Does Fleet 97 in Raleigh NC still exist?

Any idea if NC Fleet 97 is still around? Contact info? Any other members out there?

Well... wondered that too. Obviously they don't read forums.

Kind of wondering now what Hobie sailors in this area want? Personally I'd like good, sustained winds in the months of June, July, and August, but, hey, you can't always get what you want...

I do dislike sitting on a still body of water with no wind after planning a trip, spending hour or so rigging, and expecting a fun afternoon of sailing. Seven times out of 10 the lake sailing is like that.

That is unless wind forecasts are followed and good wind forecasts are noted and a number of folks can get out with only one or two day's notice.

Otherwise, it's kind of a rigging and rally day on the lakes with only a 30 percent chance of good sailing.

I'm just guessing...

No doubt lake sailing in the Spring and Fall are much better than summer around here. Personally I prefer to head to the coast during the summer and sail off the beach. Unfortunately that takes at least a 3 day commitment to drive down and drag my boat on the beach. I'm very happy to grab a nice Saturday or Sunday afternoon on the lake when ever the wind picks up.

That aside there are certainly active sailing groups in the area including the CSC, Lake Townsend YC, and a healthy Isotope fleet that get along just fine. I'd really like to know if there are any Hobie sailors in the Central NC area interested in getting together to have a good time sailing together. There used to be a Hobie dealer in Raleigh and there are plenty of old boats around. If anyone is interested in setting up a few informal sailing days in 2012 please add to this thread. Let's round up some interest!

There are no fleets in the area except the Isotopes. EMSA is the only organized group and they have many events through out the carolinas. The website is emsa-sailing.org. I primarily sail off the coast in N Myrtle but have sailed on Jordan several times. Most of the local lakes are just too small to be any fun.

Division 9 really does not exist. EMSA allows all makes of cats to participate and there are quite a few H16s.

Just a follow up where to find more info on the Cat sailing in the Raliegh area.. https://sites.google.com/site/hobiefleet97/

To say that Div 9 does not exist is really not true or fair to say. MVD has done a pretty could job rebuilding what has been torn down. Given a few more years of his efforts, things might be pretty darn strong down that way from an HCA perspective.
If you want Fleet 97 to exist, contact Mark Van Doren and he will help you get it up and running. Having a social or racing fleet by no means takes away from any events already being run in your areas, if anything, it will help organize the Hobie boats participation and attendance. I would think that concept would be welcomed by all Catamaran organizational groups, especially with a strong division chair to help round up racers to attend planned events.
Whatever happened a decade ago to sour the milk in Div 9 is long ago history and having fun and participation are the most important issues today.

Well said, Mr. Wessels! Since that post originated a while ago, we've reactivated Fleet 97. Garett Dawkins is the Commodore and is doing a fabulous job of recruiting new members and growing the Fleet. Nick Bostic is the Commodore of the reactivated Fleet 53 in Charleston and Fleet 32 in Virginia Beach continues to thrive.

Overcoming the "sour milk" down here has been tough, but we're gaining momentum and some of the skeptics are starting to warm up the idea of a resurgent HCA presence. We have managed to get more people on the water at the regattas that will work with us to give us our own one-design starts. We've even got three HCA Points Regattas on our calendar this year! We had some deconfliction problems this year that hurt us a bit, but we'll work through those and have an even stronger season next year.

_________________
Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28

I should have looked at the date on that before commenting. Glad it all worked out.

No problem, you can comment here anytime!

_________________
Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28

And just so there's no confusion. Fleet 97 in Raleigh, NC area was reactivated in 2013 and going strong. If you are interested please contact me or visit our website for more information. www.hobiefleet97.org