|
|
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
FAREWELL SENDOFF PARTY AT EYC Monday, September 3, EYC will host a farewell reception for Gale at 6 pm in the Party Room. Come by and wish EYC's own adventuress fair winds & smooth sailing for the transatlantic race. Sign the EYC burgee she will fly as she sails first over the finish line in Brazil. Contact Kathy Weber for more info or if you can bring an hors d'oeuvre (EYC kitchen closed on Mondays). This is open to the public; if you are not a member please sign the guest book and put Kathy Weber as the member. The last trip to France was hectic. The new mast and rigging were ready to be installed. However, because the mast was replaced, race safety regulations required that the boat righting test had to be redone. While doing the righting test, the Mini Class measurer noticed that the mast was too long! Apparently, the bad weather before the start of the 1999 race caused some measuring to be abandoned--the mast of the former owner, Albert Bargues, was one that fell through the cracks. So the new mast, built exactly to the old one's measurements, was illegal. Back to the rigging shop it went and redone to the legal size which also necessitated a recut of the new mainsail. New England Ropes' generous contribution of over 1000' of Vectran and other high tech line was used to replace the worn running rigging. We have nothing but appreciation and admiration for the New England Ropes operation--they get things done and are a class act. The timing eliminated any chance of participating in the 100 mile Demi-Cle race, but Gale sailed to Port Bourgenay and competed in the 700 mile Transgascogne from Port Bourgenay to Gijon, Spain and return. Photos are coming soon. The Mini-Transat has been renamed the Transat 6.50 Charente-Maritime/Bahia by the organizers. Charente-Maritime is the region in France where the race starts and Bahia is the Brazilian state, of which Salvador is the capital, where the race finishes. We have tentatively reserved a booth at the Transat 6.5 Racer's Village. This is an exposition about the size of the Annapolis Sailboat Show which will be attended by over a 100,000 sailing enthusiasts. It is immediately adjacent to the docks where the Mini racers will be berthed. This marina, one of several in La Rochelle, has over 4,000 slips. Is anyone interested in helping man our booth at this show? A nice excuse to visit France! Gale cannot as she will be prepping the boat for the race start on the 22nd. There are last minute safety checks, briefings, etc., that she must attend. Gale has been contacted by an international entertainment production company who is exploring the possibility of putting a camera onboard for the race and filming her adventure. The resulting documentary would be aired on national TV. Speaking of filming, a short promotional video narrated by Gary Jobson has been completed. Bob Soneira of Capital News Service, did the editing and Sherry Snider prepared the script. They did a super job! Thanks guys. If anyone needs film editing or scripting work done, these are the people to contact. STILL NEED TITLE SPONSOR TO JOIN THE TEAM! Some interesting statistics about the value of the publicity generated by sailing events:
The other benefit to sponsorship is team building and enhancing corporate morale. The EDS Atlantic Challenge website has an email clearing house where email is forwarded to and posted from the boats as they are racing. Here's a letter to the crew of Mike Golding's ECover, sponsored by a Belgian manufacturer & distributor of environmentally friendly cleaning products, soaps & shampoos of the same name, from one of their employees...
See how Ecover has used the images of the boat on its website, www.ecover.com. Kingfisher plc, one of Europe's largest retailers, sponsors Britain's Ellen MacArthur of Vendee Globe fame and also uses the boat's image on its website, www.kingfisher.com. We are working on some leads but if anyone has contacts to corporate decision makers or can otherwise help locating a corporate sponsor please let us know. The sponsor gets to name the boat & design the graphics with their name on sails & hull. Plus, the sponsor is featured on all Team US Challenge communications & gear and has rights to Gale & the boat's images for any type of promotional use. The sponsor will be featured at our booth at the Race Village, upcoming Annapolis Boatshows, at our speaking engagements, and on team gear. Or if you know of any individuals who might be interested in becoming a patron for the only American woman to take on the challenge of doing a single-handed transatlantic crossing please contact them. Patronage is tax deductible through the EYC Foundation. SUPPORTING SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE TOO Anyone interested in a high exposure, multi-national advertising and publicity opportunity, contact Kathy or Gale immediately. We have a very nice informational package in full color that is available and have developed a variety of signage and branding opportunities at varying levels of financial commitment. Let us know if you would like one to make a presentation to any potential sponsors/patrons. Remember, it's not too