Adult Racing League and CCB in 2012- Become a Member today!

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!

The New Year is here and though it is cold and the winter is just now starting to ramp up, spring is only two and half short months away and we have some major plans at CCB. Of course I hope you caught the blog yesterday about our 2012 Month long Beach Clean Up in March where we hope to rid as many as 100 miles of Connecticut Coastline of Plastics that would otherwise work their way into the world's  five oceanic garbage patches. And to motivate the not-so-environmentally conscious, I hope you saw the Video we posted to Youtube- (if you missed it, it's up above)- where we talk about the need and why we do what we do at CCB.

Just last month we posted another video about Membership to our Youtube Channel and now we are working on a program that will hopefully bring the boating public to CCB in a big way finally solving the age old problems- where do I learn to race? and How do get good crew to race my boat?

As boaters we have known all to well both sides of this problem and as a public access program we are in a unique place to fix it!

Here is a write up our own Taylor Walker, of Team Chance and I put together describing the concept and the  mission of the CCB Adult Racing League- think of it as Thursday Night Softball meets sailing for the 25-40 adult age group. Here is it for your perusal:

" Connecticut Community Boating Adult Racing League

Objective: To share the sport of sailing through race training and friendly competition on board STEALTH,  an Evelyn 26.

Notes:

1)      The Adult Racing League will be sharing STEALTH with the kids of Team Chance racing. This team (kids or adults?) which races very competitively on Wednesday nights in the Mystic River Mudheads Association has shown great promise for the future. With their basic sailing on Monday evenings and race training on Wednesday nights the team will continue to develop during the summer.


2)      As a Sponsor of the Adult Racing League, Focus 421 and OMAX Ultra Pure Omega 3 will provide all team members with a team long sleeve tech shirt and one month of either eye or heart product. (outstanding!!!)

CONCEPT: This will be a pilot program starting this Spring where we gather a group of 8-10 adults to join in a model of shared learning centered around adult big boat racing. With success it will be our aim to expand to as many as three teams in 2012 and beyond for 2013. Ideally we would have multiple teams in a geographic region so that the team may elect to spar against each other to improve the over all skill of the teams and sailors involved

Plan:

                Phase 1: An organizational meeting for the first Adult Racing League Team based in Eastern CT will take place in late winter and we will begin in the early spring with shared learning by covering the basics of a boat campaign. With the assistance of Taylor Walker, Patrick Murphy, Kyle Fast and Jay Greenfield the team of young and old professionals from the CT Shoreline will develop a work list and budget for prep work for the season. They will also work developing a practice schedule one night a week. Coached by a prequalified safety officer the team will depart with the vessel and practice everything from tacking to complex spinnaker sets and douses. The team will learn how communication, team work and delegation are the keys to success in big boat racing. Arriving back at the dock the team will enjoy a small BBQ and a few beers to wrap up the evening with a chalk talk.

                Phase 2: Once the safety officers agree that the team is ready, they will be given the opportunity to compete in weekend events. Team members will pitch in the cash necessary for the entrance fee and begin racing in the eastern Long Island Sound weekend events. These events are complimented with a casual cocktail party and everyone has a great time.

                Phase 3: Each individual sailor will, once demonstrated proficiency has been achieved,be recommended to a privately owned boat and crew near them which they may chose to join and race on in Wednesday nights to further  their development as a sailor. Results: Our goal would be to develop skilled big boat adult sailors to satisfy the ongoing need for crew by privately owned vessels while at the same time satisfying the interests of adults ages 18-40 who might otherwise not be afforded the chance to expand and grown their knowledge of sailing and racing. This will help to garner the support of big boat owners and grass roots adults at the same time and raise membership numbers and dollars to continue to fund youth boating, swimming and sailing initiatives as well as public access to the Long Island Sound, a mission that is core to the cause of CCB.

Cost: 

The cost to members of the league is simple. Be an active paying member of CCB, the low cost of $35/month is easy and affordable. All League Participants are required to be annual sustaining members to Connecticut Community Boating and take a Sailing For Adults Course with a CCB Instructor prior to being recommended to service on private vessels. . Additional costs such as boat improvements above the basic  requirements of operation, entry fees,  food and beverage  and any and all other fees associated with the Adult Racing League will be incurred by the team based upon the schedule and cost of seasonal maintenance.o