| 2010 Rendezvous |
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| Written by Administrator | ||
| Jul 29, 2009 at 03:46 PM | ||
 A 2010 Precision Sailboat Rendezvous? First off, here's a new gallery of pictures from Lee and Joan Adkinson of "Dauntless". To see them, click here. You can view them one-by-one or as a slide-show by clicking the movie-board icon. The vision for the inaugural Precision Sailboat Rendezvous was to expose sailors to a broader sailing experience, and of course, engage in fellowship with other Precision owners. It’s up to the participants to determine if the execution of this vision in the Rendezvous was generally successful. The Chesapeake was chosen for its proximity to a fairly large population of Precision owners, and for its size and numerous attractions. Offering numerous destinations, routes, bridges, towns, cities, rivers and a variety of sailing conditions, the Bay is prime sailing grounds for smaller boats. So, now that we have one Rendezvous under our belts, what should be done about the next one? Should we do this again? How much if anything should be changed for another go-round? Before I offer my thoughts on these specific topics, I will make some general observations: First, we really did not get the level of participation we anticipated. This was not necessarily disappointing, and perhaps made the event manageable. However, of the 48 registered users of this site, only about 12 boats actually participated. The feedback to the two surveys that were conducted seemed to indicate a higher participation level than we actually experienced. Of course, the largest recession and financial crisis since the Great Depression probably contributed to the attendance level. Secondly, we cannot anticipate that we would get any interest from Precision Boat Works if these events attract a handful of boats. What’s the magic number? I have no idea. How important is this? I’m not sure. Frankly I can’t see how Precision would really benefit from attendance. Preaching to the choir doesn’t yield many converts. Thirdly, sailors tend to be individualistic, opinionated people, for whom sailing is a series of personal choices. How a particular sailor pursues this avocation is his or her business. That’s the individualistic part. How a particular sailor regards his or her colleagues and their choices is the opinionated part. This means there will always be disagreement and even friction, no matter how great an attempt is made to please as many people as possible. So with these three observations one would wonder, why anyone would attempt to organize another similar event? The answer is simple. It’s fun, even with low attendance, no sponsorship, and occasional dissention and discontent. But to do it better? That’s the real question. Clearly more participation in the planning stages with the assistance of local help is a key factor. Additionally, relying solely on Internet sites and message boards is too narrow an approach. Now we did publish notices in sailing magazines, but this effort apparently did not yield anything. Frankly, I believe visiting marinas and approaching individual sailors directly is perhaps the best approach. I approached a P-23 sailor at my marina who knew nothing of the Rendezvous, or the TSSB Precision board. He said he’d love to attend the next event if we have one. Personally, I’d love to attempt another Rendezvous in the Chesapeake area in 2010. I think the Sailing Emporium worked out well, and I’d have no issue having it as the home-port for the event again. Saint Michael’s was a nice destination, though more time at the destination would be nice for either exploring the town, or sailing the area. There are other destinations of course, and another could be easily selected. A raft-up in a more rural setting would be nice to have as well. Frankly, I’d want to build on what we know, and focus on sharpening the agenda and upping the attendance rather than recasting the entire event for different venues. These are my opinions only. So, we need your help. We need your constructive suggestions, and above all your participation in the planning process. I believe we can make our planning process much better if we have some organized local participation, and periodic conference calls to track and report our progress. Who's in?? Care to discuss? Click here (no login required to use the forum on this site). Best, Tom V. 
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| Last Updated ( Jul 30, 2009 at 02:18 PM ) | ||