J29 News

12/3/03: YES = 5 MAYBE = 2 NO = 7 CHARTER

updated: Dec 3, 2003

Visit this special J/29 page for news and entry announcements.

Premiere Racing invites the class members to email us with updates.

We'll post your "Yes", "No", "Maybe" entries, comments and charters as we receive them.

Email Correspondence from Peter Craig to the Class Members


2004 - Yes	*Dirty Harry -* John Lavin *Mighty Puffin -* Mairs Boyz (Annapolis) Night Music (J29 FROB) - Sam Marshall Rhumb Punch - John and Linda Edwards - entry received! *Titillation* - Paul Andersen NOTE: MORC commitment is building and is a possible alternative to PHRF for J/29s	*"Your event is a goal to me and my crew each year to give us respite from the hectic world and a chance to measure our self against the best in my sport. "* Read More......


2004 - Maybe	Fat Bottom Girl - Richard Gress (Sarasota) Hustler - John and Tony Esposito

	Of Note: Peter Davidson (J/29 WOW! and Fast Lane Charter 2003) - 2004 entry is Shades of Gray (Farr 395)
2004 - No	*Anemone* (Hull 67 ) - Don Krueckeberg *Divided Sky* - Vin McAteer ("count on us for 05") *Patriot* - Case Whittemore (Deltaville, VA) Samson (USA 194) - Brandon Flack ("too much time in the booth") Shark Tank - Forest Smith Wildfire (and trailer) for sale - contact Tomahawk - Peter Bergendahl / Bruce Lockwood - they'll be in Key West but are racing a newly purchased Mumm 30


CHARTER	Jay McArdle's *Fast Lane* is available for charter - contact
	Bandon Flack's Samson (2001 Winner) - charter with trailer or sale - contact

	"You can count on Rhumb Punch for Key West this year and years to come. It is the last one off our schedule! We are a split expenses effort rather than owner pay all (so money is not a problem). NOOD regattas are okay but they are not Key West quality. They should not be compared as similar buys".

Date: August 4, 2003
From: Peter Craig; Event Director
To: J/29 Owners

Subject: Key West 2004

________________________________________________________

During the past couple of months I've spoken with your class President, and a number of other J/29 owners concerning your participation in the 2004 event.

I was somewhat surprised to hear that the 2004 class schedule was still up in the air as of last month. I thought it might be worthwhile to communicate directly with the J/29 owners about Key West 2004 from my perspective as Event Director and Race Chairman.

You should know firsthand that I consider the J/29 class to be an important part of this multi-class international event. While some of the glamour classes and their big-name skippers and crews routinely grab the headlines, we consider the "grass roots classes" such as the J/105, J/29 and smaller PHRF classes to be a critical component of what makes Key West the regatta it is. I made it clear to Case Whittimore and Jay McArdle last year that we would be very disappointed if your class elected to drop Key West from your
winter racing calendar. But that's a decision for the J/29 boat owner - and rightfully so.

We've enjoyed watching the J/29 class grow and the quality of racing improve every year. We very much appreciate your efforts to make the trek to the southernmost point in the U.S. and the efforts of Jay McArdle and others who played a role in growing participation to the 17-boat highs in 2001 and 2002.

That said, I recognize that Key West Race Week isn't for everyone. It's an expensive venue for sure. Over the years I've spent a considerable amount of time communicating with and answering questions posed by J/29 owners. The email below is an
earlier response to an owner 2 years ago (with the appropriate updates). Much of this dialogue is still relevant to today's owner and might be of interest to some of you. Concerning expenses... you may find it worthwhile to visit our web site which has a page dedicated to "Race Week on a Budget".

As I mentioned to Case last month, we'd be happy to post a J/29 web page on our event web site if you decide to keep the event on your racing calendar to keep an updated tally of those J/29 owners entered, probably going to enter, still on the fence, and not attending (similar to what the J/105 class does). Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or concerns should you have any after reading my response to the questions below .

Whether you race in Key West or not next January, I'd like to wish the class the very best for their 2004 season and beyond.
Best regards, Peter

P.S. If you have any J/29 owner email addresses that I missed, please feel free to forward and/or post on your web site.

PREMIERE RACING'S 2002 RESPONSE TO J/29 OWNER'S EMAIL...

