Dear Dart Catamaran Sailor, The Dart's 'points' regatta scheduled for August 22 & 23 at Grand Bend has unfortunately been cancelled as certain venue requirements were not available. But, Good News! I have obtained permission from the Town of Lincoln near St. Catharines, which will permit Dart sailors special overnight camping privileges at Charles Daley Park. This will be an excellent site for a new regatta location. It has two beach areas and camping is available beside the beach at no charge. We will be running a 'replacement' points regatta at this location on the August 22 & 23 weekend. Hopefully, we might also rekindle the casual and social sailing format that we are now missing since Jim Gurr ended his regatta series last year. To this end the focus will be on family and group summertime fun, sun, and social activities. The races will be casual and user friendly - hopefully we can attract some new participants. Winds permitting, we can sail east from Charles Daley Park to Old Port Dalhousie Beach - home of the oldest merry-go-round in North America. From there the next race would take us to Port Weller - where the Welland Canal enters Lake Ontario. This would be our stop for lunch. Options on Saturday include a long distance race from Pt. Weller to Niagara-on-the-Lake and back to Charles Daley, or some shorter course if winds don't blow. Sunday courses will be shorter to allow us to finish around 3pm. I hope to introduce 'beach starts and finishes' that will be new for our race group. This format will allow us to have beach breaks between races, as well as an on-shore lunch. Scoring will be based on the "1998 US SAILING PORTSMOUTH TABLES FOR MULTIHULLS." This will allow our members to compete Solo, Sloop, or X-Class Darts and be scored accordingly - we will all be in the same race! Beach-to-beach times for individual races could also be combined for one overall score. Dart 15's and 20's are now more than welcome to race with the 18's! This may be the start of something new - Dart regattas with handicapped scoring. We can do it! Please read the enclosed flyer and let me know what you think. A response either way would be appreciated - will you attend? Reply by snail mail, e-mail, or phone evenings. I hope to hear from you or see you soon! DART 18 (POINTS) REGATTA CHARLES DALEY PARK, ST. CATHARINES August 22 & 23, 1998 **Replaces the Cancelled Grand Bend Race** Featuring: · Beach starts with 'breaks' at various beach locations between races · Combined beach-to-beach and long distance scoring for races · Possible long distance race to Niagara-on-the-Lake - wind permitting · Handicapped scoring system for solo, sloop, and x-fleet Dart 18's · Easy beach access with FREE park camping area right off the beach · Evening campfire & social - tall 'sailing stories' time! · Motels (for softies) within 5 km · Family fun - on the beach or up the nearby creek · - minutes from historic Port Dalhousie - Lakeside Park Beach Lunch provided during a beach break on Saturday · BBQ to follow Sunday's races. Charles Daley Park is located on the south shore of Lake Ontario between Jordan Station and St. Catharines. From Toronto or London, exit the QEW Niagara at 7th Street Louth and take the North Service Rd. west to the Park entrance. See map below. Follow Dart signs to get to the launch area. Friday arrivals before 9pm when park closes (I have a key). Park is open at 8am. White flag at 10:30am. The cost for a weekend of fun and sun? Solo $20.00 -- Sloop $25.00 -- Family $30.00 For additional information contact: Peter Hildebrand (905) 937-4329 e-mail to hildebrand@sympatico.ca -- Regards from, Peter Hildebrand