- Drew Harper’s Secret Weapon May 12, 2009
Written by San Francisco Examiner
The key to winning races with the Viper on San Francisco Bay . http://www.examiner.com/x-3070-SF-Sailing-Examiner~y2009m5d8-Great-mustaches-in-San-Francisco-sailing
...read more - Debrief Notes From the Experts at Charleston May 6, 2009
Ched Procter, Tac Boston and Ethan Bixby hosted a debrief session on Saturday after racing at Charleston Race Week 2009. Ethan and Tac took detailed notes on the debrief session and many still consider these notes and “tips” as the the “GO FAST GUIDE” . Here they are:-
Tuning –
We went through some of the tuning points and it is best to use the sailmakers guides specific to the design. In general, we were decreasing the shroud tension in lighter air, and a rough guide can be that the leeward shroud will just go soft when the mainsheet is at max leech tension. When you give a small ease the leeward shroud would then take tension. As the wind increases the rig is increasingly tighter, and I also like to record the gaps in the turnbuckle stud so you can return to your base settings at ...
...read more - Conversations With The Sport of Sailing – Scuttlebutt May 4, 2009
Written by Craig Lewis
Scuttlebutt carried an interview with our very own Class Prez’, Justin Scott after Charleston Race Week.
(April 22, 2009) Last year the Viper 640 circuit included Charleston Race Week for the first time. They had such a good time that they promised to spread the word and bring back their friends. Did they ever! Last weekend, 32 Vipers showed up on the start line at Charleston making the Viper 640 the largest class at the regatta. Link is here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0422/
Or read more below
Charleston Race Week is fast becoming a Mecca for smaller sport boat racing on the East coast, with the combined fleets of sport boats under 26 feet accounting for over half of the 162 participants. Race Week organizers view the 20-foot sport boat category as one of the fastest growing and most exciting niches ...
...read more - Animated Race Replays from Charleston Race Week ’09 April 30, 2009
Some of the 32 Vipers competing at Charleston Race Week carried Velocitek GPS devices onboard during the regatta. We’ve used the track files recorded by the devices to create animated replays from the regatta, using Velocitek’s SpeedPlay software.
Click on any of the videos below to play back a race.
If you had a Velocitek onboard at CRW and your replay track is not shown below, contact Felipe Payet to get him your track data and have it added to the race replays.
Tips:
After clicking on a replay to begin playback, Make sure the “HD” button at the bottom right of the replay window is highlighted in red, to play back a race in High Definition. If it’s not red, click on the HD button to enable High Definition.
To really see what’s going on in a replay, expand the playback to full screen ...
...read more - Care Of Carbon Masts April 25, 2009
Written by Christian Jensen
The following is answers Christian posted in response to questions.
Can a carbon mast last as long as aluminum masts. Like a 30 year old Ensign mast?
There are 30 year old carbon masts around. What is required for them to last is that you have to keep UV from breaking down the resin matrix (what you would notice by the resin turning yellow and chalky).
This can be achieved by a good coating of the spar and obviously patching it if the coating flakes off. The Viper sticks are clear-coated – am unsure which brand of clear-coat but am 99 sure it has an UV-filter in it. My preference for clear-coat is Awlgrip as it has a very good UV filter – BUT – not as good as a colored coating, which has better UV filtering properties. Ideally ...
...read more - Charleston Race Week Rocks!!!!!!!!!! April 22, 2009
Written by Everybody at CRW
If anyone has stories or pictures from CRW that they would like added to this informal, organic article, please email them to Justin or Dan and we will add them.
Come back to this page and check it out again. We will add more articles and more pictures as they come in.
The first contribution is from John Strauss. This was not only his first Viper regatta, but his first ever time racing a sailboat. The Viper is all about the “young at heart” and John shows that you can never stop having fun.
“Just returned to Campton Hills, IL 60175 and thought I’d chime in a bit. #99 had an awesome time.
Yes, we were a bit slow and yes, we sailed jib/main on Sunday BUT Given that I turn 65 in a few days and that this ...
...read more - Welcome to 2009 Viper 640 North American Championship! April 15, 2009
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 ...
...read more - Class Rules Changes Approved April 9, 2009
Written by Charles Goodrich
Both proposed Class Rules Changes (as worded below) were passed/approved and will take effect immediately. Proposal 1 had 28 “Yes” votes which represents approximately 62% of the Class membership. Proposal 2 had 35 “Yes” votes which represents approximately 78% of the Class membership.
