Logistics for 2008 Rendez Vous

[wurzner]

OK. We need to consider dates. Since we seem to get US boats when it is south and US/Canadian boats North, I propose the following. If we contine rotating the event North South, this is a Canadian year. If so, we should try and do it on a long weekend. If it is in Sidney or Victoria, we should consider the week of the 4th of July so people can take 4 days of PTO and have lots of time to commute north and back home. For events south of the border, this is also convenient as July 1 is Canadian Independance day so it is a short week for both countries. Other options are keep it the same day, Memorial Day, and Labour Day.

Please vote below and post comments. The key thing is maximum participation from both US and Canadian boats so comments from everyone is crtitical.

Cheers
Shaun

 

[mark reed]

We have found it difficult to attend on Father's Day weekend because we are both teachers and need to work the Friday before that weekend.
The weekends on either side of Canada Day/4th would be good for us, also June 21-22 or 28-29 would work.

 

[obiwanrazzy]

4th

I can't guarantee 100% that I'll make it at this point, but my company does give us the week of July 4th off. It'd be a cool trip up to Sydney and/or Victoria (assuming that has been decided?).

 

[Mike.Gritten]

We would also prefer the date be shifted up to include the Holiday week/weekend/day for both countries.

 

[Erich]

My first reaction to the July1/4th weekend was "Good, we don't have to play bumper boats in an overcrowded anchorage". We would definitely be out sailing that weekend but so will everybody else. I'll be nice banging glasses on the dock instead.

 

[hodo]

Shaun, do you want to do the Poll thing? Vancouver sounds good to me on the 4th. If I remember Sydney was a bit pricey....
Harold

 

[Sean Engle]

Nwer-08

I think whatever you guys decide is fine - all I ask is for you to consider the cost of hotels, etc - for those of us who drive...

and...

Make the decision soon this time - so everyone has lots of warning, and there's a large turnout. And this time it's up north! What about Victoria (that's not expensive! )

//sse

 

[Loren Beach]

and...
Make the decision soon this time - so everyone has lots of warning, and there's a large turnout. And this time it's up north! What about Victoria (that's not expensive! )

//sse

Actually, Victoria has a unique advantage. Attendees by car can get there by Ferry, as walk on's. We have done this, leaving the car in PA for a night.
This avoids the hassle of being trapped in mult-hour wait to get a car back onto the ferry in Victoria.
All you need is your hotel reservation and your wheelie-bag or back pack.

Loren

 

[Sean Engle]

Actually, Victoria has a unique advantage. Attendees by car can get there by Ferry, as walk on's. We have done this, leaving the car in PA for a night.
This avoids the hassle of being trapped in mult-hour wait to get a car back onto the ferry in Victoria.
All you need is your hotel reservation and your wheelie-bag or back pack.

Loren

Yeah, I know - I was just being a smart alec, that's all... Actually, Victoria is very nice and would probably be a good choice... I think one of the BC'ers was talking about that a few months ago, no?

//sse

 

[Stuart]

2008 stuff

HI All
I think Shaun is correct in that we did discuss alternating north and south each year.
I think with Port Townsend, the crossing is long but our first time there we did have good Canadian support. Having said that: if we had not just returned from Greece and moved our home, we would have gone, after all the rendezvous is all about an excuse to sail. If it were a town more accessible by car we might have driven down regardless (Seattle, Anacortes or similar on the mainland).
I think moving it to a long weekend has both pluses and minuses: the positive side is we all have time to get to the rendezvous, the downside is we need to make reservations now because its busy on long weekends. I think any weekend in the summer would work and I have no problem with the long weekend of July 1 (pending consultation with the Admiral). In the past we have booked our sailing time around the rendezvous to some extent, mostly because we like to sail when it’s not busy everywhere. This gave us lots of time to get wherever.
As far as location goes, I was hoping to hold it a little further north towards Vancouver. What Charlie is proposing in Victoria is pretty good and as Loren mentions, it’s an easy ferry from Seattle. Victoria is a beautiful harbor and city and I think we should take Charlie up on his proposal by going to Victoria this year. Getting to Victoria from Comox would take me about four days, nothing compared to Marks trip from Oregon!

My .02

Cheers
Stuart
Comox BC

 

[dcraigmyle]

Victoria July 1 weekend

Victoria would be a great place at this time if we could get space.

The Tall Ships (OK taller than Ericsons) are coming to Victoria in 2008 at the very end of June 26 (arrival on Thursday) to June 29. Public tours of some sort would be offered Friday to Sunday - it will be a very big event. The US Coast Guard training Ship 'Eagle' is coming among many others.

On July 1 you can count on Canada Day fireworks in the Inner Harbour.

I have been to two Ericson Rendezvous and really enjoyed them. Our daughter was leading in the rope toss one year until someone threw both ends of the rope! Great fun. But family commitments on Fathers Day weekend have kept me from other events and even when they are held in Sidney, it feels like 'camping in my own back yard' to move over to the next marina! So I like Victoria as a northern destination with lots to offer (except possibly space) and the July date.

Suggest that organizers check with the Victoria Harbour Authority through:-
Reservations and Special Events Liaison
Sarah Kirsch
Telephone: 250.383.8326 ext. 43

Hope this helps

Don Craigmyle, SV Pegasus

 

[Monty]

Rendezvous

Being retired I voted " Don't care". That means I'm flexible, not disinterested. I like the idea of alternating US/ Canada. I also think Victoria would be good, but worry about space availability. Monty Bryant [TARA]

 

[hodo]

It appears that July 1-4 is the favoured dates, and Victoria seems to be the place of choice? OK lets do it! I agree, if we can even test the waters at this time, it would help with the choices. Shaun, are you setting it up again this year? Harold.

