2011 Bermuda Open and National Championships

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Re: Stuff

Hi Victoria ,

I am unable to make tomorrow as the weather today has my work load backed up into a corner for tomorrow. I am sure Somers understands the point I was making . There are several online sailing publications that I feel with a little effort could be used to increase the buzz leading into the cup . Also in the absence of a story they tend to be a little negative towards Bermuda probably out of frustration . Because we are isolated from mainstream sailing media a bit of effort could be beneficial to help fill hotel rooms in the months leading up to the cup .This would be mainly sailing enthusiasts that would love to see first hand what is going on down here in the run up to the main event and perhaps wouldn't want to be gouged by the prices at the main event , but are interested in the skinny on their favorite team and how they are currently looking .
It bothers me that from a sailors point of view we are seeing plenty of puffery but not enough to sink ones teeth into if you're a racing enthusiast. Many people would soak up a little report now and then and perhaps would jump on a plane and come down to see first hand .(I was just made aware of another mini series here from March 10 - 17)

Please keep up the good work on behalf of Bermuda .

Peter Bromby
Sent from my iPhone

On 16 Feb 2017, at 4:38 PM, Victoria Isley <visley@bermudatourism.com> wrote:

There or Port of Call. Will Peter be joining us? I can make a rezzer for us.

Get Outlook for iOS

_____________________________
From: Somers Cooper <scooper@ascooper.bm>
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2017 3:05 PM
Subject: Re: Stuff
To: Victoria Isley <visley@bermudatourism.com>
Cc: Peter Bromby <pbromby@northrock.bm>, Joe Lathrop <jlathrop@ocg-intl.com>

Hog Penny?

On Feb 16, 2017, at 1:43 PM, Victoria Isley <visley@bermudatourism.com> wrote:

Great!

How about 1pm somewhere along Front Street? Any suggestions?

Looking forward to it!

Vic

Get Outlook for iOS

From: Somers Cooper <scooper@ascooper.bm>
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2017 1:20:57 PM
To: Victoria Isley
Cc: Peter Bromby
Subject: Re: Stuff

Im good for lunch tomorrow. Where and when?

On Feb 14, 2017, at 11:23 AM, Victoria Isley <visley@bermudatourism.com> wrote:

Hi Somers,

Would you be free for lunch at 1pm this Friday with Joe and me?

Vic

From: Somers Cooper [mailto:scooper@ascooper.bm]
Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 9:03 AM
To: Victoria Isley <visley@bermudatourism.com>;pbromby@northrock.bm
Subject: Re: Stuff

Thanks for the quick reply Vic. Peter copied this time. So much for my dictation skills, Siri will have to be fired.

It would be great to have a Bda Insider that is a sailing media blogger/influencer to keep the momentum going after the boat launches. Let's fill those rooms! Unfortunately many of the yachting press types are either old school or are anti-AC because RC has pissed them off somewhere along the way. Another scenario is that the ACEA don't like them due to their unflattering views. But as you probably have found out, a free trip to Bda can do wonders for your point of view!

Drinks for sure while you and Joe are here other than the OTUSA launch. You name the date. In fact I think it is our turn for dinner.

Cheers,

S.

From: Victoria Isley <visley@bermudatourism.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 9:14:15 AM
To: Somers Cooper
Subject: Re: Stuff

Hey Somers,

Great to hear from you - even if you were dictating it!

BTW, Peter wasn't copied so if you can send along his info that would be great.

Appreciate you sharing these thoughts and ideas with us. The window you are talking about with lack of coverage is due to the holidays, their racing schedules as well as the fact the teams are a bit skiddish at the moment (generally, not specific to all teams).

With new boat launches happening in the next two weeks, we will have a UK press group and a US press group on-island.

Joe and I will be both be on-island the week of February 13. Tiffani - our PR director will be on-island too. Maybe we can get a drink on the calendar?

Cheers,

Vic

From: Somers Cooper <scooper@ascooper.bm>
Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 7:18 AM
To: Victoria Isley
Subject: Stuff

Hi Vic,
I hope you are well? I was having a conversation with Peter Bromby, who you might know as one of Bermuda's best known sailors and currently employed by Artemis. When we spoke he was wearing his "Bermuda" hat, not Artemis. We were discussing the fact that Bermuda still has hotel rooms open for the Americas cup. Witnessing the practice racing last week he was in awe of the excitement and splendor of the boats racing in Bermuda. We agreed that there was very little PR or press covering what was going on. This may have been intentional due to the teams trying to keep it low-key on purpose ? We felt there was big International sailing news happening and no one was covering it. Our local journalistic capabilities in this regard are limited in scope overseas.we thought that it may be in Bermuda's best interest to employ the services of a well-connected sailing journalist to get the word out about what is going on? I know Tucker Thompson has been going around clubs around the United States promoting the cup. There are however, thousands of sailors who may be interested and have not heard Tucker speak. We were just wondering if the BTA had considered other avenues of promotion to reach the demographic that is interested in sailing and in particular the Americas cup? Just a thought. Peter is copied here in case you wanted to ask him any questions or pick his brain any further.
Best regards,
Somers
p.s. I dictated this while driving so please excuse any misspellings or poor grammar

