- EFG International and Viper 640 Class Association Announce Pan American Championship Circuit February 13, 2010
Written by Justin Scott
EFG International, the international private bank, has joined forces with the Viper 640 Class Association to create the EFG Bank Pan-American Viper Championships. In 2010 the Championships will comprise a circuit of three Viper 640 regattas, as follows: – Miami, March 8th-13th, Viper North American Championships at Bacardi Miami Sailing Week. – Kingston, Ontario, August 26th-29th, Viper Canadian and Atlantic Coast Championships at Canadian Olympic Regatta at Kingston (CORK). – Rye, New York, October 9th-10th, the concluding regatta and award ceremony at American Yacht Club’s High Performance Dinghy Open. The Championships will provide a grand prix circuit and promote a Pan-American concept, encouraging sailors from across the continent to join in friendly competition. Teams from Canada, the USA, the Caribbean and Europe will be participating.
Keith Gapp, Head of Strategic Marketing & Communications, EFG International:
“It is exciting to ...
...read more - Orange Bowl Int’l Youth Regatta: Foiling international Moth sailboat & Viper makes sailors drool January 27, 2010
Written by Jeff
Yup, you read it right. According to BYM News……..The kids at the Orange Bowl were drooling over the Viper and the Moth. Mom and Dad, isnt it time you were sailing something that your kids find exciting?
BYM News Wednesday, 30 December 2009 :- Orange Bowl Int’l Youth Regatta, Foiling international Moth sailboat & Viper makes sailors drool
Biscayne Bay was definitely the center of Miami’s action between the competing Orange Bowl boats, many coach boats and spectators and recreational boats (motor and sail) streaming down the Intercoastal. A foiling international Moth sailboat and a Viper were flying through the fleet making all the sailors drool. As the Orange Bowl boats sailed in after a long day, the sun was setting and a full Miami moon was already up in the sky. There was also a display of ...
...read more - Viper West Coast Mid-Winter Championships January 23, 2010
Written by John Riddell – Desert Viper
Arizona Yacht Club – Birthday Regatta – 2010 – Leukemia Cup Weekend
Known more for its phenomenally beautiful ‘Par 5s’ the likes of what Troon North and the TPC Championship course offer than for roll-tacking and gybing, Phoenix, AZ is not widely known as a sailing venue. Despite this, however, it is home to the rebirth of the Viper 640 in the western US and just last weekend served as the field of battle for 10 Vipers fighting for the first points of the 2010 season and the first ever ownership of the highpoints kite, “le maillot jaune” (the Yellow Kite) during Arizona Yacht Club’s annual Birthday Regatta. On Lake Pleasant, there is no such thing as a ‘brisk and steadily growing breeze from 270 degrees, clocking right’, as is on any given ...
...read more - 2010 North American Championships at Bacardi Miami Race Week – March 10-13 November 17, 2009
Written by Regatta Committee
The Bacardi Cup is a truly legendary sporting event in the world of yachting. The first Bacardi Cup was held in 1927 in Havana. The annual competition for the Trofeo Bacardi, also known as the Cup of Cuba, quickly became the most prestigious regatta on the international circuit for the Star Class. The tradition of competition and hospitality continued until political unrest forced the Bacardi Cup to find a new home in 1962 at the Coral Reef Yacht Club in Miami, where under the patronage of the Bacardi family it has flourished ever since. The winners’ roster reads like a who’s who of sailing greats.
In 2010 for the first time in “Bacardi” history, the event organizers decided to invite other Classes in addition to the Star to participate in an event that will be called ...
...read more - Black Mamba wins SEC. November 12, 2009
Written by Gary Umberger
David Guggenheim and the Crew on “Black Mamba” Win the South Eastern Championship for 2009.
David Guggenheim won the hotly contested South Eastern Championship for 2009 (not to be confused with the Securites and Exchange Commission). He sailed a great series and is a true champion. With a major win at the ACC’s (Charleston Race Week) and the McIntosh in Savannah he was propelled to become the SE champion for 2009. David had several crew members throughout the series that helped him achieve this great accomplishment. I know he will be back to defend his title in 2010.
We had several folks that were in contention right up to the final race @ Lake Norman that made the series a lot of fun to compete in.
The entire series started back in November 2008; at beautiful Lake Sinclair ...
...read more - Lake Norman -CKOD November 11, 2009
Written by Attendees at Lake Norman
We have just come back from an enjoyable and relaxing weekend racing Vipers on Lake Norman. Here was a regatta that reminded us why Viper racing is so much fun, This was a rendez vous regattas where the emphasis was less on the “competitive ” results and a little more on camaraderie, good clean racing, sharing boat handling tips etc.
Lake Norman was first and foremost a gathering of friends and then we went out and raced our sailboats. We all tried to tack on the best shifts and find the best pressure and execute lee bows & overlaps, but there was a lack of serious concern about the results, and more emphasis on having a good time with good friends that was refreshing. Put it this way, it left me wanting more.
Congratulations are ...
