It takes a village... and we need you! Can you become a sponsor or a volunteer to help us make the 2024 Hobie 16 North American Championship the best NAC ever? At the event we need about 20 volunteers on RC, chase and mark boats, beach, food service, registration, measurement, and a "runner". Outside the event we need help fundraising, getting raffle items donated and organized, reaching out to potential other sponsors, website design, promotion... please reach out with the chat link to find out how you can help!
Roton Point Association and Roton Point Club membership are going above and beyond to put on a fabulous event and have donated the use of their beautiful facility including all the amenities we always enjoy at their annual fall regatta (RPMR), as well as several support vessels. Their club membership will be volunteering and hosting our out of town volunteer race committee, there is no way we can thank them enough for this generosity, but we hope you will make a point to thank them in person while you're at the event! Thank you Roton Point!
Steve Fields of Hobie Cat Company has secured a generous donation of a new set of Hobie 16 sails to assist us in fundraising for the event... this donation shows the commitment Hobie has to the class association and the regatta, as well as those who love to sail Hobie Cats... to purchase a raffle ticket, please use the contacts (we'll set up online sales if possible, but for now will handle via email) - we'll be selling tickets in person at various regattas and at the event. Drawing will be held during the event in September.
Having received the donation of a brand new set of Hobie 16 sails - the white racing main and jib seemed to some of us to miss an element of Hobie sails... we know that colorful sails have been a key draw for some of our fans, so to the rescue came Chris Picknally of Flying Fish Arts - creator of some truly stunning custom sail graphics and durable sail bags. Chris has generously donated a gift certificate good towards a custom sail design and production, and we're combining that into our grand raffle prize, awarding it with our Hobie class racing sails donation. Flying Fish Arts also donated a gorgeous full size 'Rumple Sail Skin' sail bag to our event raffle... Thank You Chris Picknally! Please click the image and visit Chris' web site to see some more of his work, arrange your own project, or order a sail bag!
In the last few years, Hobie Fleet 448 has had the great fortune of connecting with former Fleet 416 member, Scott Lang, who restored Wickford Yacht Club's old signal boat "Namaste" to it's current beauty. She's got plenty of room to keep our PRO and RC comfortable and able to see and be seen on the race course. Scott's long time love of Hobie Cat Racing shows all the time.. proof positive: besides prepping Namaste for a 24 hour cruise to Rowayton, CT from her home port of Wickford RI, Scott has generously offered to sponsor entry for several youth teams at the H16 NAC.
We were in a bit of a tight spot in our budget for a great band for our Wednesday night social. To the rescue came this wonderful sponsor - The Boat Locker - a southern Connecticut one design sailboat dealership since 1957. The Boat Locker (formerly Larson's Locker for those of you who remember) is Fairfield County's premiere sailboat dealership with a new location In Bridgeport, CT with an 8,000 square foot showroom with 30 foot ceilings allowing the display of set up boats, kayaks and standup paddleboards rigged indoors year round.
Click the image to visit their website which provides customers with a smooth, clean and simple Boat Locker experience. The site allows fulfillment of customer orders in a timely manner - usually same day or next business day. The Boat Locker, making sailing easy since 1957!
Speaking of that great band - we've got a 4 piece that have been playing together for 16 years and over a thousand gigs... Pimpinella! Voted Southern CT’s best 70's dance band, they are sure to make Wednesday night's social one fantastic time. With the large covered deck (a.k.a Dance Floor) and this band playing the timeless 70s Classic Rock, Funk, Disco, R&B and Soul hits, you forgot you loved - we're going to find out who's got the moves on the dance floor!
Click the image to visit their website to see where you'll find Pimpinella playing next, and how you can book them for your private party or southern Connecticut venue!
Fleet 448 member and graphic designer... Carl 'Lee' French is responsible for our event logo in all it's forms and is assisting in the "merch department" ... if you've got a marketing or advertising need, we highly recommend giving Lee a call, 617-306-8094, or visit his site C4Design.net ... we hope to see Lee on the water at the main event!
One of our beloved Fleet 448 members, Zach moved to Minesota and launched his own coffee company "Biota" focused on supporting regenerative agriculture in coffee farming... when he heard about the NAC, I got this generous note from him... " I’d love to be the coffee sponsor of the event. We could donate a bunch of coffee to brew over the weekend, including Roton Point, plus donate some retail bags to be included as prizes." Heck yeah Zach, we're interested in that!
We first discovered the refreshing Day Chaser cocktails a few years ago at a Roton Point Multihull Regatta. These ready-to-drink spirit-based canned cocktails are made with real fruit juice and sparkling water. Perfect for those living the Hobie way of life - full of adventure, and just the right thing coming off the water after a day of racing around the buoy's. We're so happy that they have agreed to sponsor us with product at the North American Championships this year. Click on their logo to visit their website for more information.