The Potter Yachters and Small Craft Advisor Magazine would
like to extend a cordial invitation
To all small sailboat skippers:
Come join the partying, racing, and salty comraderie
at the
4th Annual SCA Cruiser Challenge, August 24, 2002 on Monterey
Bay, California.
This
year, Cruiser Challenge IV will be held on Monterey Bay, one of the most
gorgeous places to sail on the West Coast. We're thrilled to report
that the Race will be run by the Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club Race
Committee, with a proper US Sailing starting sequence. We will be guests
in their clubhouse for dinner and the award ceremony on Saturday
night.
We
don't have the details all worked out yet, but mark it on your
calendars. In the future, you can check details at the Potter Yachters
Website, at www.potter-yachters.org. We hope
to have on-line registration forms.
PRE-REGISTRATION 30 DAYS IN ADVANCE IS REQUIRED if you
want to berth overnight and/or participate in the race.
Be
sure to mark your calendars for the cut-off date for registration, which will be
July 24th. We will be rafting up overnight in the Monterey Harbor
Marina. We're expecting at least 50 boats to participate, and the
marina will be moving some other boats to accomodate us in a very
crowded marina,
The
rules will be similar to last years. This is a race for MINI-CRUISERS, not
racers. In a nut shell, here's what that means: no
headsails larger than a 155% genoa, and you have to carry an outboard and anchor
and basic cruising gear, only trailerable cruisers 25' and shorter with a
sleep-in cabin big enough for two adults or more. There will be three open
divisions -- Micro Pocket Cruisers, Medium PocketCruiser, and Large Pocket
Cruisers. (We'll publish details as soon as possible)
It's a
race for non-racers. You don't need to know all the special rules for
racing, but you do need to know and obey the basic "rules of the road" governing
right of way.
Our
races are fun, "gentlemanly" races. They are competively, but not
cut-throat. For many folks, the Cruiser Challenge is the first race
they've ever entered. There's never been a collision or a protest in
any of our Club races. In fact, we the Potter Yachters
don't even have a "protest committee" -- instead we have a rule in
all our races that any skippers who uses excessively
agressive tactics that endanger intermediate sailors will be
disqualified on the spot, by any Potter Yachter Officer after
consultation with the other officers, with no further appeal. It may not
be "fair and democratic", but it's the way we run our races, and we like to keep
our races laid back and safe. If you're looking for a hard-core,
ultra-competitive race -- this ain't it!!
PLEASE
HOLD YOUR EMAILS AND QUESTIONS FOR NOW -- We'll publish the rules of the
race and details of the weekend as soon as we can.
In the
meantime mark your calendars with the dates and bookmark our
website:
July
24th for pre-registration and
August
24-25th for the date of the race.