Announcement: NIMBY X

By Wright Finney

NIMBY X, the 10th Annual "Not In My Back Yard Road Trip Regatta", is scheduled for June 23-25, 2006. It's hard to believe that it has been ten years since we conceived the concept of taking our show on the road to different venues. This year, we are again returning to the scene of some of our best regatta memories, Panama City, FL.

As usual, NIMBY X will be an event not to be missed. This regatta has always been designed to be enjoyable for racers and non-racers alike, with a "No Class" offered along with the traditional racing classes. The registration fee of $20 will include happy hour, trophies, the pre-supper party, and a wearable item of some sort with the now famous NIMBY logo. Click here for printable registration form (Word Document).

The host hotel is the Howard Johnson Bayside Inn right on US 98; call now and mention the "NIMBY Windsurfing Regatta" for best rates and availability. The hotel is in a great location, right on St. Andrews Bay. You can pull your car or trailer up to a grassy lot on the motel property, and leave it and your rigged equipment there for the whole event. I have reserved 15 rooms at the event room rate of $89, king or double (space available basis). Note that we get these (relatively) cheap rates by promising that a certain number of rooms will be rented, so please register only at the Howard Johnson Bayside Inn to help keep prices down for everyone. I strongly suggest that you call early (like, real soon) to be sure that you have a room reserved for the event, especially if you want a bayside room.

Click here for full details on the motel

The schedule and format will be similar to past NIMBYs. A yachting trip to Shell Island led by Fleet Commander Franklin will kick off the weekend on Friday at noon (meet on the dock behind the motel). Registration and a welcome happy hour will be held at the motel pavilion early Friday evening, followed by Friday evening entertainment on your own. Racing will commence on Saturday, followed by the traditional party around the pool including complimentary snacks and refreshments on Saturday evening, then dutch-treat supper in a good, moderately priced restaurant Saturday night. Sunday will see more racing, followed by the trophy presentation.

As far as the racing is concerned, we'll be racing off the beach right next to the motel property. We plan to run races for longboards and hybrids if there is at least 5 knots of wind, and Formula boards if we reach 8 knots. The courses will be designed to suit the racers participating, but will probably include some non-standard configurations which will be challenging but fun. Above 15 knots, we may try some figure eight or downwind slalom courses.

In the tradition of the NIMBY, we will be continuing a long-standing Panama City tradition -- the infamous "Shell Island Shot". We'll start at the motel beach and sail a long distance course to a point on Shell Island. Non-sailors will be ferried over to Shell Island in boats, where we will provide refreshments before the race back. So, you might want to bring a variety of equipment to be able to adapt to the conditions. Classes will be determined based upon registrants at the event, but we usually have Formula, Longboard, Hybrid and/or Prodigy, and Sport fleets.

For more details or questions, see the web site or contact either me at finney@eng.fsu.edu or Paul at paul@mail.20knotsnob.com. Reserve your room at the Howard Johnson now, and thanks for supporting our annual out-of-town road trip-race/party weekend, NIMBY X.