New Sponsors: Paraloc, Ronstan, Magic Marine, Murrays, Hall Spars, and H20 Audio

We have begun our sponsorship quest for the Tybee and with that has come the donation of many products that will help us tremenously in our quest.
All these companies have treated us very well... please check out their websites by clicking the logos on the right of our blog.

Paraloc Swiss Rope:
Paraloc has donated new line to outfit our whole boat and more! This line is really cool stuff! Throughout the line, the cover is stiched to the core to prevent slippage or wear. R&W Rope, of New Bedford, MA is the U.S. Distributor and really has gone out of their way to outfit our boat with all the proper lines. They even gave us a spool of NovaTec shockcord... we are confident to say this is the best shockcord!

Ronstan:
We can't thank Ronstan enough for how much they are helping us out! They gave us everything we asked for! From their amazing wetsuits and gloves (which already were our favorites) to their new Orbit Series blocks for our spinnaker. They also gave us their new Racing Trapeze Harness which we are excited to try out. All of this will make us and our hardware fully capable of withstanding anything mother nature can throw at us!

Magic Marine:

Magic Marine also has provided us with gear that will make it much more comfortable for us to compete in our upcoming endevours. We are well aware of the reputation of Magic Marine gear and expect it to be perfectly suited for this type of sailing.

Murrays Marine:
As always, Murrays came through for us... they provided us with excellent deals on Barz Goggles, storage bags, and etc. I personally am excited for the Barz as last year by eyes had a tough time in reaction to the salt concentration of the water in the Keys. Steve Murray has treated me extremely well ever since my days sailing Hobie 16s... he and his company are a true supporter of the sport!

Hall Spars and Rigging:
Hall Spars in Bristol, RI has been nice enough to extend us a substantial discount on rigging and lines. This was extremely helpful as we were in dire need of new standing rigging. Hall made us some really fine rigging and in only a couple days! In addition to custom rigging services, they also splicing, and much more! These guys really know there stuff! I think we can trust the guys who built the mast for the BMWOracle DoG boat to build our rigging!

H20Audio:
H20 Audio was nice enough to contribute their waterproof armbands and headsets for our Ipods. While this might seem a bit odd, we are Team Adrenalin and what better way to add to our adrenalin than to listen to some "pump me up" music?!

24th Annual Key Largo Steeplechase

Tomorrow night, Team Adrenalin flies down to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to compete in the the 2008 Key Largo Steeplechase. This will mark the second time our team has sailed this race.
This race is run with a low key demeanor, however it is not forgotten that it is indeed an extreme endurance race. Race committee, legendary Rick White recommends that only experienced catamaran sailors participate. Racing over 110 miles on a 20 foot catamaran is no easy task no matter how you look at it. Over the years, teams have endured various conditions, from gail force winds to calm conditions. Either can be equally as tolling on sailors. High winds test sailors and boats, while calm conditions can lead to a long day on the water possibly even a finish after dark.
This race is a true gem of catamaran sailing, it is the favorite event of the year for many competitors. Where else can you race in the clear blue waters of the jet stream on day and the mangroves of the Florida Everglades the next?
We are extremely excited about this year's race. We hope that we can use our experience last year to improve our results this year. This is a race that you really need to be familiarized with the course to do well!
Stay tuned for updates over and after the weekend on Adrenalinsailing.com!
Also, checkout Catsailor.com for updates from the race organizers.

Late wrap up of Nacra North Americans

Well we made it all the way out to Michigan for Nacra North Americans. 

I apologize for not updating the blog while we were there... for all of those who have been to Caseville, MI, which is likely nobody, you would have known we would not have had internet access.  There was NOTHING there, this included internet access, I think there was spot in the corner of the booth in one bar the the town that if you sat in exactly the right spot you might pick up a weak signal but that was it.  

It was quite the trip, about 28 hours round trip.

The sailing conditions at this event were great.  Almost every race we were double trapezing.  

We had our ups and downs throughout the week.  We did very well in light to moderate air which included leading 2 races.  However, we the lightest team there at exactly minimum weight and had a tough time keeping the boat going fast in the heavy stuff.

We ended up 10th but we learned a lot!  It was great to hold our own with guys who have been on the boat for years in our first Nacra North Americans.

I think the highlight of our week was the last race, when we were over early and Kirk Newkirk was nice enough to yell to us about 2 minutes after the start that we were over so we turned around and went back to restart.  We decided to sail the hardest we had all week and try to catch back up to the fleet with a few minute late start.  We ended up at the windward mark ahead of two boats and right on the tails of the lead pack.  This felt really amazing as it confirmed that we had improved our boatspeed over the course of the week.

Going to the Nacra North Americans was much more about sailing for us.  It was a great opportunity to pick the brains of great sailors such as Nigel Pitt, Alex Shafer, Captain Kirk Newkirk, and etc.  These guys are all awesome as they are more than willing to help out and offer their advice, this is what sailing is all about!  

We can't wait until next year's NA's in Fort Walton Beach, FL.

We're in for the 2009 Tybee 500

Adventure Online TV - Tybee 500 Catamaran Highlights 2006

Well after lots of consideration... we have decided that we are officially going to compete in the 2009 Tybee 500, to be held in May.  The Tybee 500 is a  500 mile race from Key Largo, FL to Tybee Island, GA in 6 days.  We will sail a Nacra 20 catamaran which is extremely fast but also very physically demanding.  This is the premier small boat endurance distance sailing race in the world. 

This race takes a lot of time, commitment, planning, financing, and preparation.  We have decided 7 months ahead of time that we are going to compete so that we can make sure we are 110% fully prepared to take whatever this race can throw at us.

We still need help though!  Anyway you can help, whether it be monetary donations, product donations, or etc. we would greatly appreciate it!

Please email us at TeamAdrenalin@AdrenalinSailing.com for more information.

We have a sponsorship proposal and other material to give you a better understanding of what we are looking for.

Stay tuned for periodic updates on our progress.

Nacra North Americans here we come!!!

This has been quite the week for me! Working all day Monday and Tuesday packing up all the boats and etc. at the junior sailing program that I headed this summer. Wednesday was spent moving out of my apartment (i'm moving back to CT for a little bit) and finishing up Thursday then driving home to CT. I was so busy I had to skip the last night of team racing V15s Tuesday night and PHRF racing Wednesday night! Friday (today) was spent working on the boat from 9AM-9PM and running a few errands for parts and etc.But the good news is that this hectic week is all over and tomorrow morning at 6AM we are leaving for Caseville, MI for the Nacra North American Championships where we will be competeting in the Nacra 20 class. My crew for this event is Sean McQuilken, who I have sailed with quite a bit and work well with. It's a 13ish hour drive to Caseville so we'll be arriving tomorrow (Saturday) night. Since I got all the boat work out of the way today we are planning on practicing all day on Sunday. Racing takes place Monday through Thursday. This is my first Nacra North Americans so we are shooting for a modest goal of being competitive by being consistent and sailing smart.Stay tuned for updates.... i'll be trying to update this blog daily. If you have any questions about whats going on shoot me an email at Todd.Riccardi@gmail.com and i'll get back to you asap.Since this is the first time i've released this blog address to the public I wanted to make you all aware that we do have a team name in the works to replace "Nacra 20 #642 sailing campaign" but it is staying top secret until our Tybee plans are firmed up for next year.