Canandaigua Yacht Club Vanguard 15 Fleet 75

Archived News

9 September, 2006 - Fall Fleet order discount plans announced!!

This is is, this is what people have been waiting for. At the end of each year, Vanguard and German Brothers Marina combine forces to offer some fantastic free gear and discount deals to new boat offers. Click HERE to see the details, and don't delay, order early!

19 August, 2006 - We just completed our first regatta!!

Yes, it was raining, but the wind was PERFECT! Steady south winds (the lake's best), from between 6 and 14 mph through the day. 9 boats competed. We sailed a total of 9 races. Chuck won, but fun was had by all. And everyone went home with a prize. Vanguard sponsored this regatta with a TON of free gear - sailing gloves, knee pads, "rash tops", and some Vanguard T-shirts and hats. Everyone was entered in a raffle, and everyone took something home. German Brothers also generously provided a number of bottles of wine, which were enthusiastically enjoyed by the sailors and volunteers. We are already looking forward to next year's event!

17 August, 2006 - First regatta planned!

On Saturday, 19 August, 2006, we will have our first annual invitational regatta. We don't have a name for it yet, but we will work on it! Registration and skipper's meeting will be at 9am on the CYC blacktop. First start will be at 9:45 am, with a break for lunch and afternoon races to follow. This will be a one-day regatta featuring short course racing, with between 6 and 12 races planned during the day. Lunch will be available at the club for $8.50, and for those interested in staying for dinner, a selection will be available, with much of the fleet attending. This year there will be no awards beyond bragging rights, but thanks to our joint sponsors, Vanguard sailboats and German Brothers Marina, there will be a free raffle to entrants for 15 "gear" items, including sailing gloves, neoprene kneepads, and rash tops! This is real Magic Marine gear , not simple give-aways! The regatta fee will be $10 per boat to cover expenses for running the regatta.

The sailing instructions for this regatta can be viewed / downloaded here.

16 August, 2006 - Fall fleet drive, coming soon!

It will be fall soon, and that means time for our annual fleet new-members drive. Starting in September, Vanguard offers free gear for those who purchase new boats, and it is usually quite a good deal. In addition, shipping discounts are available from German Brothers Marina if a minimum number of boats are ordered - how much of a break depends on how many boats are ordered. Add this all together and you have our fall fleet drive. We are interested in anyone interested in buying a V15, either with our fleet, or independently (you still get the break on prices, and the more V15s in the area, the better!). Details coming soon!

9 July, 2006 - Finally, some medium air!

Today, for it seems the first time this year, we actually had medium air, about 12 mph from the south! A wonderful wind. Despite sa boat away on summer vacation, two gone to attend a J-24 regatta, and a couple who got married the night before (!), we still had 5 boats on the line. Particularly impressive (and promising, looking forward) was the mix of ages. One boat sailed with two teens, with a combined weight of 260 lbs. Another man sailed with his nine year old son (who is ready to begin his optimist sailing career), with the other boats ranging in their thirties and forties. Steady wind, no capsizes, and a good time was had by all.

The V15s are also proving that if sailed skillfully, they can beat some hotter keelboats (we won't name which ones). And they are great for teaching sailing - so much better than straddling the mast of a Laser while the student steers (no more "ride the submarine" in heavy air!

16 June, 2006 - General update

Well, it has been a very strange Spring so far. It either seems to have no wind, or blows like stink. But little by little, most people have been out in their boats several times, and everyone seems to like them. We have also entered several handicap races against other classes, and the boats do very well speed wise. And in a breeze they just FLY downwind - if there is a problem, it is in stopping them from going so fast! Yes, we have had our first capsizes, too. So far everyone has lived to tell - we are still figuring out the right combination to getting the boats upright and getting back inside (hint - it works better if you don't stick the mast in the mud!).

Everyone and anyone is welcome to check out the boats and talk with the fleet members any Sunday afternoon. We race starting at 1:55 pm, and generally return to the blacktop around 3:30 for refreshment and tailgate. Also, several boats are often looking for crew - inquire per the "contacts" section, or take your chances and show up at around 1 pm on the blacktop.

Finally, I added some links to the "More..." page showing some cool rigging (more detailed information in the discussion forum).

13 May, 2006 - Fleet Launch (and new web site)

Today at 1 pm many of us met Steve from German Brothers (a.k.a. Superman) to officially take delivery of our fleet, put the boats in their places, setup the masts, and generally get them ready to get wet. A fun time was had by all. And most impressively, a large piece of CYC blacktop, previously sparsely populated with boats is now filled with a pile of them (11, to be exact, "and counting..."). Fabulous for us, and fabulous for the club!