VALUE
Q1. I've attended 3 of these and plan to do 2002. However, as someone who worked very hard to get the J29's to this event, I think the event is getting to be of less value to me as a competitor.

A. There's only one person who can make an assessment on 'value' and that's you, the boat owner. Our philosophy has always been to treat boat owners as clients. It's certainly in my best interest do whatever I can to ensure that our client feels there is appropriate value to justify the expense AND time that Key West Race Week requires - after all this is an optional undertaking.

EXPENSES
Q2. The expense of housing is out of sight, the launch fee's are ridiculous, and dockage is twice what I'm charged in Annapolis.

A. There is no one on this planet who is more aware of 'cost / expense' issues in Key West than I am as Race Week's event manager. If it's costly for you to campaign a boat at this remote location, I hope that you understand that it's costly to promote, organize and manage an event of this magnitude. While there are indeed some cost-related items that Premiere Racing controls, there are many others from your Race Week budget - far more significant - that we have no control over (boat delivery, launch-haul, dock fees, housing, transportation, etc.). There are programs, however, that manage to do Key West without breaking the bank and they've been kind enough to share their secrets with us ("Race Week on a Budget" section).

OTHER ALTERNATIVES
Q3. Add this together and J29 folks are wondering why not just go to the NOOD's in St. Pete for a fraction of the cost to get the same quality of racing.

A. The St Pete NOOD instead of Key West Race Week? It gets right back to 'value' doesn't it. If the J/29 class determines that there is more value for their class with another event then it's pretty clear that they should participate in that event. I can't speak to the quality of racing or event management in St. Pete (or Davis Island), nor would it be appropriate for me to do so. I can say that you've oversimplified the issue a bit here. Isn't the NOOD a 2-1/2 or 3 day regatta? It would stand to reason that entry fees, dock fees, housing, food, etc. would be substantially less there. It would also seem, however, that some on the inherent costs (time & money) of getting your J/29s and crews south to Florida might warrant a more lengthy event, particularly if there were a weather related no-race day or marginal conditions for 1 or 2 days. Again, that would be your call.

MULTI-MILLIONAIRE OWNERS
Q4. The same thinking is going on with regards to Block and SORC. The multi-millionaire can write this off in some way, but as a salary-man it is hard to swallow.

A. Again, I can't speak in any detail to Storm Trysail's Block Island Race Week or SORC. Storm Trysail seems to keep getting their 200 boats on the odd-year so the client likely feels that there's still value there. SORC, on the other hand, has seen a pretty dramatic drop off in entries in each of the last 4 years (185-70 boats) which might suggest that boat owners aren't getting what they need in the way of value. As you may know, Key West Race Week has experienced record fleets in recent years, averaging 310 entries over the past 3 years of global economic recession and uncertainty - 40 more boats than ANY other previous fleet. That sentence probably says
more about value than I could express in 2 or 3 pages of justification. Couple the consistent growth with the consistent positive feedback we receive from boat owners every year and I believe it speaks rather clearly to whether most participating boat owners find the appropriate value for their Key West experience. That said, you can be sure that no one ever told us that Key West Race Week was an inexpensive regatta.

I think your comment on multi millionaires is interesting. Most of our growth in Key West has not been with the grand prix IMS, One Design (1D48, Corel 45, Farr 40 / 1D35, Mumm 30) and big PHRF entries. In fact the J/80, J/105, Corsair 28R, J/29 (through 2002), Melges 24 and small boat PHRF classes were among those showing the biggest gains in recent years. I think we can agree that these owners don't represent the high rollers of race week. I know of many modest campaigns that have shown creativity in keeping the boat owner's expenses reasonable. We've seen multiple owners on boats, crews paying a portion of the expenses and even some crews living on their boats.

I'd like to share an example of how Key West expenses are perceived and managed by another "salary man" - a Tripp 26 owner from New York. The following was posted on the Sailing World web site bulletin board:
_____________________________________________________________________

Posted by Rob Lehnert on February 02, 1999 at 15:54:10: In Reply to: Thanks. I'm curious, Steve, what you're missing? posted by John Burnham on February 02, 1999 at 14:03:06:

"What a bargain! Compared to going to a regatta like Block Island Race Week, Key West was a bargain. Our boat, a Tripp 26 - LUNATIC FRINGE, is owned by my brother Bill & I. Whenever we go away with the boat, the team shares all of the living expenses. Excluding the boat (sails, hardware, etc.) from the expenses, We found the Key West Race Week was cheaper than Block Island Week.