late to have your organization represented at the Transat exposition! RACING SCHEDULE SEPTEMBER 22, 2001: START OF THE TRANSAT 6.5 CHARENTE-MARITIME/BAHIA! To follow Gale's progress in the Transat Race: Each boat is required to have a satellite transponder and the race organizers "poll" the fleet regularly to keep track of the racers' locations. Race organizers have set up a race website, www.transat650.com and likely the racers' positions and results will be posted there. The website is still under construction--let's hope they provide an English translation. A French website, www.seasailsurf.com, also follows the Mini races. Although the text is in French, English side bars are provided. The British Mini class also follows the races, www.ryasolo.org.uk and Offshore Challenges, www.offshorechallenges.com, posts results as well. We located a free translation site, translation2.paralink.com, although the results are sometimes more comical than accurate. LONG TERM GOALS The 2001 Mini-Transat is the first stage of Gale's five-year solo racing program that will culminate in the 2006 Around Alone Race, the well known single-handed around the world race. After the finish of the Mini-Transat, Gale and Team U.S. Challenge will make the decision whether to compete in the Figaro solo races for 2002 or leap into an Open 50 racing program. The Figaro, sailed in 30' Beneteau's, is a series of short-handed point to point races from La Rochelle - Gijon, Spain - St. Quay Portrieux, France - Côtes d'Armor, France - Dingle, Ireland - Txingudi (Hendaye-Hondarribia), France. The Open 50 program would concentrate on international off-shore races such as the Route de Rhum, Transat Jaques Fabre, Round Britain, and Europe 1 Man Star. In 2004, we plan to commission an Open 60 for a venue of short-handed & Grand Prix events to complete Gale's training for the 2006 Around Alone. TRAVEL PACKAGES Gale's niece, Tara, and her employer, Global Travel, present the following suggested travel packages for our Team and Gale's supporters: La Rochelle September 2001 JOIN US FOR THE START! IT'S NOT TOO LATE! Packages from $1800.00 per person double occupancy. Packages include airfare from Baltimore to Paris round trip, 10 days compact rental car, 3 nights hotel in Paris, 3 nights hotel in Bordeaux, and 3 nights in La Rochelle. Can be customized! Madrid/Lanzerote October 2001 Packages from $1700.00 per person double occupancy. Packages include airfare from Baltimore to Madrid and then on to Lanzerote round trip, 3 nights hotel in Madrid, 4 day compact car rental in Madrid, and 4 nights hotel in Lanzerote. Rio/Salvador da Bahia November 2001 Packages from $2500.00 per person double occupancy. Packages include airfare from Baltimore to Rio round trip, Brazil air pass, 3 nights hotel in Rio, 3 nights hotel in Salvador and 2 nights in the Amazon. [Ed. note: I visited Brazil in 1997 for the Penguin Internationals in Rio. Fabulous! Great beaches, food, music, shops! Salvador was the colonial capital of Brazil, like Annapolis--very historic--with restoration of old buildings, neat yacht harbor, beaches & shops. Adding the side trip to the Amazon...this package sounds like a winner!] All these packages can also be customized for individual preferences. Also, the La Rochelle In-the-Water Boat Show is the week before the start of the Mini-Transat for those interested. No visa needed for France, just passport. Contact Tara at Global Travel, 208 387-1000 ext. 2101, 208 338-6042 fax for specifics. Please support the following firms who have donated services and/or products to Gale's campaign:
We also want to thank Nancy Noyes for her work on our press releases and other media communications, Elvia Thompson for her website design and maintenance work, and Jeff Borland for website hosting. DONATIONS Tax deductible donations can be made to Gale's campaign. Make checks payable to the EYC Foundation, (a 501(c)(3) organization), Attn: Women's Sailing, and mail/deliver to Eastport Yacht Club, 317 First St., Annapolis, MD 21403. Check out the EYC Foundation web page for news about their projects and their mission statement. YACHT CLUBS Eastport Yacht Club, Annapolis, Maryland, is the lead yacht club supporting Gale's historic campaign. West River Sailing Club, located in Galesville on the South River has also joined the team. WRSC, founded in the 30s, has active racing programs for dinghies and big boats as well as a popular junior sailing program and a cruising schedule. We invite other clubs to join the team. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Gale's team, Team U.S. Challenge, still needs some helping hands. We need help to run the team gear sales program and to coordinate our mailing program. In addition, we will need consultants, outfitters, and support staff for the Open 50 and 60 campaigns. If you can contribute your time & skills, please contact Kathy Weber, 410 263-5983. Cheers, Kathryn
M. Weber, Project Manager If
you do not wish to receive this newsletter please send an email
in plain text to: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Gale
Browning Ocean Racing, Inc. Web
Design by Stellar Presentations,
Inc. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
News
Flash!