Marquette Yacht Club Forums

Ensign Owners:

I received an e-mail from John Ogborn regarding regionals for 2009 which I am forwarding on to all the Ensign owners. He's the Regional commander for the Ensigns in the Great Lakes and is responsible for arranging for dates and a place for the regionals. He is asking us if we want to host the 2009 regionals.

Here are my thoughts. I am not willing to take on the job of running the regionals myself. Eva is retiring soon and we wish to do some traveling. I would like to do some different big boat regattas next summer such as the Apostle Island Race week and also get time in cruising on my trimaran. The Yacht Club has many things on the plate right now with docks, shoreline, the Junior YC, property maintenance and improvements, etc., etc. All good things but, there is a lot on everyone's plate. Finding enough volunteers with time to do it right might not be that easy. We do not have the infrastructure other fleets have with adequate race committees in place and RC boats, facilities etc., so it's a hurdle we have to jump through to make it happen that other fleets don't have.

It's not un-doable however, and if the other fleets want to make it happen we certainly can. It would be nice to the other fleets for us to host as we have had good participation from our fleet in recent years attending other regionals and it's more or less our turn.

So what I am proposing is that if there is interest in our fleet to host and we have an individual that is willing to step up and be chairman for the event and take responsibility in organizing and running the regatta as well as several others volunteering to help do the work then we should go for it. I am willing to be a worker assuming dates work out, I just am not offering to be in charge.

As a courtesy we should respond as soon as possible with a yes or no.

So please respond and let everyone know your thoughts. I am looking for "yes I will be chairman", "Yes I will be a volunteer", "No we should not do it", "I will participate if its on one of these dates", ideas where to get RC staff, and boats, volunteers, dockage, party sites, awards etc.

Just lay it all out.

If we want to call a meeting real soon to discuss and decide this I am willing to set one up.

Full Sails,
Jim Knape

In this very short time of my Ensign career I have already participated in a few Regional and National regattas. That being said, I would be more than willing to volunteer to be apart of an RC crew and to lend a hand for each race in that fashion.

Dustin Frak

I think that we should give the regionals to Canandaigua for next summer and then take it for 2010. This serves to spread the thing over the entire region more fairly and gives us the time to complete the modifications to the club and the docks, potentially secure another committee boat and put on an outstanding regionals. If we do it that year, then we may be able to connect pretty well with a nationals in Cedarville. I am interested in helping out with the organization but don't have the time to be the director.

I am willing to help out as a volunteer. I think if we wait till 2010 then we will sit backseat to a national if it is Cedarville. Not many will travel to Marquette for a regional when nationals are a month later in Cedarville. I could be wrong but what is everyone's opinion and interest on hosting one at all?

We do have a lot going now that will spread into the next year and maybe beyond that, so I think hosting the 2009 Regionals would be too much.