1st May North American Entry Deadline
From IMCA Administrator Fiona Brown - Just a quick note to remind you that the entry deadline for the 2006 Melges 24 North American Championship in Santa Cruz is coming up this Monday 1st May so to avoid paying a 30% entry surcharge please get your entry in now. All the info you need including online entry is to be found at WWW.MELGES24NA2006.COM .
With the 2007 Worlds also being held in Santa Cruz this is the ideal opportunity to get in some early practise. Registration gets underway on Tuesday 16 May at 10am and continues through Wednesday 17 when there will also be pracise racing.
Championships racing begins at 1230 on Thursday 18 May and runs until Sunday 21 with 10 races scheduled over the four days. The race course is only a short sail out from the beautiful harbour at Santa Cruz and with good winds at this time of year and that wonderful Pacific Ocean swell the sailing conditions should be perfect for some outstanding Melges 24 racing.
Ashore the Santa Cruz Yacht Club has plenty of events to keep the competitors busy. Each evening features a different social starting with a welcome BBQ on Wednesday night. Thursday there's a Salmon Feed with complimentary beer, on Friday we're off to Coconut Grove for dinner and dancing, Saturday is Mexican Fiesta night in the club with more complimentary beer and the regatta closes with the awards ceremony on Sunday.
Argyle Campbell will be defending his North American Championship crown and those challenging him include Germany's Alba Batzill sailing with Eddy Eich, Bruce Ayres, Don Jesberg, Shark, Kahn, Philippe Kahn, Dave Ullman and Neal Ruxton from Ireland.
For those of you with families Santa Cruz offers great facilities for all with a big emphasis on outdoor activities and the arts plus some of California's best restaurants and cafes for when you need a pit stop.
It's going to be a great event and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible there in just a couple of weeks time so go get those entries in now.
Best regards
Fi