ORW: Rattlesnake Passage

Yesterday was the first running of the Rattlesnake Passage stage of the Okanagan Race Week.  This race was constructed to get the racing fleet from Summerland to Kelowna in preparation for next weekends Commodores Cup at the KYC.  This race also adds a distance portion to the overall scoring for ORW and ensures a well rounded mix to test sailors abilities.  I was fortunate enough to be invited on board Margarita, a Santana 525 skippered by James Anderson and crewed by Tracy and Suzanne.  We had fantastic sailing conditions for about 2/3 of the race and were enjoying about 10 to 12 knots of breeze until passing Rattlesnake Island.  Approaching Gelatley Bay the breeze was starting to fade fast and we were lucky if we could find patches of 3-5 knots anywhere.  We took a chance and played the Western shore hoping for a thermal wind to hold, but even that was to much to hope for.  We had hoisted the kite and flew it for about an hour and a half making no progress before the decision to retire was made about 3:30.  The results from Monday's racing are still be tabulated by Barbara and I will post them up once they are available.  We look forward to our Wednesday race night tomorrow and to welcoming all the out of town boats to the KYC.

Aug 5th ORW Update

Updated Rattlesnake Passage sailing instructions and general notes.  Also chart detailing the location of the finish mark C at the Kelowna Yacht Club.

 http://www.okanaganraceweek.ca/untitled/nor-and-si/rattlesnake-passage-sailing.pdf

 

Okanagan Race Week 2014 Rattlesnake Passage Quick Reference Guide

• -  All boats must have a GPS onboard formatted to read in Degrees/Minutes/Seconds, example N49 30.5 W125 15.5
  
• -  All boats must have a VHF radio monitoring channel 6
  
• -  Skippers meeting at 7:30am at the SYC
  
• -  Start signal at 8:15
  
• -  Single fleet, single start
  
• -  NO requirement to sail between Rattlesnake Island and the shore
  
• -  Motors may be used to assist in getting under the Kelowna Bennett Bridge
  
• -  All boats must record their positions at exactly 1pm , 3pm and if not finished
  racing 5pm
  
• -  If a boat retires before 1pm it will be scored DNF
  
• -  Any boat retiring after 1pm will use their 1pm, 3pm or 5pm coordinates to
  determine their scoring
  
• -  No requirement to call in the 1pm or 3pm coordinates to Barbara unless
  retiring.
  
• -  Barbara’s cell phone number is 250-808-6648 or if no answer call Marc’s at 250-
  212-9950
  
• -  If you have not reached the C mark by 5pm take your coordinates and call
  them into Barbara. These will be used to determine the overall scoring.
  

Aug 1st ORW Update

Summerland Regatta schedule of events.

OKANAGAN RACE WEEK
SUMMERLAND YACHT CLUB
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday

Registration:                3 pm to 8 pm
Free Rum:                7 pm to 8 pm
SYC Boathouse Bar and Grill Open

Saturday
Breakfast:                7 am to 8 am
Skipper’s Meeting:            8:15 am
First Start Sequence Horn:        NOT before 9 am
Dinner:                6 pm   

Sunday
Breakfast:                7 am to 8 am
First Start Sequence Horn:        9:25 am
SYC Boathouse Bar and Grill Open

Monday
Breakfast:                7 am
Skipper’s Meeting:            7:25 am
First Start Sequence Horn:        ?

ORW July 30th update

The latest from Summerland regarding the ORW.

It is the Summerland Regatta, on August 9 and 10, the start of the Okanagan Race week with two days of "can" racing and opportunities for some longer races of 10 nautical miles in the South part of Okanagan lake where the winds typically measure 10 knots from the NW and great for keel boat racing. SYC has available slips for visiting boats, a boat ramp for launching and a great club house with restaurant, lounge and amenities to make your stay at SYC comfortable and enjoyable. If accommodations on your boat are "tied" the Summerland Resort next door offers luxury rooms and suites. For the regatta we offer a 5 meal package for $ 45.00 so you can focus all your time on racing and socializing with fellow sailors for an awesome weekend of fun and competition. There will be rum tasting Friday evening compliments of Panama Rum and late registration starting at 3 PM. however we encourage you to register on line. 
On Monday August 11, after breakfast the competitors will race their way up to Kelowna for the 21 kn. mile long distance Rattle Snake passage.  Come join us for this inaugural even and help us make Okanagan Race Week a success. 

