NOTICE OF RACE: NIMBY Road Trip Regatta - TBA

Notice of Race: NIMBY XV
June 17 – 19, 2011 – Gulf Breeze, FL

NIMBY XV, the 15th Annual "Not In My Back Yard" Road Trip Regatta, is scheduled for Friday, June 17 – Sunday, June 19, 2011. It has now been fifteen years since we conceived the concept of taking our show on the road to different venues. We are moving back to one of our traditional locations – the Panhandle Gulf Coast in Gulf Breeze, FL (near Pensacola Beach). Many of us raced here in the mid-90s, but we haven't been back since. We extend a special invitation to our sailing friends from the Florida Panhandle, and the Atlanta and Savannah areas in Georgia, to join us at a NIMBY location.

Registration
As usual, NIMBY XV 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 will remain at $20, and will include happy hour, trophies, the pre-supper party, and a wearable item of some sort with the now famous NIMBY logo. A registration form is attached to this e-mail – please print and fill it out, and bring it to the event (there is no early registration).

Venue
Gulf Breeze is about 3 hours driving time from Tallahassee. Take I-10 west to Pensacola, then south on I-110 and follow the signs to the series of bridges going to Pensacola Beach. Gulf Breeze is on Santa Rosa Island at the foot of the first bridge. The host motel is the Bay Beach Inn, which is on the right just as you enter Gulf Breeze. Just before the motel is a small marina for folks to launch boats at tie up for the night. From the restored old downtown section of Pensacola to the beautiful water and beaches of Pensacola Beach, there will be plenty for the non-sailor to do.

Motel
The host motel is the Bay Beach Inn at 51 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze, FL, 32561; Phone: 1-877-747-8713 or 1-850-932-2214; web site:
http://www.magnusonhotels.com/hotel-details.cfm?pcode=M19608; some more info is available at: http://pensacola.hotelguide.net/data/h100088.htm.

The motel is situated right on Pensacola Bay, and has a small beach and good windsurfing launch access. The facility is not fancy, but it does have a pool, and is within easy walking distance to restaurants and some shopping. Most rooms are fairly standard, with one king or two queens. It is possible to share a room with others to reduce the per person cost. I have blocked off 12 rooms at a bargain rate of $89 per night. When calling, ask for "Nelda", and make sure to mention my name and the "windsurfing regatta" when booking (all rooms are in my name). Please do not book through Orbitz or any other service – just call the motel directly. I strongly suggest that you book immediately to be sure that you have a room reserved for the event, since these rates will only be in effect for the next two weeks, and the summer beach season will be upon us shortly.

Schedule
The schedule and format will be similar to past NIMBYs. A yachting trip to Fort McRee will kick off the weekend on Friday at noon (meet at the motel). Registration and a welcome happy hour will be held at the motel early Friday evening, followed by Friday evening supper and entertainment in a venue to be announced (probably in downtown Pensacola). Racing will commence on Saturday morning, 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 in Pensacola Beach Saturday night. Sunday will see more racing, followed by the trophy presentation.

Racing
The windsurfing launch site is right behind the motel, and you can rig and leave your kits overnight on the small beach within sight of your motel room. Racing will be held in Pensacola Bay, which has some boat traffic, but we will try to avoid any unnecessary contact with other large craft (especially aircraft carriers). The Bay is sometimes flat and sometimes choppy, but there will be no offshore sailing, and chase boats will, as usual, be at the ready. We plan to run races for longboards, hybrids, and Kona boards if there is at least 5 knots of wind, adding Formula boards if we reach 8 knots and there is sufficient participation. The courses will be designed to suit the entered racers, but will probably include some non-standard configurations which will be challenging but fun.

In the tradition of the NIMBY, we will be continuing a long-standing tradition of featuring one or more long distance races on Saturday. We'll start just behind the motel, and sail roughly southwest around the end of Santa Rosa Island and out to a predetermined rendezvous point to the east of Fort Pickens. Non-sailors can be ferried to the finish line in boats, where we will provide refreshments to the racers during a rest break before the race back. 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 Longboard and Sport fleets, and we will add Formula, Hybrid, and/or Kona if there is sufficient participation.

Boat Launching
I encourage folks to bring boats to this event, since we will be running out to Pensacola Beach and other place on Friday, and sailing out there on Saturday. For those bringing boats, there is a launch ramp and overnight dockage about a block away near the Bay Breeze Dive Shop (http://www.baybreezescuba.com/); call them Toll Free at 1-877-934-8363 for more information. You can also choose to launch and pull out each night, and store your boat in the motel parking lot.

More Information
For more details or questions, contact me at finney@eng.fsu.edu. Don't delay – reserve your room at the Bay Beach Inn now, and thanks for supporting our annual out-of-town road trip race/party weekend, NIMBY XV.