Hobie Division 7

Well, Jamie has done another tremendous job of organizing this year's schedule.  2012 will see San Francisco host the Hobie 16 & 20 North Americans while Lake Mohave in Nevada will host the Hobie 17 & 18 North Americans.  SF is in June and Mohave is in October...with lots of regional and local regattas in the middle!

This year we start things off with the Division 7 hosted event in Storm Lake.  This year's theme is Boots & Bikins! Yep...we have the makings of another hum dinger of a regatta.  Guys in boots and girls in bikinis...of course after last year's Throwback regatta; I think some might get things mixed up and we will see the likes of Slim in a bikini and Kristin wearing boots!  But in any event, the Boots and Bikinis regatta should be a fun start to a great 2012 D7 season.

Following the D7 event we travel North to Green Lake for what is always a fun filled and sometimes blood sucked event (have you seen the size of mosquitos up there?) LOL.  Seriously, the 2nd most important thing to bring besides wind...is bug repellant....or simply drink enough of that Minnesota special brew. 

From Minnesota we travel West (Go West Young man Go West)!  Yankton, SD is home to one of the most beautiful sailing venues in D7.  Host to the Hobie 20 NAC's in 2008, Lewis & Clark Reservoir promotes a very special atmosphere of sailing and friendship.  Fleet 291 has negotiated the ability for regatta participants to camp right at the regatta site.  With their usual fun fleet members, live music on the beach and many times a roaring campfire...Yankton's event is a definite DO NOT MISS event!

Getting back to Iowa we head South to Des Moines to sail at the longest running points regatta in Division 7.  Flooding last year interrupted the most consecutive hosted events in D7 as Storm Lake so thoughtfully allowed F84 to host their regatta there.  F84 always rolls out the red carpet for friends and competitors.  Saylorville Lake offers a large venue and typically big wind...you just have to store enough energy to walk up the hill at the end of the day!

From Des Moines we head back to Storm Lake for Fleet 475's hosted points regatta.  Storm Lake offers great camping, a nice and friendly motel, a long and spacious beech, easy trailer access, and some of our most beloved friends in Division 7.  Andy, Wendy, Ben, Dick, Mary and others are sure to put on a rocking good time event...one you do NOT want to miss!

Finally, we end our points regatta season at the most southern point in Division 7....Clinton Lake in Lawrence, KS.  Lake Clinton offers some great camping, hiking trails, beach access, and is a nice combination event with our friends from Division 14.  John Eaton and the Bradshaw's are sure to host an exceptional end of the year tribute to a successful sailing season!

Well that is the synopsis for now.  Don't forget the two National events in June and October.  We hope to see many of you at at least one regatta...hopefully several this summer.  For now, I guess it's time to start trying to shed those extra holiday pounds and begin the sit ups so you can hike out while keeping your boat flat!

Sails Up!
Todd Wilson

_ Hello D7 Officers!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed every minute of the clocking striking 12 at Midnight!  I for one…watched New York bring in 2012 and was sound asleep when the CST zone brought it in!  Ha…definitely a sign of aging and having young kids in our house … J

In any event, these winter temperatures typically have me writing something like “It’s hard to imagine sailing with 12” of snow on the boat hulls”…but this year that statement would be equivalent to John Corzine saying “I have no idea where that money went”.  Ha!  In any event, it is the middle of January and thus time to begin the scheduling process for 2012’s racing season.

Jamie Mauk will take the scheduling from this point….so please in lieu of ‘Reply to All’ simply reply to Jamie at jamisonmauk@msn.com.   We all already get lots of emails, so by just replying to Jamie, he will get things straightened out and let us know the final schedule by the beginning of Feb.  Once you have received a confirmation of your regatta date from Jamie or myself, please submit your NOR by Feb.  19th to Ryan Richardson.  His email is richarry@knoxville.k12.ia.us.   Please really try hard to get a finalized NOR to him by this date so our D7 booklet can be printed in time for early Spring sailing.

When considering your regatta date, please take into consideration the following Regional/National dates.  We try to not schedule on top of these dates…but it’s not always preventable.  I’ve attached a spreadsheet similar to what we used last year and what John is using for D14.  Please consider the D14 dates when submitting your requests.  I’ve also attached via pdf, last year’s schedule for review.

Scheduled National Events:
June 18-22:         Hobie 16/20 North Americans in Sausalito, CA

Oct. 21-26:          Hobie 17/18 North Americans in Lake Mohave, NV

Tentative National Event:
July 7th:                 3 Day Hobie Youth Nationals in Annapolis, MD

Tentative Regional Event:
April 13-15:         Mid-Winter’s East in Daytona Beach, FL

Please let me know if anyone has any questions!  Thanks a ton and let’s Get’r done EARLY this year!

Todd Wilson

D7 Chair

641-691-0203 - Cell

Hello Division 7 and any others following our site. 
First, I hope everyone had a safe and fun Holiday...bringing in the New Year and celebrating Christmas.
Your Division 7 officers have been busy preparing for a fantastic 2011!  Jamie has put in a lot of hours prepping a schedule which should offer the most sailing opportunities in years.  He has coordinated efforts with John Eaton and Tom Machette to try and eliminate overlap with the surrounding divisions...especially for those events many of our members have historically traveled too.
Ryan is well ahead of schedule on preparing this year's Division booklet.  Our goal is a March 1st release!  That means if you are hosting an event....the NOR is due Feb. 1st.  We are adding some new exciting items to the book including publishing it as a pdf on line this year!  Don't worry, we still plan to mail it so you have that hard copy to browse while watching March madness. LOL
Finally, it's time to think about making arrangements to visit the Gulf Coast of Mississippi in June for the Hobie Class Associations' Mini Mega of 2011.  June 19th - 23rd is the Hobie 17 & 18 North American Championships.  June 24-26 is a super cool event of Youth Waves (Under 15 yrs old), Youth 16's (under 21 yrs. old), Open Waves, Women's 16's, and the geezers on Hobie 14's!  There is rumors there may even be a paddle board event....but that's just a rumor...maybe one I've started...Ha!  But as Jimmy Buffett says.....No worries....Chris Wessels, Bridget Quatrone, Gordo, and our very own Jimmy Sohn....have a great plan in place to offer one of the best Nationals of all Time!
So, start those sit ups....cut down on those carbs (in my case...beer), get out your old Hobie Hotlines and read up on tuning and racing skills, and be ready for 2011!  It promises to be on