- Doctor in the House – Par Deux June 28, 2012
Ever since a broken spinnaker halyard robbed us of a win at Mardi Gras Race Week, Team FNG was still looking for its first major regatta victory. We’ve been sailing consistently enough to finish 2nd at several regattas, but were hoping for better this weekend!
Team FNG video Long Beach Race Week
Long Beach served up perfect Viper weather for the 15 teams that showed up from San Francisco, Arizona, Texas, San Diego, and the local ABYC fleet. Sunny skies and strong breeze everyday lend many of my eastern friends that sail here to call it “Groundhog Day Weather”… every day – the same! First start at noon is usually in the 10-12kt range, but then builds as the seabreeze kicks in, reaching 20-25 throughout the afternoon. I think Long Beach was extra good this weekend as it was trying to give ...
...read more - Larchmont Memorial Day, Year 2 May 29, 2012
May 26-27, 2012
Larchmont, NY
In 2011, Larchmont Yacht Club started its Viper fleet, and the northeast Viper contingent brought 16 boats down for its inaugural regatta. In 2012, the Larchmont Viper fleet doubled in size, and once again hosted its annual Memorial Day Regatta for the Viper class. The regatta counts not just toward the northeast Viper circuit (regatta # 2 of 6), but in 2012, is the first regatta in the Western Long Island Sound Viper circuit. WLIS now has nearly 30 Vipers within a 20-mile radius, and created an informal three-regatta circuit among LYC Memorial Day, Indian Harbor YC’s YRALIS Champs, and Stamford YC’s One Design Invitational. Larchmont Memorial Day is a unique event on the Viper circuit, with no entry fee, a late start time both days to allow for significant morning tuning and rigging conversations, and a ...
...read more - Just Undiscovered May 20, 2012
I was in two minds about writing about the Wickford Regatta. Part of me wants to share this hidden gem of a regatta, and part of me wants it to remain undiscovered.
This regatta didn’t decide any champions and it won’t make the headlines in the sailing press, but the former coach of the US Olympic team hosts this little regatta in his beautiful home town that reminds us what the sport is all about.
We have just rolled up the drive and put our boat away. I have that tired glow after two days on the water, hanging out with good friends, and some darn good sailboat racing thrown in for good measure. Its hard to pin down exactly what makes such a great weekend, but here goes:
First: Wickford is a really neat place to spend a weekend. Wickford is a beautiful quiet Rhode Island harbor town ...
...read more - Level Playing Field May 2, 2012
How tough was the Peloton at Charleston Race Week ?
Consider this.
There were 40 Vipers on the start line competing for our Atlantic Coast Championships and round 3 of the EFG Pan American Championships.
EVERY boat had at least two double digit finishes.
Except for one boat, every boat had a finish worse than 20th, ie, more than half way down the fleet. The one exception? Finished 19th after being eaten alive by the Peloton after a slightly slow gybe downwind.
...read more - Road to Marblehead May 2, 2012
Road to Marblehead
July 2012
It was only a matter of time….. It had to come up…
Just add…….. beers…
“Who wants to do one of the regattas in the states?” someone asked.
If a plane was handy, 12 West Australian Viper sailors would have been on it.
After the alcohol effect receded, six of us remained committed and two Australian crews are on the road to Marblehead, Massachusetts for the 2012 North Americans.
Boats to charter, airfares, accommodation, – there was much to organise – but more importantly – we needed beer money.
Another great idea surfaced – lets do the Rottnest Island Festival of Sail.
There was a first prize of $2000 for the Around Rottnest Island race on IRC. Viper owners, Grahme and Heather Monkhouse had just purchased a beautiful J 122, Lithium, and if we could put together a Viper crew we might give it a crack.
Some ...
...read more - Viper NAs registration now open April 16, 2012
In just two weeks, 37 Vipers from 5 countries and 9 states have registered for the 2012 Viper North American Championship, to be held at Eastern YC Sept. 6-9. There’s an event website and online registration. This is guaranteed to be the largest Viper North American Championship yet. Come join the fun.
...read more - Announcing the 2012 EFG Bank Viper Pan American Championship March 29, 2012
The Viper 640 Class Association and the Viper 640 Pan American Championship Committee is proud to publish online the format for the 2012 EFG Bank Viper Pan American Championship. In 2010, the Viper Class and EFG Bank, launched a regatta circuit comprising three premiere regattas in the Americas open to competitors around the world. For 2012, competitors may include a regional qualifying championship event as one of the three regattas. Each boat scores two of their best three scores from the following three events:
1. Viper Midwinter Championship at Bacardi Miami Sailing Week presented by EFG International.
2. One of the Viper regional championships (Gulf Coast Championship, Atlantic Coast Championship, Pacific Coast Championship, New England Championship, with the chance of a Canadian championship being added for 2012)
3. Viper North American Championship at Eastern Yacht Club presented by EFG International.
The scoring methodology has been ...