The following two amendments to the Viper 640 Class Rules have been proposed. The Technical Committee unanimously recommends that both amendments be approved.
PROPOSAL 1
10.2.1 Electronic devices which measure or calculate, water depth, current speed or direction, wind direction or wind speed are prohibited. (Deleting words:- boat speed, vmg from 10.2.1)
10.2.2 If an electronic device has not been specifically approved by the Viper 640 Class Association Technical Committee, it shall be assumed to be prohibited.
10.2.3 (i) The Tacktick micro compass is approved . (ii) The Velocitek SC 1 and the SpeedPuck are approved
PROPOSAL 2
6.1 c) The main sheet shall ...
...read more - New Viper 640 Tuning Guide Published April 6, 2009
Rondar published a 2009 Tuning Guide for the Viper 640. The document includes a discussion of the Viper 640’s critical rig controls, fundamentals of setting up the Viper 640 rig for best performance, and quick reference tables for both rig tune and sail trim settings appropriate to different wind strengths. Those rig tune and sail trim tables are suitable for lamination to carry with you on your boat as a quick reference tool.
We encourage all Viper sailors to download and read this guide, and put its recommendations into practice when setting up your boat.
V640_bennett_tuning_guide_rev1_1
...read more - 2009 Coral Reef Cup Report, Results and Photos March 22, 2009
Written by Dan Tucker
Viper 640 racing in the Coral Reef Cup ended about six hours ago, and I’m still jazzed! Today was the most fun I’ve sailing while racing so badly. Twelve Viper 640’s turned up at the invitation of the Coral Reef Yacht Club for three days of racing in one of the best one design venues in the world. The Club and the Etchells fleet invited us to join them and turn an annual Etchells event into a multi-class, one-design regatta. We can’t thank the CRYC, the organizers and RC enough for being such gracious hosts.
There’s nothing better to me than racing fast sportboats in good breeze, warm water and sunshine. Biscayne Bay simply delivers. After a 25 ½ hour delivery drive from Marblehead, MA, we were the last boat to arrive late Thursday. We met ...
...read more - Viper Swag! March 12, 2009
Written by Dan Tucker
Thanks to the efforts of Desert Fleet Viperette Stacey Loula, you can now order embroidered Viper gear online! You’ll find the link in the “For Sale” tab at the top of the page, or just click here!
Men’s and women’s polos, vests, fleece jackets, Gill gear, shorts, hats, bags. There’s tons of stuff! The vendor, Coral Reef Sailing Apparel, will share some of the profit with the Viper Class Association for everything you buy, so you can feel good about your purchase!
There will be Viperized shirts for Charleston Race Week too, thanks to the Viper Swagmistress!
...read more - Vipers in the desert! February 7, 2009
Written by Greg Jackson
Friday, finally… I hope the boss is gone for the rest of the day. I’m outa here!
2 pm and there are already four vippers rigged! Sweet! Mark and Drew, in from CA, go for a test sail and I get Laurent to help me install my new jib blocks. After a few beers and a party in the evening, I’m off to bed.
Desert Snakes
Saturday morning was a tense, with the Vipers getting ready for the Leukemia Cup and Birthday Regatta, the 49th running of this event. After a prepared breakfast, three successful races were run. The races were held in around eight knot wind, and mid seventy degree temps. My most successful day ever and second through fourth place within three points of each other.
Then back to the tent for dinner. Well done to the ...
...read more - Special Winter Offer on Sails January 30, 2009
Written by Brian Bennett
Rondar has a special winter offer on sails- $2,600 for a full suit of Hyde Sails. If ordered now, can be delivered to St Pete or Charleston.
See the Forum post for details
...read more - Charleston Race Week and Viper Atlantic Coast Championships January 28, 2009
Written by CRW
We are rapidly approaching the cut-off date for Registration discount. If you have not already registered and paid your entry fee for this great regatta, please consider getting registered before January 30th. It saves you money.
There are 32 Vipers already registered !!!
STOP PRESS : 36 Vipers registered for CRW.
The Regatta is based at the Charleston Marina Resort in this picture. After racing, tie up at the marina, step off the boat, enjoy a root beer float, take a splash in the pool and then wander down to the beach for the party.
We are the largest class at CRW and we have just heard the news that we are going to be allotted our own start line and circle. All the Vipers who went to CRW last year came back raving about the location, the sailing, the resort, ...
...read more
