Re: Fort De Sotho

["Greg Ryan" <gregoryrryan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Ian,
Certainly we are all aware that some of us stand to actually loose pay 
during holidays and time off. I certainly am sensitive to that and 
appreciate all the more the great effort that people take to make it to the 
regattas and to make them a sucess. We had a great bunch of people come down 
last year, many from far away. Plenty of people came without boats too. They 
helped hugely in the regatta and the classes and  were rewarded with a few 
rides and a practical demo of the boat to ease their own learning curve. 
Thats a tradition we would like to keep up in the class and extend the 
welcome to friends of the class, families and new builders who have not 
quite finished the construction of their swifts.

The class executive would like to make every effort to keep the cost of 
moving boats from far places as low cost as possible. Toward that end we are 
already looking into sourcing an appropriate sized shipping container or 
some communal transport leaving from the upper west coast, posibly Seattle 
or Vancouver and having someone meet it and look after it right at the event 
site. Other Class members might ferry people from the airport when they come 
to join their boats. This would aleviate the transport problem for some.

In terms of timing we have proposed to have the regatta over the 2006 easter 
long weekend, over which most businesses (except retail) are closed and 
which is the secondary school spring break for most of NA (but after the 
majority of the college breaks).  We think that this will save most people 
some scheduling problems with their families and ease the decision to come 
together. For those on the east coast we have scheduled (weather permitting) 
the final prize ceremony (D4) so that the weeknd can be used for travel back 
before the next work week. Possibly after a long cold winter in the northern 
parts class members and their families will be itching to get away to the 
warmth and get a start on the season by attending the clinics where you can 
get up to speed before the regatta and/or before you go home to your own 
sailing clubs.

Finally, if you already have a strong preference to have your boat and gear 
transported down to the regatta site from the NW coast please contact Bram 
Dally and let him know this. The costs and feasability will most likely 
depend on having a full container. Bram has quite a lot of experience with 
this but will require some assistance from you to pack and unpack the 
container shortly before shipping in either direction. Overall we hope the 
costs will be much less than individuals towing their own boats and much 
more convenient.
Greg

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ian MacPhail" <idmacphail@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "'Roger Wright'" <rowr@xxxxxxxxx>; "'Greg Ryan'" 
<gregoryrryan@xxxxxxxxxxx>; "'Michael Jocelyn'" <mikejocelyn@xxxxxxx>; 
"'Dave Lindsey'" <lindsey@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <swiftsolo@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 1:12 AM
Subject: RE: Fort De Sotho


> HI All,
>
> I love the idea but work will obviously play a big role for me..and cost
> quite honestly....but I'll explore ot for sure when dates are thrown out. 
> I
> can tell you that fall and winter are busy months for me and therefore 
> less
> likely...but maybe not impossible.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Ian.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Roger Wright [mailto:rowr@xxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: August 16, 2005 11:57 AM
> To: Greg Ryan; Michael Jocelyn; Dave Lindsey; Ian MacPhail
> Cc: swiftsolo@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Fort De Sotho
>
> Greg and others, I don't know if we are going to get a Canadian contingent
> all the way down to Florida again. As much as I would like to go, that 
> trip
> was an absolute nightmare that time of the year for us. (Both in time and
> difficulties) The only way that I can see it happening from the Canadians
> perspective is if we get a trailer or container and ship down Mike, Dave,
> Ian, Roger, potentially Steve Shilling and any others that want to go, and
> we fly down. We will start talking about it up here to see what the 
> interest
>
> levels are. Ian, Mike, (Tim?), Dave, Stephen, any takers?
>
> regards
> Roger
>
>
>
>
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