IOD CELEBRITY INVITATIONAL REGATTA -- AUGUST 15-17, 2012

    Farr 40 Barking Mad's skipper Jim Richardson with Andrew Campbell and crew (photo by Karen Ryan Photography)

Introduction  

Imagine having an America's Cup tactician, Olympic medalist or a world champion calling your tactics for a regatta.  Nantucket Race Week is pleased to announce the eighth annual running of the IOD Celebrity Invitational, where every team will have one of America's greatest sailors aboard calling tactics. 

         The 2011 winners John Dane/Sally Barkow and team pour it on   (photo by Karen Ryan Photography)

The Celebrity Invitational begins with an opening reception and dinner on August 15, with two days of racing and more social events on August 16 and 17, 2012.  The series will consist of up to four races each day on Nantucket Sound.  Each participating team will have a celebrity tactician on-board.  Races will be sailed in a fleet format, and prizes will be awarded for daily and overall results. Opportunities abound for non-sailing spouses and significant others to explore and enjoy the island: beaches, bicycling, water sports, shopping, museums, sightseeing and more.


     Jim Bishop, Jr./Dave Ullman and crew lead the pack  (photo by Karen Ryan Photography)

Schedule of Events

               

Celebrity Tacticians

2011 Celebrity Tacticians:   Mark Reynolds, Sally Barkow, Mike Toppa, Chuck Allen, Andrew Campbell (back), Robbie Doyle, Amanda Clark, Kevin Farrar, Gary Jobson, Dawn Riley, Tom Whidden, Chris Snow, Peter Holmberg, Dave Ullman, Dee Smith.  Not shown: Karl Anderson, Dave Dellenbaugh (photo by Bill Druckemiller)

Past celebrity tacticians:   

Chuck Allen	Jim Allsopp	Karl Anderson	Jim Brady
Julia Brady	Dean Brenner	Vince Brun	John Burnham
Kevin Burnham	Mike Callahan	Will & Marie Crump	David Dellenbaugh
Robbie Doyle	Kevin Farrar	Bill Fortenberry	Grant Garcia
John Gladstone	Robbie Haines	Tim Healy	JJ Isler
Peter Isler	Gary Jobson	Will Keyworth	Anthony Kotoun
Chris Larson	Jane Macky	Kevin Mahaney	Nate Merrill
Jim Miller	John Mollicone	Geoff Moore	Keith Musto
Dave Perry	Ken Read	Brad Read	Mark Reynolds
Bruce Schwab	Bill Shore	Dee Smith	Jud Smith
Chris Snow	Jody Swanson	Jahn Tihansky	Mike Toppa
Dave Ullman	Gary Weisman	Will Welles	Tom Whidden
Steve White	Bill Widnall	Kimo Worthington

   

About the Nantucket International One Design Fleet
                                   
The International One Design was the first class to achieve 'International Classic Yacht' status with the International Sailing Federation.  Inspired by the majestic 6-Metre class, Cornelius Shields commissioned Norwegian naval architect Bjorn Aas to design a strict one-design class.  In 1935, the International One Design was born.  21-feet on the waterline, with long, graceful overhangs extending to 33-feet overall, and a powerful 45-foot rig, the IOD resembles a scaled down version of a majestic J-Boat.  With fleets in Northeast Harbor, Marblehead, Nantucket, Long Island Sound, San Francisco, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, Scotland, Sweden and Norway, the IOD class has a strong tradition of inter-fleet competition.  The King Edward VII Gold Cup leg of the Swedish Match tour is sailed in the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club's fleet of IODs.

   Nantucket IOD fleet founder Peter McCausland with Olympian Peter Holmberg and crew   (photo by Karen Ryan Photography)

IODs are typically sailed with crews of four or five.  The small rudder, tall rig and heavy displacement demand focus, reflexes and strength from both helmsman and crew.  In Nantucket, races are held outside of the island's harbor on the Nantucket Sound.  This is one of America's great racing venues, where crisp August afternoons, reliable sea breezes of 15-20 knots, and uniform currents across the course make for exciting racing, with Nantucket's legendary beauty and island life to return to after racing.

