Capt Marion is closing Grand Tours and will live there.
Grand Tours No More!!
(15 posts) (11 voices)-
BustedRudder
MemberNot to beleagure the issue but the new CP1 is a nasty place to get a boat out of the water. I witnessed people falling off docks into the water trying to get out of sailboats. That no one was injured is fortunate.
There is a park 1.5 miles south of cape haze. A much better place to end the Ultra anyway.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Coastie
MemberGrand Tours was a nice place; however, I'm a big fan of Cape Haze Marina as CP1. Obviously it was a lot better for us sailboat participants.....easy mooring, lots of space, and no need to lower our mast :) Enjoyed surfing in Stumps Pass and the short run to the marina. If someone fell out of their sailboat at that marina, they would have difficulty in any marina or park.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Each checkpoint has its own type of filters. Cape Haze Marina has been very good to us and they are big WaterTribe supporters. Getting out of a sailboat or a kayak at a dock is just part of the challenge. I had to do that last weekend on my long paddle with RiverSlayer and Whale. That being said we are talking with the folks at Cape Haze Marina to improve that aspect of the CP. But you do have options:
1. Don't get out of your boat. Just hit the OK button and wait for the gps light and msg light to indicate the message has gone out before leaving (usually that happens in a minute or two). There are dozens of stealth campsites between Snake Island and Boca Grande Pass that are perfect if you need to stop.
2. Wait for help to get out of your boat. We will have several volunteers ready to help. They have great restrooms, a place to camp, and a hot tub.
3. Anybody who truly misses the Grande Tours location is free to hit the OK button as you cruise by Cape Haze without stopping and then hit the OK button again in the water near Grande Tours after clearing the bridge. Just remember that Grande Tours isn't there anymore and if you go ashore you might get shot. Hummm, maybe this should be part of the official course?
Posted 6 years ago # -
My only personal concern with CP1 is the potential for me to bump and damage one of the boats at the marina... I'd hate to do that to a boat moored at such a WT-friendly place. Avoiding the other boats does make for a good filter, albeit a potentially expensive one if an error occurs (I'm not worried about Clarity... I choose a workboat-like finish for a reason!) When you say we don't have to get out of our boats (that hot shower sure was great last year...) do you mean we can hit the SPOT at the channel entrance, perhaps beached on the mud flat to the left, or do you mean at the dock? I'm game either way... I just want to do it right!
Posted 6 years ago # -
ZeroTheHero
MemberTwinspirit, the way I remember it (and Chief obviously has the final say) is that for '13 you did not have to sign the box. All you had to do was hit the ok at the CP and make sure it took. I think it was even going to be that for '13 on there were not going to be boxes but people complained so the boxes were back. SailBirdMike, you were there, did it seem that tight? I thought there was a lot of room. Course I wasn't in love with the look of the place but the people were great, there was a bathroom with shower, and shelter in the shack or the boat high and dry (neither for camping, just hanging out). Obviously being from class 4 I enjoyed the slips, wait staff, and appetizers while lounging on the aft deck.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Zero, I was there this year in my 12.5' Puffer, Discovery. As she's a monohull, there was indeed tons of room. I'm doing it in 2014 with Clarity, my 18' trimaran, which is a bit slow to respond to paddling inputs, especially solo. If we have to come up to the floating dock, it just means I'll have to practice maneuvering under paddle more! Fortunately, with my shortened mast, windage isn't too much of an issue, but getting the boat to turn that tight could be... I may have to rig temporary rudder lines, or perhaps a push-pull pole on a bellcrank (that idea just slapped me in the forehead as I was typing... great secondary use for a boathook!) up to the area where I'll be paddling.
Posted 6 years ago # -
BeastOarman
MemberMy understanding is in 2013 log book was optional - OK on the SPOT was your check-in. The way I read Chief above is you can hit OK at the CP1 dock, wait for success, then go OR you can hit ok without ever coming into the marina or channel, BUT you have to go up near the old Grand Tours location and hit OK above the filter bridge. The later option is certainly longer, good for nostalgia or if you want your record pace to count.
Posted 6 years ago # -
TwinSpirit:
Unless you are doing option 3 you do have to come into the checkpoint and make eye contact with the CP Managers or one of their helpers. Then as soon as your SPOT indicates your OK message went out you can turn around and leave.
You don't have to sign the logbook at CP1. The only reason we are doing it this way is to avoid congestion. However, you are welcome to get out of your boat and camp there if you want.
Some mentioned tight maneuvering. The CP helpers can help you when you come up to the floating dock. They can help get the boat turned around.
I am serious about option 3. Just hit the OK when you are in the channel roughly parallel to the CP1 marina. Then continue on to the old checkpoint. Just make sure you don't go ashore at the old checkpoint.
Posted 6 years ago #
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