Bon Giorno......

The Region 4 Championship Regatta will be held May 17-18 at Vella's House Ortonville,Michigan. Momma Vella is making spaghetti and we are going to have cheap wine and beer.... Saturday night. Mark it on your calendar," ittsa gonna be a lotsa fun".....NOR at http://www.dmyc.org

Francesco " Boombats" Vella

OK all you paisan's or wanna be Italians....I now begin the promotion of the Region 4 Championship to be held at Cabella's in Dundee Mich(17 miles North of the M/O state line) and not far from US80 corridor. All you skippers both American and Canadian are welcome to come enjoy the festivities...... You can register online on AMYA regatta page or you can mail the entry in to me after March 31 to my Michigan home address 3670 Seymour Lake Drive, Ortonville, Michigan 48462

Frankie "slow thumbs" Vella

Hey I don't have your entry yet.......

Time is running out to enter and get your swag....May 8th is cutoff date...

FV

It is with regret that I am forced to announce the cancellation of the region 4 regatta. This is due to lack of entries. I only received one!

Frank

I am very sorry to hear this. I would like to know why nobody wanted to sail in this regatta. Was it a timing issue? What can we do better to keep this regatta on the schedule? Respond here with your comments or email me directly if what you have to say is not for public view.

Frank has worked hard to bring us this regatta. I know Detroit is not in the middle of the EC12 Class, but there should be enough boats in the region to have made the effort.

Let me know. Thanks

So sorry Frank to have a Regional fail. I know you that you have been a major organizer in Region 4 with long history of major events. How did this happen? You are also part of the Race Week organizing as RD. You were the only one posting in this string till now. That is unusual. Don't give up, please.

I won't. Maybe later in the summer as a Nats warm up or next year....

In my humble opinion, it is mainly a scheduling issue. The Midwest has hardly awoken, specially this year after an extended winter - and need for more warm-up time for regional events. If no timing conflict, it is not difficult for the Black Prince in Detroit with his proven talents and enthusiasm to entice Canadian and Midwest skippers to come over/up/down and enjoy his splendid hospitality and a good regatta. Though not all in same Region 4, people along the East Coast seem to avoid travel west of the Apalachian (sp?), if at all possible. Checking out current registrants for the Chicago EC-12 NCR event, you'll find a similar trend and also that none of our "usual suspects" - including Floridians - have been listed ("yet")! Let's hope I will be proven wrong!

The Swedish Viking #18

I would agree about the drawbacks of scheduling a regatta early in the sailing season. I am reluctant to sail in regattas when my thumbs (and brain) are still stiff from the long winter layoff.

Da-Ling touches on some of the truths and they change from year to year. These can be overcome. You may not get 30 but for sure 12-15 at the excellent venues and support Frank has proven to have. Region 4 is a tough place and needs the media and resources of the class to promote model sailing and the EC12 Class for the members there. Hype and a bit of goading is fun and gets people's attention when highlighting a Region's major event. This proliferates activity and the many regattas the class posts. This lack of turnout could become infectious and not just the class but the AMYA should see this.

There are examples; the Santa Barbara NCR in San Francisco last September and the turnouts for the Florida Association events. The hoopla, AMYA support, resources of the SFMYC and member communications produced what has to have been the greatest S/B event ever, then came a huge feature of the SFMYC in Model Yachting. Most of the postings here well beforehand and after FLA events produces by far more entries that Dixie and maybe the rest of the eastern seaboard. One can make arguments about all the pluses there but the fact is they work at it and get the press out.

Frank Vella was a one-man band with no regional AMYA or class support that I am aware of in following news and postings. He is good but not with the resources needed. This was a major failure with lasting effects.

Hey Fred; you need to do what the birds do. And stop flying those helicopters and fixed wing aircraft with only one engine. Good show at the Friendship event again.

Certainly is disappointing, and not the first R4 that was cancelled in recent years for lack of participation. Last year the venue at Oak Hollow was picked to give R4 skippers better travel time. One registered, None participated. So far, 5/13 only 9 have registered for the NCR RACE WEEK in CHICAGO. And only 2 of those are from R4. We certainly hope to see more skippers compete, as rumor has it that FLA participation will be light. So to quote poobah, "Hype and a bit of goading is fun and gets people's attention when highlighting a Region's major event."
Consider yourselves goaded.
Chicago Club Race WeeK site: http://chicago-rc-model-yacht-club.org/html/race_week_nor_&_registration.html