Input Requested - off-year rendezvous option for Nonsuch Boats on Long Island Sound

General
,
1

We all enjoyed a wonderful time at the 2026 INA Rendezvous in Greenport last August.

I am thinking of organizing a similar but MUCH less ambitious/expensive opportunity for Nonsuch Boats in 2027. Need input now to gauge if there is interest. The high level summary would be :

  • Would be in the first week of October. Wondering how many of us sail in October ?
  • It would be held in conjunction with a larger yacht club Octoberfest event, so the main meal would be provided, we’d need to plan our own for other meals.
  • It would be a 3 day event Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Octoberfest meal would be Saturday. It would be feasible to provide a Saturday only option for folks using land transportation. Sorry we don’t have a helipad.
  • Cost would be about $200 per boat which includes 2 Octoberfest meal tickets additional meal tickets about $25.
  • Attendees could come by land or sea. A limited number of slips will be available, boat overflow would be on a rigging dock without shore power. Slips would be included in the $200 boat admission fee.
  • If 5 or more boats are interested in racing we’d have the option for 3 starts on Saturday and 2 starts on Sunday. Racing would be included in the overall cost, take home awards provided by club.
  • Like the rendezvous racing would be optional, alternative cruise or land activities could be organized. Spectator opportunities for the racing could be arranged.
  • We’d be sharing the facility with 5-7 other fleets. Lots of interesting sailors to socialize with, and the option to break out into smaller groups of Nonsuch sailors.
  • Pictures below from yesterday… I served on the outer circle RC boat. Yesterday we ran races for Flying Scots and International Canoes 3 races for each fleet ( 6 starts total) that ranged 3-8 miles depending on boats. We could have handled 2-3 additional fleets. The inner circle ran races for 4 fleets. Results posted HERE.
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    Gotta say International Canoes are speedy little boats.
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    We didn’t fill our inside hall and there is also a wrap around deck and pavilion on the property.
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    Race management team was top-shelf if I might say so myself.

If there is any interest at all please post an reply here and I’ll add you our WLIS Nonsuch newsletter list and provide more info as it becomes available.

Sail on,
Rob…

2

Hi Rob,

I am thinking about taking Margery out of the water immediately after Labor Day next year so that we can go cruising to the Erie/Oswego canals and Lake America/Ontario in my powerboat. I was going to do that this year but, could not leave early enough to make the trip worthwhile as the NYS Canal System closes for the season on 10/14.
We are in Camden, ME now as a result. We went in the opposite direction.

3

This event is is offered as a strawman which I believe is doable.

The proposed location is Westport, CT.

There is still plenty of time to consider alternatives.

Please feel free to express opinions regarding locations, dates, and activities.

Thanks,
Rob…

4

Ward,
Sounds like some fun plans. Enjoy !
Rob…

5

Morning Rob , I think it’s a great idea. Only concern have is the risks associated with the weather that time of year.

The Halloween storm of 1991 , Hurricane Sandy and just recent nor ‘easter are just a few that come to mind. Could be a winner or a washout. I’m game !

6

Good points Gary.

Thinking out loud ( and hopefully provoking thoughts from others ). Off-peak days are particularly easy for Yacht clubs to be generous with fleets wishing to schedule events. I’m still working on leads for other days during primetime. I’d like to maximize fun and keep participant costs minimal. The rendezvous this year consumed lots of our sailing budget, but it was worth it! We added 2 marina days to ensure pleasant passage to and from Greenport.

Events with flexibility built into them, could dodge the risk of bad weather and give us some truly glorious sailing days.

I wonder what folks would think about scheduling sailing events that have a 48 hour go-no-go decision? We’d still ask for intent via a “soft RSVP” and confirm with attendees 48 hours prior to the event.

Another option is to use locations that would allow owners that don’t want to bring their boat to arrive by land and hop on a someone else’s boat for the day. At the rendezvous, part of the fun was sailing on other boats.

Sometimes you can make some pretty tasty lemonade from inclement weather. My family was treated to a fun hurricane party in the middle of one of our bareboat charters in St. Vincent (Emily 2005).

CPYC is a good place to hunker down. This weekend visiting boats would have been welcome to stay an extra day to avoid departing in heavy weather… they could probably arrange to come back in a few days if necessary.

Yesterday ( Sunday) was not ideal ( 25-30 ESE with 5’ waves ) but it was fun and most importantly no boats were damaged and nobody was injured. Flying Scots stayed ashore and only 2 International Canoes went out. They were an amazing sight to see them slicing through the waves. 12 Aeros and 14 Lasers sailed Sunday. Lots of heavy weather sailing experience was gained. Results illustrate how Saturday ( 3 races ) was very different than Sunday ( 2 Races)

I hope other Nonsuch owners on LIS will join the discussion to help brainstorm possible 2027 Nonsuch Events.

Rob…

7

Hi Rob
Racing is not my forte’s but that sounds like an interesting weekend adventure. Count Spirit ~Wind in.
‘God willing and the creek don’t rise.’
A lot can happen in a year, especially at my age.
Brian

8

Hi Brian,
Let’s talk through how this event might look from your perspective to hopefully motivate others to share their thoughts and ideas.

I’m fishing for ways to plan more fun, flexible, and low cost events. Leaning towards several smaller events instead of a single huge event.

Hoping others will chime in…

Assuming a non-racing Nonsuch based at Pilots Point

Thursday before the event weekend look at the weather, If the weather is fair, plan to sail if it’s foul you can either drive or skip the event.

For racing boats the only difference is they will race at the event.

Scenario #1 Weather is good

If you are sailing, register the boat for the “event” Thursday evening. Registration costed $130 this year, because of the weather many boats do not use early registration which was $110 this year. Leave Friday AM… It’s a solid day sail from Pilots Point to CPYC. 50 miles. Arrive Friday afternoon/evening ( assuming you started on an incoming tide). Friday evening, we’ll have an informal potluck nothing fancy. Just a relaxing evening on the waterfront.

Saturday morning club provides bagels and coffee for registered boats. Depending on their interest non racers may want to hop on their boats to watch the races or stay ashore to socialize or attend a workshop if we can organize one.

Saturday evening is the Oktoberfest dinner. We’re a volunteer club. Saturday afternoon volunteers will take over the kitchen guests a welcome to lend a hand if they wish. This year I was on outer circle RC and finished beer boiled Bratwurst on the grill ashore. Grilling is one of my favorite jobs plus RC volunteers eat for free, so I wanted earn my keep.

Sunday you have the option to depart or hangout an extra day and depart Monday AM.

Scenario 2 - Weather is bad

Drive to CPYC Saturday morning. Pilots Point is a 75 minute drive to Cedar Point. Same time it takes from me to drive home from Cedar Point.

Arrive by 11 am , buy meal tickets for $20 each, and hop on someone else’s boat as a race spectator or hangout on shore for whatever shore activities we’ve arranged.

Saturday evening is the Oktoberfest dinner.

After Oktoberfest Grab a hotel room if you enjoyed the beer or drive home. This year we left about 7:30 and drove home because Linda was coming down with a cold.

In both scenarios, you get to :

  • Meet some new Nonsuch owners and catch up with some you already know.
  • Tour some Nonsuch boats.
  • Watch some interesting boats race. I was fascinated by the International Canoes
  • Maybe learn something if we organize a workshop.
  • Check out another a place you probably haven’t visited before.
  • Meet some other sailors.

Rob…