What could be better than the first day of summer?

If you’ve not made plans to attend the North American Championship, there’s still time to mark your calendars for June 21, 22, & 23. That’s when we’ll gather at the Fort Walton Yacht Club in sunny Florida for what’s shaping up to be the regatta of the summer. Those of you who’ve sailed in Fort Walton know these folks run a first class regatta and I for one am looking forward to it. As expected, interest is high in the southeast with a large number of boats from Georgia and Tennessee already committed (we might even find a few boats in Alabama and Florida). I’m hoping a number of you from other parts of the country come join in the fun as well.

The schedule outline in the Notice of Race includes three days of racing with a Qualifier Series held on Friday and the Championship Series beginning on Saturday. Our annual class meeting will be Saturday morning while we’re waiting for the sea breeze to kick in. We’ve changed a few things in our original planning to make this event less expensive. To provide a little more flexibility we’ve not included any meals in the $45 registration fee. We are planning a group night out Saturday at a local restaurant, a tiki deck overlooking beautiful Choctawhatchee Bay. We’ll order from the menu to minimize the hassle and maximize the fun. We’re also providing embroidered regatta t-shirts as an extra cost option for those of you wanting something to commemorate this occasion. I’ll have the shirts at the regatta for those who pre-reregister and forms will be available during the regatta for those wanting to order shirts.

The Fort Walton Yacht Club has a great web site (http://www.fwyc.org/). You’ll find driving directions, info on local motels as well as other information about the club and area. If anyone needs additional info, call or email me (931-455-0260 or jutley@edge.net).

Last summer I made a short two-day trip to Dallas and had a great time at the NAC. This summer I recommend you load the boat, pack the wheel bearings and head for Florida. I know you’ll have a good time.