Notice to OPO Mariners, September 1, 2007
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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
The end of the summer and the start of the busy fall delivery season means it is time to pay annual dues to remain active in OPO. I have mailed an invoice to most members that you will get in the next few days. If you recently joined you do not owe dues and will not get a letter. Annual dues remain the same as last year. You will continue to get e-mails until the end of the month. If you do not pay dues you will not get the October 1st Notice to OPO mariners and you will know that something is wrong so get in touch with us then if you have not paid dues and stop getting e-mails. In addition to the many free opportunities that will be posted in the next year I also included the itinerary for the Swan Program for 2008 including the opportunity to join us on the sail to and from Europe as well as the opportunity to sail with us next summer and fall, paying in US dollars.
Besides crewing opportunities in the NARC Rally which we organize, Steve Black, who runs the Caribbean 1500 is also telling his participants to contact us for crew this year. Recent articles in the sailing magazines about us include articles from Antigua Sailing Week in “Sailing World” and an upcoming article about the passage from Cape Town to Grenada on a 39’ Catamaran. We will have a booth at the Newport Boat show this month and will be sailing to the Annapolis Boat Show. You can join us for the sail up or back to both shows aboard Avocation, our Swan 48.
I also like to take the opportunity in the September “Notice to OPO Mariners” that information about crewing opportunities are only for active OPO members (with the exception of the Swan passage Opportunities). Please do not pass on any crewing opportunities to non-members without permission since this takes a berth away from another member. Anyone found doing this is subject to expulsion. We find out from the skippers and boat owners who crews and if they are not a member and we track it back to you, then you will get a notice from me. Thanks for understanding and cooperating on this policy.
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NARC Rally
This years rally departs from Newport on October 29th. More boats are signing up and we offer a couple more crew berths in this September Notice. If you want to 100% secure a berth now so you can make plans you can contact us about crewing in one of the Swans heading south. If you have not been offshore before you want to go with a pro on a solid boat, especially in the fall between Newport and Bermuda. There are a couple of berths available aboard Avocation and Gareth Hughes will be skippering a Swan 46 south. We also have two other boats that will be taking crew for a fee. One is a Benateau 47.6 and the other is a 4 cabin Frers 50. Both have professional skippers on board and are going to St. Martin. If you have your heart set on heading south this year do call and we can discuss which boat may work best for you. Crew need to be in Newport by October 27th and plan about 18 days which includes a few days for any weather delays.
Newport Boat Show – We have a booth at the Newport Boat Show this year and look forward to seeing some of you there. We have not had a booth since 1999 in Newport. We continue our policy of offering one free ticket to active OPO members, so let us know if you are planning to attend and I will mail you a ticket or leave it at the will call desk at the front of the show. Tickets on Thursday are $25 so this is a nice perk of membership.
We will be in the big tent to the left as you come into the main gate. Make sure to come by and say hi and see where we will be after the show for a drink. We are almost full for the trip up to Newport. However we have room for the return trip aboard Avocation departing on Friday or Saturday depending on weather. If you are planning to go to the show and need a place to stay, what better plan then to join the return trip, see the show on Thursday and then sail back. Call for details.
Newport - For the Newport Show we will depart Huntington NY Tuesday September 11th and be in Newport on Wednesday the day before the show. , we will depart the show on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning depending on the weather to be back by late Saturday or early Sunday September 16th. It is an 18 to 20 hour overnight sail both up and back to the show from NY. Most people want to sail up to or back from the Boat Show so we offer two options to join us for the first 4 days or the 2nd four days. Folks joining us for the 1st leg will sail up on Tuesday and stay aboard until Friday. You can see the show on Thursday and go back on Friday of you wish. We will depart Newport on Friday or Saturday depending on weather and consensus and be back in Huntington BY Sunday.
Annapolis Boat Show – This year’s departure date is Monday October 1st from Huntington NY for the sail down the East River and the Manhattan Skyline, down the Jersey Shore and then, depending on weather, decide to take the Delaware Bay route or keep sailing to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and then up to Annapolis. The trip will take from 36 to 48 hours depending on which way we go. We plan to arrive in Annapolis by Wednesday the day before the show starts. We depart for Annapolis Mid-Day on Friday and will be back in Huntington on Sunday October 7th. It is a great first offshore passage and a good way to see the Annapolis Boat Show and have a place to stay right next door. You can join us for the entire week for $1100 and make both legs and see the show for two days, or you can join us for the 4 days down or four days back which will include a day and a half at the show for $600 per leg. Both the Newport trip and the Annapolis trip include everything except 1/5 share of provisioning. When we split food costs for these costal trips we save a lot of money and do not waste food since we know we will be eating ashore for half the time and do not need to spend a fortune to eat well for a day or two on the passages.
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8th Annual Swan Sailing Program
Some members like to lock into dates early and be assured of making the passage this fall. They do not mind paying to be on a Swan with one of our skippers. If you are planning to join us this year aboard a Swan it is not too early to let us know and get in a $500 deposit now. In September we will formally start making plans for the fall. We already have 4 people signed up and those that sign up early get first call on which boat and which skipper they want to be with. We depart Oct 29th with crew arriving in Newport Saturday October 27th. We allow 18 days to allow for WOW (Waiting On Weather).Anyone signing up before September 1st will get a $200 OPO member early discount. For both legs or $100 discount per leg if they are making just one leg. The price is the same as last year which is $2665 for the 18days and $1400 for one leg.
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