OceanNavigator

To say I am disheartened at the recent cancelation of the around long island race would be putting it mildly. First of all I feel horrible for all those owners who had to scrape together the funds to run this race. All the owners to put blood, sweat and tears into their respective boats to make it possible to safely run this race. The navigators who planned, re-planned and over planned every aspect of the race. The spectators who were looking forward to watching the race and supporting the grass roots teams who were going to give it their all and the professional teams who were going to put on a real showing. Last but not least to the families of all these people who gave up weekends and family time to allow their race enthusiast to follow a dream. I won’t even go into the amount of time and money spent to prepare for this race.

I’m disappointed in the lack of preplanning and forethought that has clearly been exhibited in this decision. If a lack of entrants is to blame than the organizers should have required preregistration X days before the event. The organizers should have had real racing instructions. The organizers should have shown a clear intent to run this race and should have incented early and active participation from the community. I can go on and on with all the planning and forethought that was missed but that would not put the race back on.

To the organizers: when you offer a race like this you are taking on a responsibility greater than financial. You are taking ownership to run this race as professionally and safely as possible. You are to communicate early and often if you expect the same in return. If you want to be treated like professional organizers than you need to act like it. A little planning and communication will go a long way. As a word of advice I recommend not blaming those who were planning on entering the race as you did not require anything in advance nor did you even ask for it.

The ghosts of those legends who have run these waters are all shaking their heads in disappointment. I never had the honor of meeting Don Aronow however this is no way to memorialize a legend. This is no way to start real racing in the United States and this is no way to build a reputation as a race organizer and not a poker run planner. This decision is not consistent with offshore racing, its amateur hour.


Respectfully,
Jonathan Tobin, Navigator
30'Sonic 30SS "Team Sonic" (Winner 2010 Don Aronow Memorial Marathon)

innerrage

iTrader: (1)

Well Said

Ciao!

Great to meet you last year Jon - just imagine after your victory we could have done the Top Gear stuff in Manhattan!

PARADOX

2fast9tech2 >>>>>> In my young 25 years of existence, I it. [I]You dont need to exist anymore, you are worthless.[/I]
1. adjusting the entry fee
2. including food, t shirts, etc
3. giving the participants a reason to win (money, goods, gift certificates, etc)
4. making it a 2 day event
5. marketing it to a broader audience
6. provide a free "sea tow" service to all participants (im sure many are affraid of getting stuck)

[/QUOTE]

You have the brain cells and an IQ of an underdeveloped chicken.
"T"shirts. Yup a 25 year old thumb sucking kid would wory about T shirts. Thanks,, you are prooving my point.
"reason to win" a nother way you proving that you are an idiot. It's not the winning, it's the participation and just doing the run.
Everybody that would run this or any other race or Poker Run has to have insurance, and the insurance covers towing. Besides eveyone who is anyone would already have this towing covered? Ohh sorry.. I forgot.. you'r only 25.. babies don't know to have Sea Tow or Boat US as a back up for even an every day outing.
Please.. just go away, and come back when you grown some brain cells.

OL40SVX

You have the brain cells and an IQ of an underdeveloped chicken.
"T"shirts. Yup a 25 year old thumb sucking kid would wory about T shirts. Thanks,, you are proving my point.
"reason to win" a nother way you proving that you are an idiot. It's not the winning, it's the participation and just doing the run.
Everybody that would run this or any other race or Poker Run has to have insurance, and the insurance covers towing. Besides eveyone who is anyone would already have this towing covered? Ohh sorry.. I forgot.. you'r only 25.. babies don't know to have Sea Tow or Boat US as a back up for even an every day outing.
Please.. just go away, and come back when you grown some brain cells.[/QUOTE]

bzsmarina

As i said in my post in the other thread, I challenge anyone! Come out. Lets make this race happen. Come on surely your boat can beat mine? lets play.

wanab

because hes 25 years old and knows everything.


but hes going to find out in life karma is a *****.

1MOSES1

1. yes, i have the brain IQ of an under developed chicken yet you are having a problem using the "quote" feature on OSO

2. you do realize that "a nother" is one word right haha...

3. no where in my post did i mention that these suggestions must be implemented. they are merely things to think about. maybe a t shirt is important to someone (idk). to others, running a race is not enough to participate. give them something to achieve. realize that YOU and YOUR needs are not the only ones to be satisfied. to some, prize money might be a big deal. stop being so selfish and close minded.

4. for being so "smart" as you claim to be there are still logistical hurdles/implications involved with insurance coverage and sea tow especially for those who plan to participate from other regions.

5. you are correct. i did not purchase sea tow this year for multiple reasons, none of which are your business.

6. i think this has been covered before but, i will re-iterate. i wont go away. its a free and open forum for anyone to discuss "general boating".

i didn't realize that providing simple/easy changes to an event to potentially make it better made me an idiot. i will have to keep that in mind i guess.

1MOSES1

did i miss something? what does karma have to do with anything? and how is karma going to strike me?

i think you had a mental misfire. hahaha

also no where on this thread or this forum for that matter, do i claim to know everything...

i still cant get over the lack of toughness people have on OSO. a person from the "younger generations" (me) is providing a few suggestions to improve upon an event. things that i would like to see changed to get more people my age involved yet i am chastised for saying it. are any of you 25? then how do you know how a 25 yr old thinks? if you dont want people from the "younger generation" competing then just say it...

SS930

And the physique too!






In all honesty, it deeply saddens me to hear the race is canceled for this year. I hope this doesn't go the way of the NYC PR too.

Overall I share many of the same sentiments as OceanNavigator. The only additional point I would add is the lack of consistency. Racers, fans, etc all expect consistency. If the promoters decide to randomly pull the plug when they think they might take a negative financial hit, all will have a hard time taking it seriously going forward.

As much as nobody wants to take a loss in business, sometimes you must to maintain integrity and consistency of your product and brand so consumers know what to expect and for them to have faith in it. So although this might have potentially been a losing year for the organizers, IMO they needed to let the show go on if they expect consumers to buy into it in the future. If I were one of the guys that spent a lot of time, money, and sacrificed family preparing for this event, I know I'd have a very hard time doing so again after this.

Hopefully the organizers use this as a learning experience and are better prepared for next year. Despite some of the criticism that's taken place, I don't think anyone wanted it to come to this as the idea and foundation of the race itself is a solid one.

Let's hope the 2012 is a better year for the around LI race.