Late last week those of us at the Community Sailing Center learned we are to host two “sandbaggers” in Burlington from July 24 through August 2. These are replicas of the low-slung “skimming dishes” raced by oystermen in New York Harbor in the mid 1800’s. Through the generosity of the Bull & Bear Sailing Team with help from the Independence Seaport Museum of Philadelphia, the boats were built in the mid-‘90’s the boats are being brought to Burlington to help raise funds for the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center.
 
The boats are named “Bull” and “Bear” for the stock market trends we all know too well.
 
The primary purpose of the events is to provide a sailing experience to as many people as we can (weather permitting). Mornings and early afternoons are set aside for kids and students from area organizations like the YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, King Street Youth, etc.
 
Donations to the Center in support of this event will be matched by Bull & Bear Sailing Team!  We will have a kick-off event for donors on Friday, July 27 and a regatta on Sunday, July 29, with a number of possibilities for the match racing – one of which would be reinstatement of the Queen City Challenge – a “friendly competition between Burlington and Plattsburg”.
 
These boats can use a crew of 10 to 15 adults. They can be equipped with 25 lb rubber waterbags to serve as additional movable ballast as needed. Crews do not have to be experienced at all – they do have to be willing to go in the water if they can’t move the bags fast enough!
 
Sign up for one or more of the following:
 
1. Take a ride on the boats in the evening during the week. In that case, I will send you sign-up forms before the end of this week. We are still working on the cost of the rides, but it will be nominal.
2. Participate in one or more of the match races on Sunday, July 29. The signature race will be the “Queen City Cup” and will feature a crew from Plattsburgh VS. a crew from LCYC. Cost for a boat is $500 per race, yielding a $1,000 donation for the Center. That works out to between $50 (10 crew) and $35 (15 crew) per person.
3. Same as #2, but you can create your own race or sign up to race on one of the nights marked “TBD” in the schedule below or in a race we define in the next day or so. Races proposed so far are listed below. Have a beer and dream one up for yourself and another crew! How about a Lady’s Challenge? Or a race between LCYC and MBBC crews? Let me know the details and who will be involved by next Monday at the latest.
4. Sponsor a crew in your name or the company’s name for one or more races. Crews that may need sponsorship to compete include our county high school team and staffs from several non-profit organizations.
 
“Bull” and “Bear” at LCYC for all to see next Wednesday! The first two LCYC crews who sign up for the Queen City Challenge will sail them Wednesday night in an elimination match race. The winner will represent LCYC in the Challenge Sunday afternoon, July 29. Plattsburgh crews will have the same elimination series the next evening, so the crews should be evenly matched. IMPORTANT: John O’Rourke has agreed to score boats whose crews sail on these boats Wednesday with their average for the series, so their places in the fleet will not be affected if they choose to something new!

 

                           Contact:  Fritz (hortonfw@comcast.net) or phone 985-8387.
 
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The tentative and evolving schedule is below. If you want to schedule an evening event marked as “TBD”, we will do that on a first-come, first-served basis.
Monday, July 23
Boats launched & rigged at Shelburne Shipyard and towed to moorings in Burlington Harbor
Evening – B&B Staff meets hosts and rests
Tuesday, July 24
Morning – Boats delivered to Burlington Harbor
Afternoon – Community Group Programming
Evening – TBD 
Wednesday, July 25
Morning & Early Afternoon – Community Group Programming
Evening – LCYC Racing & Old Fashioned Burger Burn
Thursday, July 26
Morning – Community Group Programming
Afternoon – Delivery to Plattsburgh
Evening – Plattsburgh sailing & Post-Race Party
Friday, July 27
Morning & Early Afternoon – Boats return to Burlington Harbor
Evening – VIP kick-off fundraiser
Saturday, July 28
12-5 – Free Public Event on Waterfront
Evening – TBD
Sunday, July 29
Daytime – The Challenge Regatta
Evening – (Break for B&B staff)
Monday, July 30
Morning & Early Afternoon – CSC programs
Evening – TBD
Tuesday, July 31
Morning & Early Afternoon – CSC programs
Evening – TBD
Wednesday, August 1
Morning– CSC programs
Afternoon & Evening – Boats delivered to MBBC for events
Thursday, August 2
Morning – Boats returned to Burlington Harbor
Early Afternoon – move to Shelburne Shipyard for haul-out 
Suggestions for Races:
The “Stock Market Challenge Cup” for the winner of races between representatives from local brokerages.
 
The “One Ton Cup” for the winner of races between crews whose total weight plus waterbags is less than one ton.
 
The “Two Ton Cup” for the winner of races between crews whose total weight plus waterbags is less than two tons.

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Sandbagger History for CSC.PDF	683.83 KB