IOD Celebrity Invitational Regatta
August 14 - 16, 2013
(photo by Karen Ryan Photography)
Imagine being provided a boat within a fleet of 14 evenly matched IODs to be raced by your crew on Nantucket Sound. Further imagine having an America's Cup tactician, Olympic medalist or a world champion calling your tactics for the regatta. In keelboat one-design racing this is truly special.
Nantucket Race Week is pleased to announce the ninth annual running of the IOD Celebrity Invitational.
(photo by Karen Ryan Photography)
The Celebrity Invitational begins with an opening reception and dinner on August 14, with two days of racing and more social events on August 15 and 16, 2013. 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.
(photo by Karen Ryan Photography)
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Wednesday, August 14th |
Throughout day - arrival on island, and transport to accommodation
4:30pm Registration at Nantucket Yacht Club
6:00pm IOD Celebrity Invitational cocktail party and dinner at Great Harbor Yacht Club |
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Thursday, August 15th |
9:00am Skippers' Meeting at Nantucket Yacht Club
11:00am Day One of the IOD Celebrity Invitational, first warning signal
6:30pm Regatta Dinner (for 12 Meter, PHRF, and IOD participants) at Nantucket Yacht Club |
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Friday,
August 16th |
9:00am Skippers' Meeting at Nantucket Yacht Club
11:00am Day Two of the IOD Celebrity Invitational, first warning signal
4:30pm Awards ceremony at Nantucket Yacht Club
7:30pm Shipwreck Costume Ball at Nantucket Yacht Club |
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.Teams should arrive with four-person crews, to which a boat (boats are essentially identical, maintained evenly and rotated daily) and a celebrity tactician 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 (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 $600,000 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!
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.
