Invitation Sneekweek for Sailors

Invitation to come to the Sneekweek 2012

The Royal Sailingclub Sneek (KWS) has organized this special event for the past 77 years. It will take place in the north of the Netherlands, in the province of Friesland. This year, the event will be held from August 4 till August 9th. The Sneekweek is Europe’s biggest inshore sailing regatta. The most important thing for many people however, is the intimate and hugely enjoyable atmosphere for which we are famous! Participants compete in 40 different classes. Vaurien, Yngling, Optimist, Finn, 2.4mR, Laser and Splash among others, are loyal repeat participants.
You can compare the Sneekweek to the Travemünder Woche or Kieler Woche, only more personal.

Fancy a sail in a unique atmosphere?
Come visit our biggest inshore European sailing regatta; The Sneekweek!
 
The opening ceremony
The opening ceremony will take place in the centre of Sneek on Friday 3 August at 10pm. The event will be kicked off with a traditional “vlootschouw”. Forty boats represent each class and will be accompanied by classical boats and music. This ceremony will end around midnight with huge fireworks.

The races
The next day, the race committee will mark out courses using 15-20 buoys, spread over different connecting lakes. The audience come in large numbers to the Start Island and will take care of a good atmosphere. The Sneekweek is a challenging, professional, but most of all, very unique and down-to-earth event!

After the races
When the races are over the party begins! During the Sneekweek the city of Sneek is dazzling more than ever before. In the heart of Sneek you will be entertained by lots of different bands and you can visit the local fun fair. Even the Start Island rocks with music night and day in a huge partytent.

The Olympic Games will be broadcast LIVE !!

Arrangements
Why would the Sneekweek be interesting for you?

• Sailing in a unique atmosphere.
• A campsite near the boats on the island arranged by the KWS.
• A hotel for you if you prefer a little more luxury. And transportation between your hotel and the event while leaving your boat on the island.
• Free transport to the island by boat.
• Free access to the final party.
• Free access to the ‘Poieszboat’, it will bring you from the island to the supermarket.

Information
Have a look at our website www.sneekweek.nl for more information.

Spam, Spam, Spam, Eggs, Bacon and Spam

Like all who do some blogging or run a website my spamfilters are set fairly high. My provider has that possibility for my mailboxes. The rest is captured in my mail program and put into a secluded folder.
Because of this, sometimes a 'genuine' message gets labelled as SPAM.


We couldn't use E-mail any more if those preventive measures weren't available. Even our rulebook has a SPAM-rule! (Rule 41(d))

Yesterday I received an Email and I need some help from you as reader of LTW.
This is the message:

__________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Boat Ramps - iPhone Application
Boat Ramps is a database-driven application that provides the fastest way to locate boat ramp and launching facilities. Boat Ramps provides an easy to use interface that places a database of over 45,000 ramps at your fingertips.
With ease Boat Ramps will provide a list of ramps in proximity to your current location. The proximity and number of results can be configured to fine tune the results of your search.
Boating away from your current location? No problem. Simply enter the desired location's zip code or select a city and Boat Ramps will provide you a list of possible ramps to launch your vessel.
How to get there? Once a ramp of interest is located its location can be fed to the built-in Maps application to obtain directions. Currently Boat Ramps provides boat ramp / launch locations for the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Ramp / launch locations for additional countries may be added at a later date. Boat Ramps requires the iPhone OS 3.0 to run.
Latest Update:
    * Added the Ability for Users to Added Ramps to Database.
    * Added the Ability to Map All Ramp & Marina Results on the Map Simultaneously.
    * Added the Ability Search by Ramp, Marina, or Both.
    * Added Icons to Results to Identify Ramps, Marinas and Marinas with Ramps.
    * Added Phone Numbers to Marina Entries When Available.
    * Added Ability to Toggle Between a Standard, Satellite or Hybrid Maps.
Website Link:
http://www.derektrauger.com/Products/BoatRamps.aspx

iTunes Store Link
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=333176419&mt=8

Contact: Derek Trauger dtrauger@derektrauger.com  Ph: 386-801-4634
_______________________________________________________


Should I consider this as SPAM and trow it out with the rest as garbage?
Or are you interested to read about this and other similar 'press'-releases on LTW?

Rob Overton appointed Chairman US Sailing RR Committee

PRESS REALEASE FROM UK HALSEY:

UK-HALSEY’S RULES QUIZ GURU APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF U.S. SAILING’S RULES COMMITTEE.

The highly regarded on-line racing rules program developed by UK-Halsey Sailmakers just had its authority made more compelling by the recent appointment of Rob Overton to be the new Chairman of US SAILING’s Racing Rules Committee (RRC). Rob is the author of the answers to all of the Rules Quiz questions, and now he is the US’s chief rule writer.

Having Rob Overton contribute to UK-Halsey’s widely used Rules Quiz program was a deliberate decision made far in advance of his new appointment. He has been a member of US SAILING’s Racing Rules Committee since 1993 and one of just five international rules writers who drafted the new Section C rules that took effect on January 1^st of this year. He is a member of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Team Race Call Book Working Party as well as an International Umpire.

“I am really excited to participate with the rules quiz program,” said Overton. “I think it is a great way to learn the rules. Because the quizzes are animated, you get to know the game as well as the rules, and knowing the game is what you really have to learn. Plus the animations makes learning the rules less dry and more fun.”

The changes to the rules were so substantial that the boat “in the wrong” changed in three different quizzes. “With so many sailors depending on our quizzes to understand the rules, we needed someone with Rob’s breadth of knowledge to make sure we got it right,” said UK-Halsey’s President, Butch Ulmer. Rob also served on the small international group that re-wrote the rules of Section C for the 2009-2012 rules.

In the past the Rules Quizzes were sold on a Compact Disk, but that format was too limiting. With modern technology and increased use of the web, we now offer an expanded rule quiz program as a download. The download format allows users to receive numerous free updates with the click of a button. For example, the Rules Quiz program was updated 10 times within the first 6 weeks of 2009. Another advantage of being a download is that buyers do not have to wait on the post office go get the program.

The UK-Halsey’s Rules Quiz program has several other advantages. The animations can be played at full-screen size and users can adjust the speed of the animations. A members-only section, named The Lifted Tack, provides instructional videos, a blog and a PDF library. In many of the videos, which were show at Butch Ulmer’s rules seminars, you see the quizzes being used to teach the rules, an approach which makes the explanation and tactical considerations much easier to understand. Currently there are seven videos as part of the program and more will be added shortly.

For those who want see a stripped down version of the rules program, take our quizzes online for free at: http://www.ukhalsey.com/ To buy the full Rules Quiz program for $55, ($40 for owners of UK-Halsey Sailmakers’ prior Rules Quiz CD) go to the UK-Halsey secure online store.

My congratulations to Rob with his appointment. I wish him all the best to resolve the – no doubt – many questions this year’s new rules will bring.

Like in the press release I too find the change in the rules much more substantial, then first anticipated. The flurry of ISAF Q&A’s recently published, proves that a lot of questions have to be answered. And some of the answers need careful study to understand the logic behind them.

We will need all the ‘GURUS’ to take the lead!