...read more - 2009 High Performance Dinghy Open October 14, 2009
Written by Justin Scott
The coolest thing about the HPDO is the high performance sailing camaraderie at this regatta. If you have never been to the HPDO, you have to visualize this beautifully manicured yacht club on a stunning point of land overlooking LIS with a Manhattan skyline, except it is totally overrun by this crazy event. There are hulls everywhere. A cats and F18s on the lawns, 5-05s, Fds, K6s, Vipers, 14s, moths and those wacky intl canoes filling every conceivable piece of the property (and it’s a large property)…..and spinnakers drying , and people in wetsuits and harnesses and everyone carrying free beer, ogling at each others boats and helping fix boats and talking tuning. Its hard to describe how American Yacht Club got this event so right. I guess you just had to be there!
And this ...
...read more - Sailing Anarchy – ISAF Regatta October 11, 2009
Written by Drew Harper
(photos courtesy of Dennis “Da Woody” St. Onge & Chrisann Tortora)
It’s once again o-dark-thirty. We always leave the Bay Area with strategic consideration on timing the drive through LA’s labarinth of freeways. We’re headed down through the length of some of the worlds toughest traffic. Strange things are yet to happen.
The Viper tows behind the truck like nothing’s there. It’s easy to edge up over 70, all the time keeping a keen eye out for the Highway Patrol.
An uneventful morning drive to what we thought was a quick stop for gas. I tossed the keys to ‘M’ (short for Mahalynn) and they apparently fell into a black hole. We all hit the head, got some coffee and met back at the truck. No key. We spent the next hour retracing steps, crawling through places we never ...
...read more - 2009 Viper North Americans…my take October 6, 2009
Written by Drew Harper
Yup, Upside down yet again (me and Mmmmmmmmm)
The Eastern Seaboard is the hotbed of Viper sailing, at least for now. Large fleets are very active all along the coast. It seems there’s a container that flows into that area every couple of months with a whole new load of boats for enthusiastic sailors. You’ve gotta love the old-style East coast Yacht Clubs. They all bear a striking resemblance to the West Coast’s golf clubs. Opulent and expensive. Part of the tradition I suppose. Indian Harbor Yacht Club and Stamford Yacht Club are no different. Amenities like swimming pools, beach clubs, clay court tennis and full fitness facilities set these clubs apart from the typical yacht club you might see in the west. The second you walk into Indian Harbor YC the smell of aged oak, walnut ...
...read more - Southeast Inland Championship October 16th-18th, 2009 September 29, 2009
Written by Gary Umberger
The Southeast has been a growing region for the Viper 640 fleet and has scheduled a premier event at Lake Lanier Sailing Club on October 16th-18th, 2009. The lake is beautiful and we should have great breeze this time of the year.
I know that everyone may be a little tired from all the travel to the great white north to sail in the NA’s, Larchmont, Marblehead and others but the climate is changing and it is a great opportunity to get your boat down (over/up) to the south for the line up of events in the Southeast.
Boats that travel to the SEIC will have permission to store boats at LLSC so they can return for the Lake Norman Regatta in November (I need to be made aware of who would be interested in this). Therefore, a ...
...read more - Photos from the 2009 North American Championship September 24, 2009
Photos are now up from the wildly succesful 2009 Viper 640 North American Championship on Long Island Sound. Many thanks to Stamford Yacht Club for the photo gallery, and to Stamford and Indian Harbor Yacht Clubs for hosting an incredible event.
Gallery
2009 North Americans – Gallery
courtesy of Stamford Y.C.
...read more - Safey Line Installation for pre-Rondar boats August 7, 2009
Written by Paul ZImmerman
The Class Rules require that all boats have safety lines installed under the gunwale, and the deadline was May for all boats to comply. That means you have to get it done before NAs next month! Here is the description to add safety lines to Pre-Rondar boats. See attached photos as well
For each side:
1.) Starting from the stern, install one pad eye horizontally under the gunwhale. You will need 4 Ronstan RF 499 padeyes with ferrule or equivalent
2.) Mark three more locations measuring from the stern at 48″ intervals. You should end up with the forward mark approx. across from the mast
3.) the middle two padeyes are installed vertically and the forward one is mounted horizontally the same as the aft padeye
4.) use 8-32’s flathead machine screws and lock nuts to secure the padeyes. Countersink ...
...read more - North American Championships – Checklist August 7, 2009
Written by David Guggenheim
Viper 640 – 2009 North American Championships – Checklist
We are looking forward to seeing you all next month at The Viper NAs. Stamford YC and Indian Harbor YC have laid on a great event for us. Your Class Association wants to make this a fun event for every single competitor. A number of folks have asked us if they could have a simple checklist ahead of the event so that they could check their boats to make sure they are rule compliant before pulling up in Stamford. We are happy to do this. We have tried to keep it short. It’s not meant to be a comprehensive measurement certificate, just a list of some of the more obvious items to check to make sure you are in compliance with the class rules.
If you have any ...
...read more - Huntington High Sierra Regatta – or – “I can’t wait until …” August 5, 2009
Written by Drew Harper
Huntington Lake, one of the most Southern lakes in the Sierra mountain range offers a unique blend of warm air, cold water and fresh breeze that runs down the length of a somewhat narrow lake. Capping out 7,000 feet Huntington certainly has to be one of the best lake sailing venues in the west.
This year was no exception. A record number of boats vie for the opportunity to race here. Historically, the US forest service carefully guards the number of sailboats that have access to the lake. This year was no exception. The High Sierra keelboat weekend broke attendance records with over 131 boats on what was supposed to be a 100-boat limit…oops. Fresno Yacht club flawlessly runs this event and has done so since the mid-50.
The normal cast of mixed PHRF boats showed along ...
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