posted 11-28-2000 08:39 PM ET (US)     

1. Find a location that has beautiful scenery, clean water and great boating opportunites. Almost a vacation spot in and of itself. This alone will attract people who may want to see and explore new boating territory in the company of other Whaler owners, who can show them around. Assuming you will get Whalers from 13' up to 27' the area should accomodate as great a range of size as possible regarding possible wave & weather conditions.

2. Find a nice Marina to serve as the home base, with a good launching ramp nearby, or on the grounds, where overnight parking is allowed. This marina, public or private, should have decent bath and shower facilities for those planning to overnight on the boats.
A small, "resorty" type town works well, and there should be some good restaurants nearby, either for walking in the evening, or on the water for boat arrival and docking. A little nearby shopping doesn't hurt either, for when the women get bored with all the Whaler talk. A group of slips, all adjacent should be reserved for the fleet, since there will be a lot of boat talk and socializing around the docked Whalers.

3. Near this marina, there should be nice, but reasonably priced motel/hotel accomodations within walking distance, for those not sleeping on their boats.

4. If possible, the Marina should have some "gazebo" or picnic/barbecue area available in case a group grill-out is planned for a lunch or dinner or group party. Highly recommended.

5. The general boating area should be selected for some group cruises to various destinations of interest, either day trips or 1/2 day trips. Some people may want to split up into smaller groups and explore by themselves, coming back to the marina at night for dinner with the group. If by some chance you get a group of Whalers all with "cruising" (overnighting) ability, consider making a 3 or 4 day trip visiting a different port each night. These trips are GREAT fun.

6. With the advent of a website like this, these events are now much easier to plan than previously, so don't hesitate. Even groups of only 5 or ten Whalers can be great fun.

7. Don't overplan activities ahead of time. Ideas and cruising runs will come up spontaneously, and most people will follow along with any good idea. Weather always becomes a variable, unpredictable factor which can affect plans. Keep flexible.

8. Take a lot of pictures and appoint someone to be the event chronicler, so the rest of us can read about and see the event.
Nobody will expect you to be the "expert" that jimh is!

9. Try to get your minimum number of persons committed, such as five boats, make your date and place committment, then officially announce the event so others can join in. You can't make all of the people happy all of the time, so at some point basic decisions just have to be made. You could get no more boats, or 50 more!

Good luck and go for it!

posted 11-29-2000 07:36 AM ET (US)         

However, since these are supposed to be fun and social some what unstructured events (not affiliated with a dealer or BW) you can always just wing it! All you need is a central meeting spot and then have fun, each participant can handle their own arrangements prior to or upon arrival ---

Spit and polish well maybe be, however the point is Whalering and a good time not how much you want to impress with either how many $$$ or how much elbow grease you have invested --- to "show off" --- your Whaler ---!!! Ain't no antique car show, that is unless you want it to become one.

As the saying goes to many cooks spoil the pot all you need is one good chief --- chuckle --- I hear the Kingfish was a pretty good chief!!

posted 11-29-2000 06:19 PM ET (US)            

I have been watching this and other related threads here, and have had all good intentions of laying down some of my reflections on what worked and what didn't...guess you know what they say about good intentions...

Anyway, now that lhg has done his usual eloquent and complete job of covering the topic, there is very little I can add that Larry didn't already say and probably more succinctly than I would have.

But I will say this:
Heavy on the open agenda; it's unlikely that weather conditions can be known ahead of time, or what preferences the various rendezvouzers might have until you get together and weigh options and conditions. It's really all about the opportunity to spend time with and to get to know people with similar interests, and it is a gas when a good part of that is running around together in the Whalers that are the focus of that interest.

There *is* an aspect of polishing the old girl up, to show off a little, yeah, but also to reflect pride in your boat and handiwork. You'll be climbing in and out of each other's boats, and perhaps trading helms, and it's natural to want things polished up a little, I think...For some of us, it's a reason to do the maintenance that we've been meaning to get to. Certainly not a requirement, but it's nice if you have the time to do it.

And *do* take pictures. The more the better. It was really a neat opportunity for us to have JimH recording our rendezvous, both with his camera and his pen, but to have someone around with Jim's drive and talent in that area is probably unlikely; even if you do, you'll want your own photos, and there is always more than one way to frame a shot. Those of us who are too far away to make the rendezvous will be looking forward to seeing the photos and reading the stories, and those of us who are now caught up in winter will be vicariously boating with you.

So, HAVE FUN, and tell us all about it!

posted 11-29-2000 07:43 PM ET (US)            

You'd better bring some shirts and hats with the Whaler LOGO on them!