing and selling the shirts and caps again this year. Last year I thought they did a great job! We did not have to man the sales booth and we made a nice profit which was donated to Hospice.

Connie Sears is assisting with the selection of the awards, and preparation of the order. This year we are going to have award flags, and there will be a crystal paperweight with race information etched on the bottom. BTW - as a money saver, Dennis will be ordering the Spring Series awards at the same time to obtain a price break.

Dave Sears will again be in charge of the beer! This is an important task, not for the faint of heart - it takes a stalwart gentleman to hold up to the constant demands of the keg. Our GRSC Rear Commodore, Ray Dillon, has secured the rental of the refrigerated beer truck, and an ample supply of the critical material.

Our newest GRSC member, Mike Nolan, foredecker on Adrenalin, will be organizing volunteers to assist with selling raffle tickets Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the regatta. Please give him a call if you can spare an hour or so to help out.

We will be setting up the tents, tables making sure the beer is cold and getting ready for the weekend on Thursday afternoon and evening.

The Women's Race, which is part of the North Coast Women's Sailing Association race series, will kick off the festivities on Friday night, along with registration of boats for the weekend races, and a party with a DJ and karaoke. On Saturday, two races will be planned. These will be the culmination of the Cleveland Sailing Association (CSA) Boat-of-the-Year schedule. Refreshments, including dinner, adult beverages, and soft drinks will be available at the Sailing Center. T-shirts will be on sale, raffle tickets and the silent auction items will be set out to begin the excitement of the bidding. On Sunday, one race is planned, which counts as the third race for the GRSC Regatta. After the sailing is concluded, and while the results are being tallied, the drawing of the winners of the Raffle items is held, and the Silent Auction is concluded. With the completion of the score tallying (and any protests that might be needed), sailing awards are given to the winners of each racing class for the Regatta. Since this is the last sailing event of the year for the CSA, they too give out awards at our event.

The GRCS Regatta Fund raising is accomplished in several ways.

1. Entrance fee - Charged to the boats participating,

2. Raffle Ticket Sales - Donations are solicited from businesses in the area, and prizes are given to individuals that have purchased raffle tickets. Last year there were over 60 raffle items given out.

3. Silent Auction - Unique items are donated or crafted by club members or local businesses. Bids are obtained during the three days of the event, and sold on the last day.

4. Blow boat races -Boat models are sold in kit form and contestants are challenged to decorate and customize the small boats that are propelled in a small trough by blowing on the plastic sails.

5. T-shirts and other monogrammed mementos are sold to the attendees. A local professional designer creates the silkscreen designs and manages the printing.

6. Cash donations are also sought from local businesses and associates of the sailing club.

7. Karaoke Pay-to-Nominate-Someone-Else-to-Sing. An event that will be added this year. For a fee, you can nominate someone else to sing a song of their choice. If they decline they must pay to get out of the challenge. If they pay twice the amount of the original challenger, the original challenger must sing. This should be an interesting event.

To collect donations for the raffle, the silent auction and cash donations, solicitation mailings are sent to local businesses that donated in previous years.

GRSC members also take an active role in fund raising. The cover letter and the Donation Form are mailed to companies and individuals that made donations in previous years, or have been identified by GRSC members as potential donors.

I am looking for volunteers from Hospice to assist with selling coffee and doughnuts and bagged ice on the Saturday and Sunday morning of the event.

Does anyone think that a spectator boat(s) would be a fun idea? We have done this in the past, and I'm looking for volunteers to make boats available if there is interest. We would also like to invite Hospice associates or significant donors to join us on the water to participate in / experience a sailboat ride or a club race event.

We are having a regatta planning meeting at the Grand River Yacht Club on July 14th at 7:00. We need the help with tasks and everyone's opinion is important. It's our club. Hey, I'll bring the beer!

Sincerely,                                                                                                                           Louise Mills, GRSC Regatta Chairman