"Broken down among 6 people, it came to $400 a head. That included, a condo at the Truman Annex, all food in the condo & on the boat, party tent bracelets. Not bad for a week in the sun.

"On top of that, Bill & I picked up the race entry fee, & fuel for the car, crew gear (t-shirts, etc.) All total, it was about a $1000. Still not bad for a week in Jan.

"This was our first time at Key West Race Week, but on adding up the # comparing it to the last 4 years at Block Island Race Week, this was cheaper. Hell, by the time we're finished with lunch, beer, and a round of drinks at the bar after the race, it still costs about $100 to race on a Sun. afternoon locally.

"I think everyone should stop crying about the cost of these regattas. Anyone with so much as a J-24 can race. You don't need a big hi-tech boat. The competition in PHRF is still better than anything at home on Eastern
Long Island. If you need any info for your article, please drop me a line. Thanks, Rob"
________________________________________________________________________

VALUE REVISITED
Q5. I would like to hear your thoughts as to why I should go and what your doing to make this a better value.

A. It would be pretty presumptuous of me to tell you why you should compete in Key West. I have no idea what it is specifically that makes you a happy camper. I've run across some owners who put the number of Mount Gay Rum hats they get as one of their top priorities. The fact that you've participated in previous years should make it unnecessary for me to provide a lengthy dissertation about what makes Race Week different.

I will speak briefly to 'better value'. Since taking over management of this event in 1997, Premiere Racing's primary goal has been to set the standard for racing events both on the water and ashore. We've worked extremely hard at that, not resting on our laurels, but instead looking to raise the bar every year. Everything we do in Key West , we want to do better than the other guy. Everything. That isn't to say we succeed across the board - but we do establish new goals each year and make the effort. That's why there were 196 people from 21 different states working on site last January - to ensure we have top quality people for race management and the resources to pull off a 300+ boat, 4 division, 18 class event. Here's 4 quick examples from 2001 alone: 1) responded with a 4th division in the very late going to ensure quality racing for all competitors with only 25% of the sponsor revenue from the previous 2 years; 2) weighed in J/29 crews, though not an NOR requirement - opened weigh-ins early to accommodate crews; 3) Used new shoreside tent access cards in place of bracelets - which sailors were claiming was a safety issue; 4) with considerable risk and not without some pain for racers and staff alike, we expended significant resources to upgrade our scoring system and are now better positioned for the long term.

What else are we doing? We have expended considerable resources instituting our new "Industry Partner Program" in an attempt to get the performance sailing industry involved in an event that is beneficial to them, so that it doesn't all come back to the boat owner in the form of fees.

EXPENSES REVISTED
Q6. At other J29 events the costs are more like: Haul and launch round trip $100.00/One way $75.00/ Mast IN/OUT $75.00/ Dockage $1.00/ft
A. I addressed this issue above in #2.

SHORESIDE / SOCIAL
Q7. I have mentioned in the past the need to provide for those follow-alongs, ie young family members not sailing and sailors who are not into killing their livers or going to the places that appeal to older more discreet sailors that like strip bars etc...

A. I'm not really sure what you're getting at here. We really don't have anything to do with what establishments sailors frequent while in Key West. Concerning the liver comment I'll assume that this might be directed at drinking and the Race Week tent. The very first action we took in 1997 was to change the image of the 'rum tent' and bracelet charge (drink ticket). If you have participated in our shoreside activities and/or been under the tent you'll know full well that we've succeeded in turning this around. A few Reception Tent examples: New, high quality tent (140' x 100'); 6 nights, Panel Discussions and Seminars all week; 5-K Fun Run with prizes; separate soda stations; 4 televisions & a big screen with the day's racing and other special sailing video; local Mallory Square entertainment under the tent; food AND free soft drinks, cocktails and beer.

Speaking to your primary concern - cost - it is important to note that our shoreside access card is OPTIONAL. Many regattas (SORC / Block Island Race Week to name 2) have had the crew 'access card' or ' bracelet' as a mandatory purchase with the entry application. This is in fact part of the entry fee and precludes the owner from making a choice based on the value of the shoreside activities. We continue to give you that choice.

