The Commodore’s Log Book

Hello Snipe Sailors! In August I attended, as both sailor and Commodore, the Snipe Europeans in Pori, Finland. It was an excellent regatta, passionately organized by SCIRA Finland and the club BSF. The conditions were challenging with some days of strong wind and big waves. Thanks a lot to our Finnish friends for their hospitality and congratulations to the winners Rafael and Gustavo del Castillo. Then in October I took a plane and I went to the other hemisphere. I was in Buenos Aires at the Western Hemisphere & Orient Championship as the SCIRA representative and Commodore. The warm friendship of our Argentine sailors was just incredible. The Club Nautico Olibos, the Race Committee and the Jury were very efficient, so my job as SCIRArep. was very easy. Gracias to all our Argentine friends and congratulation, in this case, to the winners Ernesto Rodriguez and Kathleen Tocke (USA). Those two event were a great experience for me, because I had the opportunity to see 2 different ways to organizer and host a big major Snipe regatta, that ended in both cases in a great success. ...

The Commodore’s Log Book Image

Hello Snipe Sailors!

In August I attended, as both sailor and Commodore, the Snipe Europeans in Pori, Finland. It was an excellent regatta, passionately organized by SCIRA Finland and the club BSF. The conditions were challenging with some days of strong wind and big waves. Thanks a lot to our Finnish friends for their hospitality and congratulations to the winners Rafael and Gustavo del Castillo.

Then in October I took a plane and I went to the other hemisphere. I was in Buenos Aires at the Western Hemisphere & Orient Championship as the SCIRA representative and Commodore. The warm friendship of our Argentine sailors was just incredible. The Club Nautico Olibos, the Race Committee and the Jury were very efficient, so my job as SCIRArep. was very easy. Gracias to all our Argentine friends and congratulation, in this case, to the winners Ernesto Rodriguez and Kathleen Tocke (USA).

Those two event were a great experience for me, because I had the opportunity to see 2 different ways to organizer and host a big major Snipe regatta, that ended in both cases in a great success.

 

In another part of this Bulletin you can find the fantastic photos of Matias Capizzano, the results, and the regatta reports of the Europeans and Westerns.

In the last few months several national championships were held. Some of them had an excellent turnout, some others only a few boats. Should we be worried? Surely we must act to improve participation in these regattas? I invite you to read the open letter I sent to the National Secretaries. In my opinion there are some points on which to reflect and on which to start a discussion within each country and each fleet. Suggestions and comments from you are very welcome.

I have often focused, on this column or with articles on SnipeToday, on the need to promote the Class at both the fleet and country level. One of the best ways to promote is to organize regattas (big or small, it does not matter). Do not back down, have enthusiasm.

In my experience I can tell you that even if the event is at the local level, organizing a regatta is exciting and fun. If the fleet is lazy, organizing a regatta is a good way to awaken it. It is nice to plan with a wide group of friends the organization of a regatta in the smallest details: date, location, invitations, social events, people to be involved, sponsors, NoR, Sailing Instructions, prizes, gadgets, regatta committees, juries, accomodations … The trick is to involve many people in the project with different roles and experience. It’s true that it’s also very tiring: phone calls, emails, meetings, discussions, an endless “to-do-list”. But after the awards ceremony and saying goodbye to friends, I am always happy. The group of people who organized has become a close-knit team from working toward a single goal with enthusiasm.

Organizing a regatta strengthens and livens up a fleet or a Snipe district or a SCIRA Country. It serves to promote Class activity. Of course it is very important to convince Snipe friends from other fleets or other countries to participate. Equally important is to participate when our friends from other fleets organize their regattas. We all get caught up in the enthusiasm: from simple participants, we become organizers.

Running a regatta isn’t hard, but it does take planning and more people than you might thing. Here is a link of useful “Race Management Tools”: https://snipe.org/class/rules

And if you want to organize a major event, visit this webpage https://snipe.org/regattas/major-regatta-rotation-grid, to see the main Snipe regattas, the rotation grid, and the bid form. For any further information please do not hesitate to contact the SCIRA office ([email protected]) or myself ([email protected]).

See you soon, on the race course!

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