JMGT 2011

[jcasale]

Sea Wind,

The first year we got together, Dennis and Renee (sp?) brought their daughter and Ed brought his son last year. I didn't think there was any problem. I personally can not think of a reason, other than logistics, why a toddler can't come. I do not have children so I am not the most qualified person to answer. If you have specific concerns PM me and I will help address them. I say, if your child likes the beach, loves pirates and enjoys the boat this trip will be perfect. Bring the whole family

John
https://sites.google.com/site/jaxm26x/

[Hamin' X]

Maybe you guys can incorporate this into your itinerary:

The Marina at Ortega Landing
4234 Lakeside Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32210
United States (US)
904-387-5538 or 800-800-0895
After hours: 904-622-6829

They are offering free dockage for the month of Sept. to itinerant boats. No limit on nights!

Check it out on Active Captain.

~Rich

[c130king]

Rich,

I got that same email from ActiveCaptain this morning. If we go the St. John's River route...due to bad wx off-shore...this could definitely be an option.

I am spending the night of 1 September somewhere...I was thinking Jacksonville NAS...but Ortega Landing is right around the corner from the base.

John, this might be an option for you if you have any nights in September on the River.

Cheers,
Jim

[jcasale]

Thanks for the heads up. I was planning on leaving Julington Creek and heading towards the landing for my final days pre-op but if they have a free slip available at Ortega I will take them up on it. It's might even be where I stop on the way home. I have sailed past this facility before and they have always seemed fairly active. They have mast up storage, a racing fleet (lasers I believe), and quite a nice clubhouse. It actually seems like quite an upscale place, I'm surprised they are offering this.
I'll check it out and see what the scoop is.

John
https://sites.google.com/site/jaxm26x/

[c130king]

There used to be a member of ours there...Trav White. I used to chat with him but haven't seen him on the board in 3+ years. Trav, you still out there?

Cheers,
Jim

[c130king]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The JMGT 2011 Plan is coming together so I will pass along some updates:

1- As of right now there are 6 Macs confirmed:

Un-Tethered (26X – John aka jcasale)
Allons-y (26M – Mark aka markh1f)
Southern Soul (26M – Phil aka paj637)
König (26M – Jim aka c130king)
Gallactica (26M – Doug aka Doug W)
Default User (26S – Dave aka Default User)

2- And from what I have seen on the forum and in my own personal contacts with others there are several other Macs still “thinking this over”:

??? (26M – Edward aka Tek)
Sea Wind (26X – Pedro aka Sea Wind)
??? (26M – Tony aka TFlight)
Knot Shore (26X – Erik aka Erik Hardtle) + possibly some others from NC area

3- And of course all are welcome…please let us know if you are planning to attend or are still “Thinking it over” and I will add you to the distribution list.

4- First “To Do”: Please send me your preferred email address so I can more quickly get info and updates out to everybody. Use the email button over on the right side under my user info. If you desire I will not “share” your email with anybody and will add you into emails as a “Blind Courtesy Copy” so that nobody else (other than me of course) will see your address. But if you don’t specify I will go ahead and put you in the “To:” block so that everybody on the JMGT Distribution List can communicate with everybody easier.

5- The plan is starting to firm up. Recommended ramp/marina for "out of towners" is Sisters Creek Marina as this is close to ICW and our first destination. Friday night we will meet at Little Talbot Island State Parkand have a cookout on the beach. Second “To Do”: Who can/will bring a grill of some sort? I will have a small propane fired grill but it is fairly small…maybe 4-5 hamburger sized. Third “To Do”: Please bring something to share at the cookout. I will be bringing brats/buns/sauerkraut/german mustard. We will need some side dishes and some deserts. Bring your own drinks. Bring your own eating utensils. Beach chairs recommended.

6- Friday night you can beach your boat…pay attention to tide schedule. Or you can anchor just off shore. Pretty well protected. Very little traffic after dark…except for that really weird air boat with the lights hunting flounder back in 2009…my first thought was this was some sort of UFO. Bug protection of some sort recommended. Beach shoes recommended.

7- Saturday after your breakfast/coffee (BYOB/C) we will depart for St. Augustine. It is about a 45-60 minute trip out to the ocean and then we will sail South in the Atlantic for about 33 miles. We will enter the St. Augustine Inlet and make our way onto the ICW then go under the “Bridge of Lions” (lift bridge) and we will stay at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina. Fourth “To Do”: I have contacted the marina and I think they are “holding” some slips for us but they won’t hold them for too long…so I need each individual to contact St. Augustine Municipal Marina and make a reservation pretty quick. The contact is Mr. David Morehead ([email protected]) and mention that you are part of the “Jacksonville Macgregor Get-Together. The rate is $1.95 per foot with another $6 if you need electrical hook-up. Please let me know when you have your reservation so I can keep track. Additionally I think there is an option for using a mooring if you have a dinghy…might be free but not sure…contact the marina. If there are any issues please let me know as soon as possible and I will see what I can do.

8- Assuming we get out of Little Talbot at a reasonable time we should be getting to the St. Augustine Municipal Marina around 4:00 in the afternoon. There are “sight seeing” things to go explore either on your own or as a group. And I was thinking we would try to get everybody together for dinner Saturday night. Fifth “To Do”: How many on your crew so I can get a table or tables reserved for all of us.

