South Shore's Great American Raft-Up received international recognition with a lead article in sail-world.com. See the following link.

http://www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=72698&rid=11

As mentioned in the article:

Yacht Clubs around the world are always trying to think up great events and excursions for their cruising sailors, but the idea of the South Shore Yacht Club at Newport Beach in southern California to hold a 'Great American Raft-up' every mid-summer is a beauty.

The Club, which calls itself the 'Friendliest Yacht Club in the world' holds the event each year to introduce the cruising lifestyle to people of all ages. It is becoming a major event for Southern California Boaters.

The event features a live band on one of the boats, which raft up in the Lido Anchorage in the middle of Newport Harbour.

Not everyone can go long range cruising, give up their job and their security and head for the horizon, but the fun of life on the water can be enjoyed by all when there are such innovative ideas coming from sailing clubs.

This edition of THE LOG features our GREAT AMERICAN RAFT-UP and TASTE OF SOUTHSHORE as a major event for Southern California Boaters.

This is it!!! This is our major outdoor event of the year. Talked about from Seattle to Cabo, it’s South Shore Yacht Club’s GREAT AMERICAN RAFT-UP featuring a live band on one of the boats.. This year it’s the unforgettable Surf Tones. This year we will also introduce a TASTE OF SOUTH SHORE with different foods to sample on member's boats. The event is open to our members, their guests, potential members, and anyone interest...ed in checking out South Shore Yacht Club, It’s all happening on Saturday, July 31 at the Lido Anchorage at 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., so mark your calendars.

We will dance to the sounds of the Surf Tones, one the best Surf and Blues Bands around. This event is in the middle of Newport Harbor, so you will need to come out on a boat or take one of our Shoreboats to one of our pick up points . Call the club number (949) 646-3102 for details on departure points. This year we are considering picking people up from the club dock or from the new improved dinghy dock at 15th Street and Balboa Ave, or both.

We are “suggesting” a $10 donation for shoreboat rides and a wrist band for the TASTE OF SOUTH SHORE. All proceeds and donations will be used to offset the cost of the event. If there is any profit, it will be donated to the Newport Sea Bases for their children’s programs.

There will be lots of activities such as Hot Tubs in the water, dinghy or kayak races, dancing, and now a TASTE OF SOUTH SHORE. For the boats staying over-night, the next morning we will head out to Newport’s back bay for a Kayak adventure. We hope to see every South Shore Boat as well as potential members’ boats, and we hope to see every South Shore member as well as potential members. So join us for what is now our now famous GREAT AMERICAN RAFT-UP and TASTE OF SOUTH SHORE.

Call 949-646-3102 or go to our website www.southshoreyc.org,
or look on our facebook group page for more information, FYI - on the home page of our website (www.southshoreyc.org) there is a video of last years Great American Raft Up.

Let us know if you will be rafting up with a boat, or if you coming in your dinghy or by way of Shoreboat. Also, let us know as soon as possible if you can help in any way with this event, and/or if you will be serving up some great food as part of the TASTE OF SOUTH SHORE.

Shoreboats will be picking people up at 15th Street and Balboa Blvd, Newport Beach at the public dock by the American Legion and also on Lido Island, where the parking may be better, at the dock next to the intersection of Via Lido Soud and Via Genoa, Newport Beach, CA

We would like to see all South Shore boats in the race, as well has boats from all other clubs, and with the new fun race, anyone can enter regardless of the type of boat, rating or lack of rating.

In addition to the Historic Crew of 2 which goes either around Catalina or the sh...orter course around Ship Rock, there is a brand Charity Fun Race. The new race is called the Sea Base Double Dash. All profits go to support the local children’s programs at the Newport Sea Base.

The historic double-handed race, Crew of Two, starts at Newport Beach off the Balboa Pier and circumnavigates Catalina Island, totaling a distance of 90 nautical miles. The Crew of Two will also include a “short course” spinnaker option around Ship Rock which spans 63 nautical miles. The new fun race, called the Sea Base Double Dash which will head out toward Catalina Island but will round the oil platforms Eva and Emmy instead, returning to the finish line at Balboa Pier with a distance of 16 nautical miles.

The new fun race will allow more than two people on board, but will only allow two people to operate the vessel at any time. The Sea Base Double Dash has been added to make the weekend more family friendly and to allow friends to ride along and experience the excitement of a double-handed sailing event. Proceeds from the Sea Base Double Dash will support the children’s programs at the Newport Sea Base. The Double Dash is open to boats of all types, and not just restricted to boats with PHRF ratings.