...read more - North Sails Report on San Diego NOOD March 28, 2012
And here’s the wrap-up report from Garth’s recent win at the 2012 San Diego NOOD – perfect for the tuning geek on your Viper, though not in time for the holidays.
http://www.onedesign.com/One%20Design%20NA/tabid/23032/Default.aspx?news_id=3156
...read more - Just Like Home March 25, 2012
A hectic week prefaced the 2012 San Diego NOODS. This was to be the biggest mid-winter Viper regatta to date in the West….16 boats on line. Garett and I had to prepare the Rondar Double Viper rig to take #175 and the K6 down, a much harder task than we had imagined…in more ways than one. Some custom welding, fitting and futzing and we were ready to hit the 500 mile road trip. Normally I’m all about the road trip but this semi-annual sojourn takes us through the length of LA traffic towing a boat, so we always travel that section in the middle of the night around 4 am. Usually a great idea, this time, not so much.
2:00 am – Garett behind the wheel on a lonely and foggy stretch of highway 101 outside of Lompoc we come upon ...
...read more - Fer de Lance Defends Bacardi Cup Title March 20, 2012
March 8-10, 2012
Miami, FL
Glyn Locke and his team on GBR 123, Fer de Lance, defended their Bacardi Cup title in fantastic Miami sailing conditions. The Bacardi Cup is a qualifier for the EFG Pan American Championship series. For more on the 2012 Bacardi Cup, please view the article on the Yachts & Yachting website. Results are posted on Yacht Scoring.
The champs showing great upwind form. Photo by Onne van der Wal / courtesy BACARDI Miami Sailing Week.
...read more - Living the Dream – Part 1 March 12, 2012
Home on the Water : Check
Viper 640 : Check
Home built personal Viper hoist in your own backyard : Check
Entered for Charleston Race Week : Darn. Conflict with my son’s Medical School function.
Well three out of four ain’t bad. Welcome to Richard Prieto, new owner of Viper #124 and amateur home hoist builder on the east end of Long Island. Let’s hear some more stories of anyone “living the dream” with their Viper, send the story to Peter Beardsley or me.
In the meantime, everyone should sign up for Charleston Race Week — aka, Viper Atlantic Coast Champs for 2012, and a qualifying regatta for the EFG Pan American Championship. 34 Vipers are already signed up from 12 states and provinces. Register here and scratch sheet here. Promises to be the best dockside party ever.
...read more - Mardi Gras Race Week 2012 is in the books March 2, 2012
Feb. 24-26, 2012
New Orleans, LA
Minimal photographic evidence exists at press time to indicate that Mardi Gras Race Week actually occurred. Perhaps this is an effort to protect the innocent — whatever happens in New Orleans, stays in New Orleans, lest you find yourself lost in the bayou and show up the following MGRW married to a nutria and sporting a wicked sunburn and Cajun accent. In any case, we’ve seen the results, and we’ve seen a couple of other accounts of the regatta, and know that 15 Vipers made the trip for the 2012 Gulf Coast Championship for the first stop on the EFG Pan American Championship as one of the regional regattas. Wisconsin sailor Tom Peterson and his team won over California road warrior Jim Sears and his Ullman Sails team, with fleet newcomer and local boy Lee Eikel ...
...read more - Approval of New Tooling For North American Production March 1, 2012
Dear Class Members and Fellow Viper Owners,
As many of you know, Rondar Raceboats is building two new sets of molds for the Viper in order to establish North American Production at the factory in Peabody. This is an exciting development for our Class. We have been asked by a number of members how the Class Association supervises this process and how we review any proposed modifications or refinements to the tooling. We thought we would share our answer with everyone.
One of the great strengths of the Viper Class is that we are a strict one-design class where the builder is appointed by the Class Association and the rules are controlled by the owner members. Importantly, our class has a proven track record of introducing occasional refinements to the boat that keep the boat modern and user friendly but at the ...
...read more - Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Rolls Out Red Carpet for 2012 SCYA Midwinters February 23, 2012
Feb. 18-19, 2012
Long Beach, CA
For those who pay close attention to the front page and class news, you know that Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, California, will be hosting the 2014 Viper North Americans. Outside the fleets in Arizona, San Diego and Seattle, allegedly no east coast Viperers have made the trip to the L.A. area. Sure, we’ve all read about the legendary sailing conditions in Southern California, listened to the Beach Boys classic “California Girls”, heard of the infamous “Timbo”, maybe even staged our own Speedpuck photo with a thumbs up, a smirk and a wink. But we haven’t visited, and we should. So I did…
Every President’s Day weekend, clubs from Santa Barbara to San Diego play host to the largest regatta in the United States (and maybe the world): the SCYA Midwinters. 100 one design classes ...
...read more
