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A sailing experience open to all club members!
SMYRNA YACHT CLUB NOTICE OF RACE 2012 PRECISION 15 SERIES The SYC Sailors will conduct the 2012 Precision 15 series the first three Saturdays of each month, Saturday, January 7 - May 19, weather permitting. The last Saturday of each month will be reserved as a make-up day. No races will be held the last Saturday if a make-up is not necessary. EXCEPTIONS to the above schedule: Since March, 2012 has 5 Saturdays, we will race the 4th Saturday 24th. April races will be held on the 14th and 21st so we do not conflict with Easter and the Lipton Cup. The Principal Race Officer has the option of setting a race course other than “round the buoys” (example: around Chicken Island) if the PRO and skippers agree. Skippers are to meet at the Tiki at 12:30 p.m.for instructions and determination of boat rotation, if necessary. The Principal Race Officer will try to start the racing at 1:00 p.m. On days of a SYC special sailing/boating event, the SYC Sailors will not have round-the buoys racing. The series races will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing. The Precision 15’s will be used and scored as a one design class. Should another class of boat join us, the Race Chairman or Principal Race Officer shall determine if handicap scoring is appropriate. Scoring shall be the “low point system”. Each skipper will be scored for that person’s placement that day as follows:
1st ¾ point. DNS,DNF, & DSQ will be scored as number of boats participating plus 1. At least three skippers must participate in order to score that day. The starting sequence shall be:
2 min.
Class Flag raised (White flag) Sound signals may accompany the raising or lowering of a flag, however the flag is the official signal. The races between January and May will count toward the 2012 trophy. Sailors will need to participate in 60% of the completed races to qualify for a trophy. Skippers are expected to practice the “Basic Principal” of sportsmanship and do penalty turns on the water. |
SYC SAILORS HISTORY
In September, 1986 The Smyrna Yacht Club Board of Governors approved a charter for the SYC Sailors, which was updated in July, 1989. In those early years, the group was run by John Crampton and Vic Colletti. The fleet consisted of two or three Sunfish sailboats that had been donated to the club by their owners. Races were held mostly on holiday week-ends. By 1995 it was determined that the Sunfish was too small and too tender for the average age of the members and we determined to find a more suitable one design boat and ratchet up the interest in one design sailing.
John Crampton, Joe Strong and Fulton Cooke made a trip to a dealer on the Ortega River in Jacksonville, but they had nothing suitable. Then they went to Orlando where they saw a Capri 14.2 with a fixed keel that had been traded in from Disney World. It looked like just what the club needed so these gentlemen went back to the board and got approval to raise the money within the membership to purchase four boats. The SYC Sailors charter was updated in December, 1996.
The Sailors held a fund raising drive, and a number of members holding $700 certificates from the Club donated them to the drive. One boat was paid for entirely by Marylyn O’Neal and was named Shamrock in her honor.
1997 was a very busy year. The Sailors now had a committee of some ten interested members and wives. We met monthly to scope out the program. We built the docks that are along the north wall. We also built the frame in the employee parking lot where we could lift each boat off our one trailer, paint the bottom, and then put it back on the trailer and launch it at the city facility on the North Causeway.
After all four boats were delivered, we started sailing classes for club members. Classes were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and another set on week-ends. Some 50 members went through the course. In addition, we worked with the City Parks and Recreation Department and ran two five day courses for ten students from the community, ages 12 to 18.
In 1998 The Sailors ran similar programs, but by then the membership was not producing candidates in sufficient quantity, so we handled the demand on a one on one basis with our instructors. By the end of 2005, we had some 60 resident members qualified to skipper the boats with over 100 qualified skippers by the end of 2010.
The Parks Department program has continued to be conducted since 1998. It had become so popular that in 2010 registration was full well before the start of classes. The Sailors accept 12 youngsters per class, and have had several multi-year participants become volunteer on the water instructors.
The racing program for SYC Sailors has evolved to a 5 month racing series sailed on the river just south of the club. The Sailors also try to schedule a couple of fun races, and a race around Chicken Island. The Sailors also have been “station” boats for several poker runs. Day sailing by any qualified skipper is encouraged any day there is not a scheduled activity for the boats.
In 2006 the SYC Sailors decided the four Capri 14.2 boats were requiring a lot of maintenance. The Sailors approached the Board of Governors for permission to raise funds to replace the Capris. During a year of fund raising activity club members, the SYC Ladies and the Board of Governors acquired the necessary funds and four Precision 15 boats were purchased. The Capris were sold to the local Sea Scout troop.
A huge amount of gratitude goes to the club members who have worked at achieving the present SYC Sailors status. The ongoing maintenance and teaching could not have been accomplished without these dedicated people. Of course, the fun of sailing and racing was and still is the primary reason these people are involved.
