Racing Day 1

Well we´ve been in Denmark now a week. The weather has been quite good with some occasional rain and the occasional lack of wind (which comes with an onslaught of gnats... yuck).

My tent at the campsite

Over all the travels weren´t too grueling to get here. I think my (Matt´s) trip was the longest at about 21 hours doorstep to doorstep (tent setup). But all and all no major hiccups, lost bags or castrophies. Although Chris did get quite the going over taking the sails through customs. Dale and I are staying in a camp ground about a 20 minute walk from the Royal Danish Yacht Club where we´re racing, and Christine and her sister are in a hotel a bit farther away. The campsite is great! Complete with showers, kitchen, free wi-fi, and a cafe. It´s definitely the ritziest (sp?) campsite I´ve ever been too. Which brings up another camping topic: while european RV´s are smaller their tents are at least twice as big. I have never seen so many large tents in my life. Other then the tents that Dale and I brought I could stand up in every tent in the campsite. These things are huge.

Meeting Chris and her sister, Carol, at the airport. The giant tube are the sails.

On to sailing. Last week was spent sight-seeing about Copenhagen, prepairing the boat and getting it through the official regatta measurements. We had a practice race yesterday which went pretty well, and two races today. All and all today´s races went well. Out of a 57 boat fleet we finished 35th the first race, and 29th the second. The second race we were in the top ten for awhile but the wind was flukey and while it was strong at the bottom of the last leg on the left (where we went) it died out by the time we got to the top and filled on the right, allowing at least 15 boats to pass us as we faught our way right to the wind.

Dale and Chris with our beautiful boat

Another shot of our boat.
Dale setting the boat up for measurement

You can watch are races live, or after we´ve finished at:
http://www.tractrac.com/?page=live

and pictures are posted at:
http://picasaweb.google.dk/kdyyngling


Cheers all,
- Matt (Vandy)

Practicing Every Weekend

Chris and I have been out on the water everyweekend. So far we've had a couple boats to race and some great conditions, and some great people filling in as a third since Dale lives out of state. We hope more people will keep coming out to race. It's been great to have those that have been out to spar against! Here are a couple of pictures taken by Nancy Middleton last Saturday. Fritz is doing middle for us in these pictures. I really like how he's got this big smile on his face. We must me a pleasure to sail with!

Weather Data For Copenhagen

I downloaded weather data for Copenhagen from 1996-2006, rearranged it and made some plots to help us predict the weather! If, like me, it's been awhile since you've seen box and whisker plots check out the wikipedia reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxplot

Snork Maiden Story - Fundraising

Greetings Snork Maiden Supporters,
Our fundraising progress is currently $4175 on our way to $8k.
Stay tuned for a March Wine Party at the Werley's to help us reach our goal.

Fundraising Goals:

Estimated Budget
Charter Boat in Europe $5000
Boat Transport to regatta $500
Regatta Entry Fee $500
Sails & Equipment $3000
Shipping Sails to regatta $500
Airfare for 3 $3600
Accommodations for 3 $3000

Funds needed to sail the Yngling World Championship Over $15,000
Stay tuned for fundraising Events!

If you would like to see Minnetonka Yacht Club and the United States represented at the 2008 Yngling World Championship we need your help. The Minnetonka Yacht Club Foundation was established as a non-profit 501 (c3) organization to serve as a fund raising conduit for amateur sailors to reach broader levels of competition. Your generous contribution is tax-deductible when given in the form of a check made out to the MYC Foundation with Yngling Worlds entered into the memo area.
We cannot compete without your help. Thank you for supporting us and amateur sailing – Chris, Dale and Matt

We're going to Worlds!

2007 was a fantastic year for Yngling 41, aka, Snork Maiden, as we won the Minnetonka Yacht Championship Series for the second year running and finished 1st at the Yngling Open North American Championship last August. Winning the NA’s qualified me and my crew to sail the 2008 Yngling World Championship in Skovshoved Denmark on the Baltic Sea next July.
North American Champions, Christine and Dale
The Yngling is a 20 foot keelboat with main, jib and spinnaker, sailed with a crew of three, which was designed by Jan Linge and originated in Scandinavia. While not a widely popular racing class in the United States, the Yngling is the Women’s Olympic Keelboat Class and Minnetonka Yacht Club is home to the largest racing fleet in the USA with 25 boats. In 2006, an American took home the world title but in 2007 there were only two teams representing the USA out of sixty-six competing in the Netherlands.
The high financial and logistical burdens to trek crew, boat and sails across the globe to Yngling World Championship competition limits entry by American amateur sailors.
While we have started making plans to be on the starting line in Denmark next summer, the stark reality is that the high prices for chartering a race ready boat, transportation and accommodations during Europe’s busy tourist season and the weak US dollar may prohibit us from making the trip. Dale, Matt and I are all personally committed to the time and training for the event, but financially, we need to solicit outside funds for at least 1/2 the necessary $15,000 to reach the starting line.
If you would like to see Minnetonka Yacht Club and the United States represented at the 2008 Yngling World Championship we need your help. The Minnetonka Yacht Club Foundation was established as a non-profit 501 (c3) organization to serve as a fund raising conduit for amateur sailors to reach broader levels of competition. Your generous contribution is tax-deductible when given in the form of a check made out to the MYC Foundation with Yngling Worlds entered into the memo area.
We cannot compete without your help. Thank you for supporting us and amateur sailing – Chris, Dale and Matt