9- After staggering back to our boats Saturday night we will depart Sunday morning. You can take time to explore more of St. Augustine if you like. And you can motor over the famous light houseand take pictures if you like. But when you are ready to depart St. Augustine the most likely plan is to sail up the wide part of the ICW (if winds cooperate) and then motor the rest of the way to the St. John’s River. Option 1: Head straight to Sisters Creek Marina and pull your boat out. Option 2: Head up-river (sailing and/or motoring) to downtown Jacksonville and tie up at Jacksonville Landingor City Marina(both free and first come first served) if the landing is full…there was room in 2009. At the Landing we can go out to dinner again at one of the many restaurants and then watch the band (there was an outdoor band on Sunday night of Labor Day in 2009). Recommend you bring a padlock to secure your boat while away as it is a fairly public place.

10- Monday you can sail/motor back to your marina or ramp or go/do whatever your want.

If anyone needs any additional info please let me know. I will pass along updates as we get closer…hopefully via email as that will be much easier.

To summarize the “To Do” list:

1. Send me your preferred email
2. Bringing a grill?
3. Bringing something to share? (I will post so people can see what is coming and what is needed)
4. Contact St. Augustine Municipal Marina and make your own slip reservation (or mooring)
5. How many on your crew so I can make a dinner reservation for Saturday night.

Can’t wait. This is going to a great event. Hope to see you all soon.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König Website
Sailing on König YouTube Channel

[paj637]

Jim,
I thought you would have access to satelites for a photo of the beach landing site.
Phil

[c130king]

Jim,
I thought you would have access to satelites for a photo of the beach landing site.
Phil

Phil,

I can neither confirm nor deny the ability of our "overhead assets" to provide this sort of detail...and besides I think you gave up your security clearance when you retired...



Cheers,
Jim

[jcasale]

Moorings are $20/night and include the shuttle service (to and from you mooring) and full use of the dinghy pier and facilities and yes they require reservations.

John
https://sites.google.com/site/jaxm26x/

[markh1f]

It's not too late to join us for the 2011 edition of JMGT, but time is running out and reservations need to be made at the marina in St.Augustine if you want a slip. See Jim's (c130king) post earlier on what needs done.
Looking forward to meeting some new Mac Sailors.


Mark

[vkmaynard]

We are really considering attending. Final decision will be made after we find out how rigorous our son's senior AP calculus class schedule will be.

Sounds like great fun. Just the two days of driving holding us back.

Victor

[paj637]

Victor,
Hope you can make it. St A by water is really nice. I was going to look you up a year or so ago when I was up in your area for a wedding. Apex is a nice little town. Had lunch at a little cafe and thought "I could live here".

All,
We (Mark, Phil and John) held a planning session in Jacksonville tonight to talk about the itenerary. Discussed tides, transit times, possible alternatives based on winds, ect. Discussed how the 26S would kick our butts sailing. For those of you bringing small fry, one recommendation: Bring lots of ice and drinks to keep them hydrated. It can get warm. Keep in mind that the sail offshore to St Augustine from Ft George (friday nite beaching site) is expected to be take about 8 hours. We discussed that may need to leave at sunrise to make the right tide conditions to enter St A. inlet in the right tidal condtions if we have opposing winds on the ebb tide. OR, we may decide to go down the ICW (6 hour motorsail) if the winds are not favorable. That call will be made Friday night and each Captain can make a decision anyway on how they want to proceed. Either way, we should all expect to reach St A. early afternoon and have time to get refreshed and have a nice dinner at a resturaunt in the historic district. It will be a great experience either way if we sail down to St A. or sail north on the way back.
We may be have 10 boats, I am working on a couple of non Macs for the trip. We'll see.
Phil (Southern Soul)

[c130king]

Update:

We now have 8 boats confirmed. I am pleased to announce that Pedro (and his family) on Sea Wind out of Casa Rio Marina, Mayo, MD is trailering down for the JMGT. And Erik (and I presume his family) on Knot Shore has confirmed to me he is also trailering down from NC for the JMGT.

10 Boats (especially 10 Macs) would be really cool. If we can get a Mac from Missouri, a Mac from Maryland, a Mac from Virginia and a Mac from North Carolina, then we should be able to get some more Macs from Florida and Georgia. After all...these boats were built to be trailered.

REMINDER: Please contact St. Augustine Municipal Marina as soon as possible and reserve your spot for Saturday night...they are un-officially holding a few spots for us but only for a few days and they expect to fill up for that evening. If everything goes as planned this should be the only night you have to pay for a slip. Friday is the beach (free) and Sunday is the Jacksonville Landing (free) or if the Landing is full we will move over to City Marina (also free...but pay for shore power by credit card).

And another event to consider: Thursday 1 Sept is the Jacksonville Jaguars final pre-season game. They are playing St. Louis Rams. Game tickets on-line seem to be really cheap. You can park for free at the city marina and it is a very short walk from there. But you do need to "reserve" a spot at city marina (reservation policy only applies on game days). I am going to the game.

Hope to see more of you signing up soon. And looking forward to seeing my old Jacksonville sailing buddies again and meeting all my new Mac sailing buddies in person.

Cheers,
Jim

*** EDIT *** : City Marina slips for the Jaguars game is not free. On game day there is a charge for slips. For a Mac the charge is $25.

[Benmcgov]

Jim,

We were going to Bimini that weekend but if the forecast is rubbish then there is about a 99% chance that my family will be joining you all down there. Either way I will be sailing that weekend... P.S. got the rigging good to go. I also have a 18*9 magma grill on my boat. My crew will consist of my wife Amanda, 1 year old daughter Autumn, as well as me brother and his wife. Jim, I will PM you my contact info.

Cheers,
Ben

[jcasale]

Get off the

,
get on your



and get to the JMGT!

8 boats, 4 days, 120 miles of coastal cruising. What more do you need?

https://sites.google.com/site/jaxm26x/