MISCELLANEOUS
Q8. If Key West is to continue for me, some of these items need to be addressed. The location is great, however Key West is one difficult place to get to. One road, one airport that does not service large aircraft, the list goes on.

A. I think I've addressed those items that I could. I can't do much about 1 road, 1 airport and the like, though those are some of the things that make Key West the funky, different, eclectic place that sailors like to come to for a change of pace.

We know all about hard decisions here at Premiere Racing. In fact we're not sure if Key West Race Week is going to continue for us long term - for the same basic reasons that you are concerned with - financial. If we
can't make the new business model work then St. Pete will be an easy decision for the J/29 class. I've addressed those concerns and the new business model to my clients (2001) in a letter included with the Notice of Race. When you get the NOR, please note that we purposely changed our previous method of determining LOA so that the J/29 class would fall in the lower grouping (29.9' = 29' not 30'). And entry fees are the same in 2004 as they were in each of the past 2 years.

There I no question that Key West isn't for everyone. We've enjoyed watching the J/29 racing improve every year (tie breaker for 1st with top 3 boats within 4 points in 2001). We appreciate your efforts and those of Jay McArdle and others who've played a role in growing this to a 17-boat class in 2001 and 2002. We'd be disappointed, to say the very least, if your decision was to take Key West off the J/29 calendar, but that's a decision for the boat owner - and rightfully so.

A note from Paul Andersen

Peter, Just wanted to let you know "Titillation" is planning on attending Key West Race Week 2004.

I also want to commend you for many wonderful and memorable sailboat races. I’ve read the comments about Key West Race Week expenses and the likes and can’t understand what everyone is complaining about. My crew splits all expenses for KWRW including boat transportation costs and entry fees. With some pretty upscale housing (heated pools), Airline tickets, food on the boat and eating dinner in half the time, it costs each crew member about $1250 for a week in January in the warmest spot in the USA with great entertainment! Try going on vacation anywhere else in season for less.

The key is to plan early which allows you to get the best housing for the buck and get the most affordable Airline tickets and the most convenient tickets. Our deposit requirements for housing are very minimal until you get into the late summer and early fall. You then have to pay half the bill. The advantage of this is if you can line up you crew early (or at least the core) people get to pay early and are not looking at a big bill right after the holidays. Again I can’t emphasize how important it is to plan early.

As for value, I’ve done about 80 of your races in Key West and have yet had a bad one. Unless people have done Race Committee, (which I have to do at my Home YC once a year) people have no Idea how demanding and rewarding RC work is. Now multiply that 4 and any reasonable person can see this is a daunting task. Yet you and your crew do it with ease.

As for the J-29 class skipping Key West and going to St. Pete only, my response has always been that your event is the BIG DANCE. It gives our class unbelievable PR value. I don’t think our class would have grown to what it has been without the Press coverage of your event. We choose to do the St. Pete Nood afterwards to get more bang for the buck while the boat is in Florida. I would also remind a person that if they thought it was cold in Key West this past year on Friday, That morning in St. Pete the temperature was 26 degrees. That is not an unusual occurrence in that area in the winter.

The J-29 is a great boat and great value for the owner. It suffers from the decision to build 4 different versions. Yet the owners have addressed these issues and we can race one design around the country. Your event helped us address these issues and others and get people to race one design.

Having been in the Marine business for 30 years I’ve found that at least 10% of the clients you can’t please no matter what you do. The rest will be responsive to what you try to do as a business as long as you offer them what they want, when they want it, at a reasonable cost. You achieve all three of those items each and every time. That is a successful business. I’m not sure everyone understands that this is a business to you and therefore you operate under different criteria. This is not a Yacht Club event which does not have to justify a profit each year to continue, you do.

We have been in difficult financial times with very uncertain political events surround our daily lives. Your event is a goal to me and my crew each year to give us respite from the hectic world and a chance to measure our self against the best in my sport. As someone said once, you just can’t decide to play golf with Tiger Woods, but I can get in a boat and go to Key West and race against the Paul Cayards, Dennis Conner and the likes.

Keep up the great work and see you in January!
Paul Andersen