These additions are expected to significantly expand the races and make them more inclusive to a greater number of sailors, experts and novices alike. Sailors who would not prefer an overnight race may be particularly interested in the new race.

The Crew of Two, long and short courses, and new Sea Base Double Dash will use the same start and finish lines off Balboa Pier on July 24. The event begins with a skippers meeting and send-off Party Friday, July 23, at South Shore Yacht Club. Races begin at 11:00am on Saturday, July 24 and trophies for all races will be presented at South Shore Yacht Club on Sunday, July 25.
For more information and for Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions go to www.southshoreyc.org and go to the race tab.

You can also call South Shore Yacht Club at 949-646-3102.

As mentioned above, there will be a pre-race party the evening before, on Friday, July 23, at South Shore Yacht Club.
See More

South Shore Yacht Club adds a new race to the historic Crew of Two Races in support of local children’s program
The SEA BASE DOUBLE DASH
Newport Beach, CA, July 24, 2010: South Shore Yacht Club is pleased to announce exciting additions to their historic Crew of Two Races. The historic double-handed race, Crew of Two, starts at Newport Beach off the Balboa Pier and circumnavigates Catalina Island, totaling a distance of 90 nautical miles. This year, the Crew of Two will also include a “short course” spinnaker option around Ship Rock which spans 63 nautical miles, and a new fun race, called the Sea Base Double Dash which will head out toward Catalina Island but will round the oil platforms Eva and Emmy instead, returning to the finish line at Balboa Pier with a distance of 16 nautical miles. The new fun race will allow more than two people on board, but will only allow two people to operate the vessel at any time. The Sea Base Double Dash has been added to make the weekend more family friendly and to allow friends to ride along and experience the excitement of a double-handed sailing event. Proceeds from the Sea Base Double Dash will support the children’s programs at the Newport Sea Base. These additions are expected to significantly expand the races and make them more inclusive to a greater number of sailors, experts and novices alike. Sailors who would not prefer an overnight race may be particularly interested in the new race. South Shore Yacht Club Commodore Scott Karlin stated “” The Crew of Two” is an important race that has historically challenged and rewarded co-skippers in completing the demanding task of an overnight short-handed race. We feel it is important to the sailing community to maintain the integrity of this historic event while looking for ways to expand participation and make the weekend more exciting and inclusive. By providing more options, we have found that participation increases, and often the shorter, less formal races can build experience and confidence for future, more demanding racing. This has been a successful model as seen in South Shore’s support of “The Border Run Race.” In working with “XS Racing,” the creator of the Border Run Race, we have seen how reaching out to sailors that may not have been active in the racing community can increase participation and excitement for the sport.”
The Crew of Two, long and short courses, and new Sea Base Double Dash will use the same start and finish lines off Balboa Pier on July 24. The event begins with a skippers meeting and send-off Party Friday, July 23, at South Shore Yacht Club. Races begin at 11:00am on Saturday, July 24 and trophies for all races will be presented at South Shore Yacht Club on Sunday, July 25.
For more information and for Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions go to www.southshoreyc.org or call South Shore Yacht Club at 949-646-3102. Announcements can also be seen on South Shore Yacht Club’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24070859948

Due to the overwhelming support of the upcoming Border Run Race, South Shore Yacht Club and XS Racing have changed the venue for the Pre-race Party to be held on Friday April the 23rd. With over 180 boats entered in the race, we expect a very large crowd.

The new location for this party is the beautiful Balboa Inn Resort located at 105 Main Street, Balboa which is right at the base of the historic Balboa Pier. The Balboa Inn Resort is centrally located and has plenty of parking which is located adjacent to the resort in the public lot next to the pier. If you are coming by boat, Sea Tow will be offering shuttle service to the public dock in the Balboa Fun Zone, just a short 3 minute walk to the party. Sea Tow can be reached on channel 11 and for a nominal charge of $2.00 per person, will pick you up and deliver you to the dock. The party starts at 5pm and there will be a Skipper’s Meeting at 7:00.

“Surf’s Up” a Beach Boys tribute band will be performing from 5:00 until 11:00. They are a great band and play all the tunes you know and love from you younger days! We will also be holding a raffle to support the race charity, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so bring extra money! There will be food available with a full bar and plenty of fellow racers to party with before the big race.

Links to important web pages…
Border Run Race Page http://www.theborderrun.org/index.htm
South Shore Yacht Club http://www.southshoreyc.org/index.htm
XS Racing http://www.xsracing.org/
Balboa Inn Resort http://www.balboainn.com/