Formed in 1998, the Nantucket IOD Fleet is based on a unique concept.  Rather than the traditional system of sailors owning their boats individually, the fleet is owned by an association consisting of fifteen syndicates, each of which owns an undivided interest, or share equivalent to one fifteenth of the entire fleet.  The boats are identical in every way:  hulls, standing and running rigging, sails, supplied equipment, instruments (just a compass!), tuning, and even the bottom paint.  Syndicates rotate boats on a weekly basis.  It is truly one-design racing at its purest.

 

                              Close quarters in "the zone"   (photo by Karen Ryan Photography)

For Participants
Teams should arrive with four-person crews, to which a celebrity also will be assigned.  The Nantucket Race Week IOD Celebrity Invitational committee may be able to arrange for crew if teams are short-handed.  Crews should have experience and competency racing in heavy keelboats.  There will be social events each evening, commencing with an Opening Night Reception and Dinner at Great Harbor Yacht, Club, where teams will be paired with a celebrity tactician for the two-day competition.

Celebrity Tacticians generously donate their time and talent to support Nantucket Community Sailing.  A blind auction prior to the event gives amateur teams a chance to help determine tactician assignments.  Bids are not required, but are nonetheless welcomed, encouraged, and importantly, deductible as charitable contributions to NCS.   Pairings are announced at the Wednesday evening reception.  The bidding process is strictly confidential.  If a crew chooses not to bid, the organizers will make a tactician assignment.   

On Thursday evening there will be a Regatta Dinner at the Nantucket Yacht Club, where IOD, Twelve Meter and PHRF sailors gather for a lively evening.   On Friday evening, the Nantucket Yacht Club hosts the Shipwreck Ball—an evening of dancing to great music, heavy hors d'oeuvres, and a lot of fun.    Costumes are encouraged, with a new, creative and entertaining theme announced each year.

Nantucket Community Sailing
Nantucket Community Sailing (NCS) was recently recognized by US Sailing as the Outstanding Seasonal Community Sailing Program in the United States.  The IOD Celebrity Invitational is a fundraising event to benefit Nantucket Community Sailing.  NCS is a non-profit organization focused on providing sailing instruction and affordable access to water sports for the Nantucket community.  NCS serves 2,000 sailors in its sailing programs, and provides equipment and instruction through many community outreach programs, including sponsoring and coaching Nantucket's High School Sailing Team, sailing scholarships to island youth, free water sports to other non-profits, sailboat races for all levels and teaching adaptive windsurfing for disabled athletes.  Nantucket Community Sailing needs to raise over $800,000 each year to support its programs.  Nantucket Race Week is an essential aspect of the fund-raising effort, contributing 25% of the total.  The IOD Celebrity Invitational is a major component of this success!

Nantucket Island and Logistics
If you have never been to Nantucket, you have yet to experience on one of the great American vacation and sailing venues, and you need to rectify that!  And if you're a repeat visitor - welcome back!  Situated 30 miles south of Cape Cod, the island enjoys steady winds, pristine waters, and is one of America's great sailing destinations. Along with its rich sea-faring history on display in museums and other attractions, present-day Nantucket also offers an outstanding array of interesting shops, inns, and restaurants.  Nantucket boasts some of the most beautiful beaches and best sailing waters in the world.  But the best part of the island is the community of people you will meet and their generous hospitality.

We will be happy to do everything we can to make your participation in Nantucket Race Week a fun and enjoyable experience. Your spouse or significant other is welcome! Housing will be provided in local residences, and your hosts will be happy to have you stay through the weekend, so you can enjoy a couple of extra days on Nantucket.  In addition, plan to enjoy the boats and kayaks at Nantucket Community Sailing's Jetties Beach location throughout the week.

If you would prefer to stay in one of the local hotels or a rental property, the Nantucket Lodging Association maintains a list of up to the minute room availability for the Nantucket hotels, inns, and bed & breakfasts.  The Nantucket Visitors Services website has useful information on what to do, where to eat, and how to get to the island. You can call them at 508-228-0925 or e-mail at visitorinfo@nantucket-ma.gov to order a Nantucket Visitors Guide. 

In all, the Celebrity Invitational presents an unparalleled chance to sail with a master tactician in strong competition, in classic, closely matched boats, in great racing conditions.  Add the enjoyment of a few days on Nantucket at the best and busiest time of the year, all while making a great contribution to a worthy organization:  Nantucket Community Sailing.


Thank you to Karen Ryan for the use of her photos on this page.