Written by Jan Murray

September 17-20, 2009

The Western Long Island Sound Viper fleet welcomes our fellow Viperers to Southern Connecticut.

We’re planning 4 great days of racing, socializing and fun.

Here’s a few things we are working on. We have two nights of wining and dining at two of Long Island Sound’s oldest and nicest clubs for you and your two crew (included with your entry).

Thursday is rigging, tuning and practice hosted by Indian Harbor Yacht Club. It’ll be a great chance to get your boat ready, shake off the rust and get some practice out on the course. That will be followed by a great evening on the lawn at Indian Harbor, overlooking the Greenwich Islands.

Friday starts with a skipper’s meeting at Stamford Yacht Club. We’re happy to say that Ray Redniss is our Principal Race Officer supported by SYC’s A-team race committee. Ray has been PRO for many of Stamford Yacht Club’s seminal events, including the Vineyard Race. He is also Fleet Captain of Storm Trysail Club and runs many of their major events, including a circle at STC’s Block Island Race Week and STC’s Intercollegiate Regatta.

Continuing the Viper tradition, we’ll be modifying RRS 41 and will be providing on the water coaching. We’re also planning on a chalk talk and beverages on Friday and Saturday after racing. Each day’s front runners will be joined by our on the water coaches and hopefully a special guest to discuss each day’s racing and give helpful hints for everyone.

Saturday night we’ll be up on SYC’s Vineyard Deck for drinks and dinner. We’ll (hopefully) have a great view of the sunset across Stamford Harbor. We’re also fortunate to have Photoboat.com taking pictures of the event. The nice folks from Photoboat.com will be with us Saturday night sharing the fun and excitement of Friday and Saturday’s racing as seen through their lenses.

We’re also working hard with potential sponsors. We expect to have some nice stuff to include with your registration and some great daily prizes and raffles.

Sunday will mark the end of the regatta. We’ll get off the water a little early, leaving plenty of time for the all important Awards and Wrap-up party where we’ll recognize the fastest, best and other notable accomplishments of the regatta.

Please register now at www.yachtscoring.com for an early registration discount.

We look forward to seeing everyone in September.

Thanks to our sponsors!