 

[Sean Engle]

Victoria...

Here's some info just sent to me... If you guys want to go to Victoria, whoever's organizing it had better make decisions soon..

Thank you so much for your call today; it was great to chat with you.

First and foremost, we would love to host the Ericson Rendezvous during July 4th weekend. We will do our best to accommodate as many vessels as possible, but we will eventually need a full and detailed list of all vessels intending on joining us. For now, I would need dates to work from and an approximated list, just to get the ball rolling. There is a fee of $400.00 to reserve space for up to 40 vessels, and a fee of $500 for anything more than that. This is not a deposit and will not be applied to moorage charges; however, each group member will receive a 15% discount on their moorage charges for the duration of their stay. Let me know as soon as you can what specific dates the group is planning for.

Second, our annual lighted ships parade is going to be held on Saturday, December 8th. We’ll be having a holiday market starting at 5pm, entertainment and free hot chocolate on Ships Point Pier to accompany the floating light displays, kicking off at 7:30pm sharp. Each vessel that registers is eligible to win a number of prizes from chocolate to opera tickets to a night at the Laurel Point (complete with breakfast). Capital Iron is providing a 25% discount on all LED lighting and static inverters to all participating boats. We’re also going to be partnering with a local Victoria charity, the Cool Aid Society; tickets are granted with a donation to the Society and some auxiliary prizes will be raffled off before the parade prizes are announced. It’s all for a good cause and we’d love to have a big turnout! Once I get the posters together, I’ll send one off to you. If you’d like to register, or if you need any other information, give us a call at (250) 383-8326.

Yours;

Sarah Kirsch

Special Events and Reservations

Greater Victoria Harbour Authority

202 - 468 Belleville Street

Victoria, BC V8V 1W9

PH: (250) 383-8326

FX: (250) 383-8306

skirsch@victoriaharbour.org

and this:

Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 2:59 PM
Subject: Victoria Ericson Rendezvous and Lighted Ships Parade
answer to letter sent to Victoria Harbour Authority .. You do not have to put any money up front , but if Victoria is the place we are having our rendezvous and July 4 th the date we should start getting our ship-s together soon.

Go! Go! Go! Make a decision soon and lock it up... The sooner the decision is made, the greater the event will be (that's all I'll say about it...)....

//sse

 

[hodo]

Is anyone absolutely opposed to Victoria on the July 1-4 dates? If no, let's lock it in. Heres my $.02.
Harold

 

[wurzner]

I'll set it up if no money is required-how many slips??

Based on previous experiances, I'm not willing to put any finances on the line due to last minute changes. As of now, I would say reserve room for 25 boats and adjust down as needed (or up if we can). Looks like 20 responses and I know some will drop out and some are coming by car.

Comments?
thanks
Shaun

 

[msFootrope]

Rendezvous Finances

If I'm reading and understanding the thread correctly, it will cost us $400 (I'm assuming this is Canadian $, not that it makes much difference these days) just to reserve the slips. That's an additional $16 per boat, assuming we get 25 boats to attend. We also get a 15% discount off the moorage. However, I have not heard anybody mention what the cost of moorage will be. Does anybody know that cost? Does the 15% discount make up for the additional $16 per boat? Personally, the additional money doesn't matter to me, but as far as I know this is the first time we've been asked to put down a reservation fee that is not offset by the moorage fees. A part of me is bothered by this. On the other hand, Victoria is a great place to spend some time and the slips are right in the heard of the city. Can't ask for better accomodations from that aspect.

On a second note, has anybody looked into the logistics of where we would hold the potluck and how much additional it would be to rent the facility? Does the Harbor Authority even have a facility that we could use? I really like the idea of switching the rendezvous between Canada and the U.S., but I bet it will be hard to find a facility as accommodating as Port Townsend. I wasn't able to attend the rendezvous in Sidney; how did that facility compare to Victoria?

I'm not sure the answers would make any difference in the way I'll vote, which will probably be in favor of going to Victoria during the first week in July, but I had to ask the questions.

 

[hodo]

Slightly confused

I am a bit confused as I read Seans quotes. The upper one indicates a 400 $ fee, but the lower one seems to say not so. This time the confusion is NOT alcohol related. Help me understand. (Jessie says I need help!). I wonder what that means.....
Thanks Harold

 

[hodo]

I guess I will start this thing off by saying Jessie,Cocoa and I will be there, if that helps. Victoria is a great place to tie up. In case we can't set up an area for a potluck, I know there are several resturaunts around that would accept most of us. After all, they are used to sailors for Swiftsure Vic Maui and the Van Isle 360. We might also be able to arrange something with one of the Yacht Clubs. I know the Canadian Armed Forces has a nice spot, and if we talked nice to Charles and Judy, we could find out if it was available. I hope someone else survived the 70 mph winds this last week and will keep this alive.
Harold

 

[Stuart]

Victoria...a thought

So as I see it, if we want to go to Victoria we need to put 400.00 down to reserve slips. And then pay over and above that for slips when we get there. So it might cost us 10.00 to 20.00 more per boat to do this.
Given what owing a sailboat costs per year, twenty more is not too big a deal. I would be willing to track deposits from people and forward a check to the harbormaster when we reach 400.00. If all other attendees contribute at the rendezvous we should get some of our money back.
So are there 19 other people out their ready and willing to send their twenty bucks in? I would suggest I would not cash anyone’s checks until I have enough (400.00). If not enough commit we go somewhere else and I tear up the checks I received.

Thoughts ?????

Stuart
SV Fairhaven
Comox BC