USMCA NEWS

NEWS

USMCA SOUTHEAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR REID COLLINS BRINGS US UP TO SPEED

08 JUNE 2007 • To update everyone on the SE and the SE section of the website, I thought I'd put together this e-mail. We have 59 boats that have participated in the SE circuit and after 3 of the 7 SE circuit regattas, Steve Kopf of Isle of Palms, SC is leading the hunt for the SE title and new Quantum jib. Make sure you've made your plans to attend the final 4 regattas of the year to give Steve and the rest of the contenders a run at the title.

To overcommunicate the date change, the Gold Cup/Charleston Harbor Challenge will take place the weekend of August 18-19. I suspect an NOR and more detailed announcements will be made shortly. This regatta should prove to be the excellent regatta it always is with the added bonus of being a nationally ranked event this year. I believe this event will easily pass the 30 boat mark, so begin making your plans now. For more information, please contact Reggie Fairchild or (843) 259-1717.

Also a nationally ranked event this year, WFORC which takes place in Pensacola, FL has been combined with the Gulf Coast Championship the weekend of October 13-14. We are starting to see some development of M24 fleets along the panhandle of FL as well as the New Orleans area of the country, so I suspect this will also be a well attended regatta. Pensacola is truly an excellent sailing venue. Let's try to foster this growth by showing an excellent turnout for this event.

After Pensacola, Melbourne Race Week will take place the weekend of October 27-28. Obviously the central and South FL areas are thriving M24 country and Mike Nulf and his posse put on a great time. Finally, the SE's annual King's Day regatta/Atlantic Coast Championship will take place the weekend of November 16-18. This regatta will be the final regatta of the circuit for the 2007 season and the winner of the SE circuit will be crowned. As we know, Pat Lambert has moved to Central FL, so unfortunately he has stepped aside, but we are seeing tremendous enthusiam by the new organizer Henry Mullen for this premier event. It shouldn't be long before the NOR is out for this event as well. If you have interim questions about Jacksonville, contact Henry Mullen.

Although not on the 2007 SE circuit schedule, plan to attend the M24 Key Largo Regatta the weekend of December 8-9. This event will likely be included with the 2008 SE circuit schedule so it is a good opportunity to get a jump start on the next season's title. Question on this regatta should be directed to Jerry Creaseman at 305-451-0011. They are going to make arrangements for storage so this regatta should be an excellent tune-up for KWRW.

Lastly, I've added a couple of additional links to the SE section of the website ( http://www.usmelges24.com/fleets/southeast.asp) you may be interested in. The first (currently under news and to be added to the SE section) is a list of the past champions and a picture of the perpetual trophy. You will see Doug Kessler's name over and over proving we need to get him out of 32 and back into the M24. Feel free to send Doug an e-mail asking his progress on getting back into our class. In addition, I added the results from last year's series and I don't think I had gotten the current scores up for the circuit until now. I'm hoping we have a basis to begin providing a historical view of the most successful M24 district in the country.

If you have people at your club or in your area that have inquired about the M24, let's discuss how we can get these people into the group. Also, if you have any suggestions on how we can improve our district even more or if you have questions, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail.

Reid Collins
USMCA SE Governor
(404) 259-4346 (Cell)
rcollins@northhighland.com