Notice to OPO Mariners, September 1, 2006
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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
I want to thank the many members who already sent in their dues. While I will not be deleting anyone until the end of September I will be writing to those that have not sent in dues as a reminder later next week. If you plan on paying your dues soon you can e-mail me now and I will not mail you a reminder. It would save me the time and expense of having to write. I will mark you as "Check in the mail", but you will have to remember to mail it in before being deleted from the active membership at the end of the month.
Although many regret the end of summer, the fall is when the best sailing opportunities are. Pretty much everyone that would like to make a passage can in the fall. Many boats leave about the same two or three weeks at the end of hurricane season so there is a great demand for people with some offshore experience all at the same time. Feel free to let me know if you want to make a passage this November.
I will be up in Newport next week to post our NARC Posters around town before the boat show. If any members belong to a Yacht Club or have there boat in a Marina that they could post one of our NARC Posters, I will be happy to mail you a couple this week. Please just e-mail me back and I will mail you a couple of posters. Thanks in advance.
If you do not have an offshore passage under your belt yet, you may want to think about joining one of our boats heading south in the NARC Rally to get some miles in to help you qualify for a berth on a private boat for free in the future. The Swans we have are almost full, and two of the four Beneteaus are also full so you will need to decide soon if you want to have a guaranteed berth on one of our boats this fall. The skippers we have so far are AJ Smith and Patrick Childress skippering Swans and Rick Butler and myself skippering a Beneteau. It also looks like we may have Jonathan Ishmael once again skippering the Baltic 64 "Triumph" that is almost a Swan and has also been in the program before. By sailing in the NARC you get to meet other delivery skippers and boat owners that may be looking for crew later down the line and meeting them will help you get more opportunities.
Another great trip will be the one week mini-Flotilla from the Chesapeake Bay to Newport later in October the weekend after the Annapolis Boat Show. If you want to learn the waters between the Chesapeake and Newport, this is how in one week. We also plan to try and spend at least one full day in New York City. We have priced this trip very low ($900 for the 8 days), since we have a sweet deal on the boats. An opportunity like this does not come around every fall and we are happy to be able to offer this to you.
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Boat Shows
Fall is the season for In-The-Water boat shows. We have gotten into the habit of sailing to and from the shows and not exhibiting with our own booth. Besides being more fun, we do not have to worry about getting ready for a boat show during the summer. Rick Butler has our booth in Canada and will be exhibiting at the Toronto "In Water" Boat Show September 14-17, 2006. Any OPO member in the area or planning to attend the show can volunteer to help Rick set up and man the booth in exchange for free show credential, a hot dog and a big thank you from Rick. Rick is promoting OPO in Canada and Great Lakes. He will be one of our skippers in both the Mini-October Flotilla and sailing south this fall in the NARC Rally. If you can help call Rick at 866-895-8254 Or e-mail at sailoffshore@rogers.com
If you are planning to attend the Newport Boat Show, we will be docked at Christies Dock, two docks over from the show on Wednesday and Thursday Nights and we will be walking the show on Thursday and parts of Friday. Plan to meet for lunch at about 1:00 pm at the BBQ Pit Restaurant inside the show near the street. Call the office and we can exchange cell phone numbers and we can plan to meet some OPO members Thursday Night after the show in Newport.
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Winter Caribbean Circuit
I would like to get a list going of who is interested in joining us for one of the Caribbean regattas this winter. We may also offer one or both of the Swan Rendezvous to OPO members to join us for a few days of living like the rich and famous. The first one will be in the Dominican Republic and will allow some members to sail for a day or two at both ends of the rendezvous. They are both in February before the Heineken Regatta. Since this will be our third year with the boat we have many members who have sailed in one or more of the regattas that want to sail in one again. They will have first choice and a discount for going, but by letting me know now you are interested we should be able to guarantee you a berth aboard for one of the three main regattas this winter. Any member that wishes to get on the preferred list for contact later in the fall should please let me know soon. I do not want to ask for a deposit now since the regattas do not start until February. I will ask for a deposit in October 1st notice with the balance not due until the month before the regatta. The three regattas are Heineken, the BVI and Antigua Sailing week. If you are interested in one of the Swan rendezvous or other chartering opportunity this winter please call and we can see what you are looking to do and what might be best. While we are on the subject of unique winter charter opportunities, consider this a poll to see if anyone is interested in a one-week live-aboard diving trip aboard a Big 45' Cat. OPO member Tim Tulloch is certified to teach and has done many trips in the Islands already. He can teach from beginners to advanced.
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