Why did I refer to Steve as a superman? Well, the boats most of us bought had been used for one regatta - one heavy air regatta. When they came in this last fall they were in fine shape structurally, but had a moderate amount of "scratches and dings". To make a very long story short, Steve and the crew at German Brothers worked the better part of this last week doing gel-coat repair, sanding and buffing. As a result of their obsessive dedication, our boats really are in "like new" condition. Great job, Steve, and thanks!!!

One other thing - some of you may have noticed that this site looks different from the past sites. Hopefully for the better... Well, this is a totally new site that unlike the last site, which was sort of quickly created using MS Word, this is much more of a proper HTML site. Comments are always welcome!

30 April, 2006 – Fleet publicity flier now available

Steve H., our publicity chair, has just completed his work on our fleet flyer! It is in Adobe Acrobat, and is available for download here. Thanks, Steve.
Everyone is now also registered in the forum (except Bonnie, who is out of internet touch for the moment).

22 April, 2006 – Fleet discussion forum now online

A discussion forum has been added to this site, and can be reached via the Discussion link at the top of each page. Unlike the rest of this web site, which is “publish” oriented, the discussion forum is member oriented, and lets people both read about issues currently under discussion, add their own thoughts, and bring up new topics for discussion. It forms a key part of making online fleet communications work. To participate, click on the link above, and create a new user (the “register here” link on the page). Enter your basic information (your user name will be the name that shows up in the forum), then sign in and do what comes naturally. The site software itself is commercial grade, and quite straightforward and reliable. For more information on how to set up and use the forum, click here. Please, fleet members, check it out.
I have a tentative scoring system proposal, although I am still evaluating alternatives. A word document describing this system can be downloaded here. The same system with “rationale” on a point-by-point basis is also provided here for those who like to obsess about these things. Any comments and suggestions are welcome and encouraged. If possible respond in the forum, so all comments get collected together and you can see what others think also.
Reminder: Boat delivery is set for Saturday, 13 May, 2006 on the CYC blacktop at 1 pm. We will also have a tailgate afterwards, so bring your beverages and something else to share if possible. We will also be going through boat setup at that time, playing it by ear. Note that this does not preclude in special circumstances from people taking delivery at other times (arrange with Steve, if this applies to you), but to make things easy for him and to show fleet presence, try to be here for this day.

8 April, 2006 – Fleet meeting now past tense

Last night we had a successful (albeit somewhat long…) party / meeting. Most of the boats were represented and a good time was had by all. (Our dog liked it too, and made off with far more “people food” than she deserved!). When I get a chance I will post the minutes on this site, but the highlights are:

Boat delivery is set for Saturday, 13 May, 2006 on the CYC blacktop at 1 pm. We will also have a tailgate afterwards, so bring your beverages and something else to share if possible. We will also be going through boat setup at that time, playing it by ear. Note that this does not preclude in special circumstances from people taking delivery at other times (arrange with Steve, if this applies to you), but to make things easy for him and to show fleet presence, try to be here for this day.
For this year we will divide racing into three periods as follows:
Startup series – May 21st through June 11th – no series scoring. The goal of this is to get the fleet racing established, and maximize training / learning / experimentation. Starts ARE encouraged during the period, however to work towards “formal fleet credit”.
Summer series – June 18th through August 13th.
Fall series – August 20th through end of season (October 8th, I think)
Sailing will be on Sunday afternoons, initially during the open start at around 1:40 pm. We were agreed that we will want to move to a short-course racing format that will allow 4 – 5 races instead of the usual two, and Chuck will brainstorm ideas with the Flag and CYC Board. It is noted that doing this may well require some “volunteer time” to help out the Race Committee.
Sailing safety, especially while sailing in the spring, was highlighted. I put together a clothing information page for those not taking notes. The take home message is that wet suits are essential though the end of May, and very useful until mid-June, especially if capsize is a possibility. Spray tops are quite useful also. Everyone has probably received from Steve a listing of discount clothing by Magic Marine (distributed by Vanguard) that (available only to fleet members) are at below-market prices.

5 April, 2006 – Fleet meeting, etc.

Bonnie has announced the first boat name – she plans to name her boat “Puff stuff”! She thinks (properly, I think) that success in the V15 is all about the puffs. They get you ahead on the race course, and they flip you over! If anyone else has thought of a boat name they are proud of, I will be glad to post it to the world!
Steve at German Brothers in conjunction with Vanguard is offering the fleet a discount on a number of clothing items, trailers and masthead flys. As the prices are “fleet only” I cannot list them on the web. However, most of you have already been sent an email on this from Steve directly, and I will hand out a list at the meeting. Anyone else, contact me and I will email the details to you directly.

March, 2006 – Fleet member 11 !

Our eleventh member has now bought a boat, and is joining the club. Welcome Fred and Beth!