Sent from my iPhone

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Will Logue Wins Bermuda Open

Will Logue from Riverside Yacht Club in Connecticut, USA clinched the 2011 Bermuda Open Championship by a narrow 3 point margin on Sunday. Logue was in a heated battle for the top spot all weekend with top female sailor, Justina Pacheco, sailing in the 54 boat Championship Fleet. All the glory came down to the eleventh and final race where Logue had to finish in front of the Dominican National Champion to claim the title. He did just that, securing a third ahead of her fourth place result. Logue who sails with Team LISOT in the U.S. adds the Bermuda Open title to his resume just weeks after winning the USODA Southeast Championship in Naples Florida. Jack Parkin, also from the Riverside Yacht Club, placed third in the 11 race regatta organized by the Sandy's Boat Club in conjunction with the Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association. After losing Friday due to a brush with Tropical Storm Sean, sailors enjoyed steady 10 - 16 knot winds throughout the rest of the weekend in the Great Sound.

Top Bermuda Sailor Rory Caslin had a similar close battle with Chase Cooper and had to win the final race to secure the title of Bermuda National Champion which he did, finally placing eighth overall to Cooper's ninth in the Open series. Other major prize winners included Lucy Wilmot from the San Francisco Yacht Club who was awarded the Peter Mitchell Sportsmanship award and Top Junior (11 and under) was Ronja Gronblom of Finland. Top Bermuda Junior was Mikey Wollmann.

On the Green Fleet (Novice) course, Bermudian Sean Tucker was the top sailor followed by American Riley Kloc of Barrington, Rhode Island. Bermudian Jordan Etimadi was third. 30 sailors between the age of 5 and 13 took part in the ten race Green Fleet Regatta and Clinic in Hamilton Harbour. The clinic was run by "Green Fleet Guru" Tom Coleman and was sponsored by Riihiluoma's Flying Colours. All Green Fleeters were presented with medals of participation.

Government Minister for Youth, Sport and Recreation, the Hon Glenn Blakeney, JP MP was on hand at the Sandys Boat Club on Sunday evening to present the prizes to the deserving winners alongside Regatta Chairman Martin Siese. Siese congratulated the young sailors for a successful weekend of racing and thanked the volunteers and sponsors, Bermuda Container Line, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Bermuda Dept of Tourism, Salt Rock Grill, McLaughlin Boat Works, Barritt's and JSails.

Sunday Forecast

Marine Synopsis - High pressure now centered to our northwest will pass by to our north today, then continue on to our northeast. This high will maintain a ridge southwest across Bermuda as it moves away, providing mainly fair weather and light to moderate winds throughout the forecast period. The next cold front will move off the U.S. east coast Thursday and approach to our northwest.
Today - Winds northeasterly 5 to 10 knots, increasing 10 to 15 knots by this afternoon... Seas inside the reef 2 to 3 ft... Outside the reef 5 to 9 ft, decreasing... Sunrise: 6:46 am.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Saturday Wrap Up

The Bermuda Open and National Optimist Championships got underway on Saturday, a day later than planned due to high winds from TS Sean which slid by the island on Friday. The event is hosted by the Sandy's Boat Club (SBC) and is run in conjunction with the Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association (BODA).

Race Officer Peter Bromby started the day off setting the Championship course in Mangrove Bay, which was a new experience for the 20 locals as well as the 34 foreign guests making up the record fleet this year. A number of general recalls (false starts) forced Bromby to hoist the Blag Flag to keep the anxious sailors behind the line prior to the start. A Blag Flag Penalty is given to a boat who is over the starting line within a minute of the start gun. Boats getting one of these penalties must retire from the race by the first mark and are given maximum points. 14 such penalties were given in Race 1 which set the no-nonsense tone. Once the first race was completed, Bromby realized that he would need more space for the large fleet and headed to the Great Sound for 5 more races. The Great Sound provided ideal 8 - 12 knot conditions from the NNW.

At the end of 6 races American visitor Will Logue from Riverside YC in Connecticut finds himself at the top the leaderboard with 13 points. Logue was winner of the 2011 US Team Trials and was also the runner up at the U.K. Nationals this summer. Close behind is Dominican National Champion Justina Pacheco with 15 points, followed by Audrey Giblin of the Shewsbury Sailing and Yacht Club in New Jersey with 16 points.

Top Bermuda sailor and contender for the 2011 National Championship title is the RHADC's Rory Caslin who is in sixth place with 39 points. Chase Cooper of the RBYC is 2 points behind in seventh and Ceci Wollmann (RHADC) is in ninth with 51 points.

The 28 boat Green Fleet for novice sailors raced in Hamilton Harbour on Saturday. Part regatta and part clinic, the 'fun' aspect of racing is emphasized as sailors get pointers and encouragement from Tom Coleman, the "Green Fleet Guru" from the U.S. SBC Race Officer Lisa Siese completed 5 races. The RBYC's Grace Reeves is currently the leader with 6 points and has Jordan Etemadi right on her heels with 7 points. Jordan is the grandchild of RBYC Past Commodore Jordy Walker. In third place with 12 points is Sean Tucker, also from the RBYC.

Racing continues on Sunday. Prizes will be presented at the Sandys Boat Club starting at 5pm on Sunday.