Notice to OPO Mariners, April 1st, 2005
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Hank Schmitt, P.O. Box 2032, Halesite, NY 11743
631-423-4988, 1-800-4PASSAGe, Fax 631-423-9009
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Editorial
Spring is here!! We have placed ads for return crew in some of the race journals for Ocean races this spring and summer. (ie:Marion Bermuda Race) We are placing more classifieds in more sailing magazines including the British publication "Yachting World". We had several mentions in magazines the past two months including a paragraph in a very nice article in Blue Water Sailing magazine about OPO members' Brian Finn and Julie Savacool's two-week passage from NY to Bermuda and back last June.
There will be a lot of sailing opportunities over the next two months as April and May are the two busy migration months in the spring. If you have set aside one or two weeks this spring to go sailing give me a call so I can put you on our short notice list and help make plans. We are already working on creating more opportunities for our members when things slow down offshore this summer.
The web site has a new look. The web site was first designed in 1997 with 1997 technology. The new front page looks more like the msn.com page, which will be easier to navigate. The itinerary for the Swan Program and details about the new OPO Swan Race Team, which is our new "Avocation", will be up on the site soon.
We are going to go one step further to separate the Swan Offshore/Racing Program from the core OPO mission, which is to offer free or very inexpensive access to offshore passage opportunities. Some members do not wish to hear about or read about opportunities to pay to go sailing, even on a Swan. While there may still be some mention
of the program in the monthly notices, most of the information for the program will be saved for the web site and those members that wish to sign up for the New Swan Racing Team Membership. We will start a new e-mail address book for race team members so we can let them know week by week what days we will be sailing and what races we may enter.
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Boat Shows
April 13th to the 17th is the last boat show of the Strictly Sail Shows series of the year and the first time we will be exhibiting on the West Coast. We have a 20' by 20' foot booth space in Tent B # 705. OPO members Nick Popovich, Jan Breyer, Frank Hall and myself will be manning the booth. Any OPO members that will be attending the show should let me know and I will be happy to mail you a free ticket to the show. We are looking to expand our membership base on the West Coast and to attract and offer more West Coast Opportunities. While in California we will be meeting with one of the builders on our short list of bidders on our OPO 55.
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Swan Opportunities
We had a full OPO crew of six sail back from Newport Rhode Island to Huntington NY yesterday. It was a cold night, but for many, good to be back on the water for the first time this year. The boat is in great shape and we are finishing getting her ready for sea this week. We want our membership to have every opportunity to get to sail on the new boat.
We have a full crew sailing south departing this Thursday from Huntington to Bermuda and then to St. Maartin. I fly down on April 21st after the Oakland Boat Show, to meet the boat. We will then sail over to Antigua for Sailing week. After Sailing week we will sail back to St. Maartin to ready the fleet of 7 Swans that will be departing on May 8th. Six Swans will continue on to Newport and one will depart Bermuda for Copenhagen Denmark. The Trans-Atlantic crew is full, but we still have a couple of crew berths available sailing from St. Maartin to Newport. (or just the 2nd leg from Bermuda to Newport since 2 crew that were going both legs are now only sailing the first leg) The dates are from May 7th to the 21st. If you only have one week and want to join us in Bermuda for the passage to Newport you would need to fly into Bermuda May 14th or 15th for departure on May 16th.
In June we will be making two round trip passages between New York and Bermuda. If June or July are better times for you and you are interested in warmer sailing, then look at the schedule on our web site and plan to join us aboard "Avocation" this summer. If you are interested in racing with us this winter and want to start sailing on a regular basis when "Avocation" is not offshore, then plan on joining our new avocation, the OPO Swan Race Team.
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Swan Race Team
Members that are interested in learning more about racing and may want to compete in some local tune-up races and aspire to compete in the Caribbean Racing Season next winter can sign aboard and become part of the new OPO Racing Team. Members that live in the tri-state NY/CT/NJ/PA/RI (ok 5-state) region or members that have at least two three-day weekends a year to visit us in NY and stay aboard Avocation for a training weekend (sort of like the army reserves, but you live and practice on a Swan 48 while on duty) will want to sign aboard now to learn more about the program as it develops over the course of the spring.
The price to sign up now is free. We will start a new address book and start sending you information about the Racing team as it develops. You will all be invited to sail aboard when Avocation is home for ten days from May 23rd until June 3rd. During the season, but especially in August, September and October, during hurricane season, Avocation will be ready for race team members to practice racing and spinnaker work. Over the course of the season, members will learn a number of positions and become part of the racing crew. We may even enter a couple of races in the fall. Next winter, OPO member race team members will be able to sign up for one or all of the Caribbean Winter Regatta's that we plan to enter. You will get a $500 discount on each and every regatta you sign up for.
I repeat, the cost to join the OPO race team now is nothing. From now, until the end of May, there is no cost to sign up for the special OPO e-mail address book. OPO members that are interested in learning more about how the program will work, will get e-mails about sailing dates during the week and on weekends throughout the summer and fall season. Up to six members will be able to stay aboard the boats, so that you do not have to live very close to get at least 10 days of sailing in each season so you are ready to be on the race team this winter in the Caribbean. Call, e-mail, fax, just let me know you are interested in getting the preliminary e-mails that will lay the foundation for the program. I am starting the list today and the first e-mail notice will be going out soon. The invitation to go sailing aboard "Avocation" at the end of May will need to be sent to interested members before the end of the month since I will be gone for almost a month in late April and May.
Benefits will include first dibs on open slots for late cancellations. At least 10 days or two weekends of practice sailing or racing aboard this summer and fall. E-mail notification of last minute decisions to go out sailing when the winds are up for some heavy weather practice. Race Team Gear. Racing clinics, seminar discounts, and more. And of course the above mentioned discounts for racing this winter in one or more of the winter regatta's. Interested in doing a little racing, or competing at the top end of the game. Get on our list and we will explain how.
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Charter
We have had a couple of members who have expressed interest in meeting
other members who may want to charter together. We also have a couple of members
that have boats and have become lone charter operators who would be willing to
offer discounts to a group of OPO members. Owen Jones in the above opportunity.
We do not want to get too far away from our core mission statement
of offering free or low cost offshore passage opportunities, however we
want to explore recommendations from members and offer opportunities and
situations that may be beneficial to you. If you are interested in hearing
more about opportunities to charter from other members at a discount and
join other opo members to fill a charter opportunity, then we can
ask our OPO members that have started doing some chartering to
put together a package with dates and discounts. Just let me know
and I will start a list to see if there is enough interest.
Thanks,
Hank Schmidt
For more information please call us today at 1-800-472-7724
1-800-4-PASSAGe
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