SYC Hosts the 2010 NAI

August 4th thru the 7th are the dates for the 2010 North American Invitational Cruiser Navigation contest. The NAI is the “Americas Cup” of Cruiser Navigation and is the contest that all log racers aspire to win. The best Cruiser Navigators in the United States and Canada will converge on Shoreline YC to find out who is the “best of the best.”

The contestants use vessels that are loaned by local boaters for the event. A contestant cannot however, use any boat they have already used in cruiser navigation contests, so locals have to use a borrowed vessel too.

On Wednesday the 4th, the contestants will arrive at SYC and register. Later that evening will be a cocktail party, boat drawing, and dinner. The boats are drawn randomly and that is how the contestants find out which boat they are going to use. After the drawing, the contestants and boat owners meet up and discuss the logistics and sometimes even go to the boat to check it out.

The morning of Thursday the 5th is reserved for running measured miles. The boat owners or their representatives meet up with the contestants and take the vessels out to the breakwater to run several measured miles. Once the contestants are familiar with the operation and performance of the vessel, the rest of the day is usually spent finalizing contest calculations. The contest instructions will be sent out at least a few weeks before the contestants arrive so they will already have their plots done but the final calculations cannot be made until the vessel speed and rpm is known.

Friday the 6th is a free day but many contestants will still be finalizing their plans. They and their guests may opt to enjoy some of the sights in the Long Beach area as well.

Saturday the 7th is contest day. The predictions will be turned in to the scorer in the morning and then the contest will begin. The actual logs will be turned in immediately following the contest and that evening the scores will be presented after a cocktail party and dinner. The winner will take home the most prestigious Cruiser Navigation award, the North American Invitational Trophy.

As we all know, Shoreline Yacht Club is primarily a volunteer club and we are going to need volunteers to make this a first class event. You may already have figured out that we need to have boats to loan (Black Jack and Balare are already in the mix). A few of you have already made the commitment but we still need several more. Ideally, we are looking for twin screw diesel vessels with digital tachometers but these are not requirements. The contestant will pay all the fuel expenses so there will not be any cost to the owner. If you do donate your boat, you will get to learn from the best cruiser navigators around, and I can guarantee that you will have a great time.

We will also need other volunteers for the many other aspects of the event so if you would like to participate just let the NAI Chairman, Warren Wolfe, or Craig Ryan know. We’ll put your talents to good use.

 
Craig Ryan

Warren Wolfe