ORW and CC Update, July 22, 2014

Dear Sailors

I hope that you have all registered for the Okanagan Race week by now and we look forward to a great week of racing. If you haven't registered yet please do so as soon as possible. Follow the links at the KYC website.

The construction delays at KYC have presented us with some last minute challenges. We had planned a grand opening at our new clubhouse with a great meal package and live music  but the new clubhouse will not be ready and our old clubhouse will almost certainly be demolished for the Commodores Cup. This has created huge challenges for our kitchen. We have also cancelled the band because of space and power issues. The CC was also planned in combination with a Power Fleet invasion for the same weekend.

We are determined to make the Commodores Cup a great event as part of the overall Okanagan Race week (check out the website for Okanagan Race Week 2014 for details).

Here is an update of what you can expect at the CC:

A weekend of great racing!

We cannot offer a meal package as before and you will have to arrange your own breakfasts  or lunch (there is a Subway just a block away)  for all days  as well as dinner Friday night but there will be a free Rum tasting sponsored by  Panama Red Rum from 5 to 7 pm

Saturday at the skippers meeting we will hand out gifts donated by Remax (either a knife or Stainless Steel water bottle) for every registrant of the CC. Skippers will pick these gifts up for their crews.

After racing Saturday we will have a DJ on the dock and a combined party with the Power Fleet. Theme will be construction. A construction hat or vest for example. Please BYOB and some appies. We appreciate this may be a challenge for the Sailors especially the out of town people. Bring a bag of chips or whatever you can.

Afterwards we will have a BBQ on the dock. The cost will be $15 per person and tickets can be purchased Friday night at the Rum tasting. You will receive a wrist band for identification.

When you register we will ask for your boat length to help us plan. Please do so asap to help with planning. You will also need a certificate of insurance. For out of town guests you will also receive a keycard ( refundable deposit of $20). Please  prepay and arrange with the KYC office and we can have these ready when you arrive.  If you have been told by anyone at the KYC office that there are no visitor slips please ignore this. There will be moorage available for all Sailors.

Please help us update our email list by adding your name and anyone else that may be interested to the KYC website here:  https://docs.google.com/a/kycevents.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=cDVscnI0MTVDUWFZSWVGSmdWYW5tUWc6MA..#gid=0



Peter Lutsch
Commodores Cup

Photo's of the Okanagan Woman's Racing Program

Lot's of photos taken by James Anderson of the 2014 Okanagan Woman's sailing program and the Okanagan Woman's Regatta.


https://picasaweb.google.com/111939198290738272481/2014OkanaganWomenSRegatta
https://picasaweb.google.com/111939198290738272481/2014WomenSRacing

Okanagan Race Week

With the first Okanagan Race Week quickly approaching now is the time for an update on the current state of affairs. We are running into a few time crunch factors with the construction of the new KYC clubhouse.  These are going to add some uncertainties to the social aspect for the Commodores Cup portion of the regatta. The new KYC building will not be fully open for business, and we will be forced to vacate the old building, leaving us temporarily homeless for a short period. This will unfortunately happen at the very same time as we had planned to showcase our new yacht club to all of our members and out of town guests. We are forced to just go with the flow and adapt to these changes as they come. Right now the plan is to have the Friday night registration and rum tasting located on the main dock with lots of shaded tented areas provided. There are plans to host the Saturday night social and Sunday awards in the same manner. BBQ dinners will be available after sailing on Saturday and Sunday and sailors are allowed to bring their favourite drink of choice to enjoy in the tents. Washrooms and showers will be open in the new building and accessible with the key cards provided. Rest assured we have lots of exciting racing to look forward to and we will ensure that the sailors have a comfortable place to unwind after an awesome day of competition. If you have any questions about logistics email me at woody1199@gmail.com.

Marc