The Executive Committee has selected venues and approximate dates for the Viper 640 class’s next three North American Championships.  Going forward, bids will be accepted up to 3 years in advance for future North Americans in order to allow the class to work with organizers and host clubs to plan great events and to maximize turnout.

North Americans
2012: Marblehead, Massachusetts (Eastern YC) Sept. 6-9, 2012 (Pre NAs / Labor Day Regatta Sept. 1-2, 2012)
2013: Houston, Texas (Houston YC)  October 10-13, 2013
2014: Long Beach, California (Alamitos Bay YC) Sept. 3-6, 2014

As many of you already know, the 2012 North Americans will return to the unofficial “birthplace” of the Viper class, Marblehead, Massachusetts, for the first time since 2008, hosted by Eastern Yacht Club.  There will be a Labor Day Regatta the weekend before the NAs to allow out-of-towners to come and practice and make a real trip out of it.  Already there’s discussion among southerners, west coasters and even the Australian Viperers to make the trip, and the goal is to have at least 50 Vipers on the starting line.  Stay tuned for more details, including an NOR and online registration, hopefully by the end of the year.

To celebrate the class’s growth in other areas of the U.S., the North Americans will be moved off the east coast for a couple of years starting in 2013.  This began with the 2011 NAs in Sarnia, Ontario.  The 2013 North Americans will be hosted by Houston Yacht Club, in what is sure to be a raucous party with excellent competition, and with the popularity of the boat in Texas, another 50+ Viper turnout is likely in the cards.  The 2014 North Americans will be hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, California, allowing Vipers to experience the Pacific swells that the west coast fleet in Southern California, the Bay Area, the Pacific Northwest and Arizona’s Desert Fleet have enjoyed for so many years.  The 2015 North Americans will be discussed at the 2012 Annual Meeting.