I recently pulled in to Vero Beach, Florida on my W32 and I found three other W32s here. In recent years, I've seen as many as 5 W32 and W42 in this harbor at the same time. Vero is an extremely popular transient stop for cruisers in the fall and spring.
I tried to persuade the owners to come to the Florida East rondy next October in Cape Canaveral, 60 miles away. One of them responded, "How come no rendezvous here in Vero?"
Last week we had a similar question on the WOA forum, "Why no rendezvous in New Endland?"
It's time to remind all of you how this works.
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A rendezvous is initiated when someone (WOA member or not) volunteers to host it. Unless there is a conflicting date, the offer will be accepted almost 100% of the time. If the host is not a WOA member, we'll give him a year's free membership as a thank you.
The duty of the host is to pick a date and location. Usually the location is a marina. The host asks the marina to hold a block of slips until some cutoff date. The host finds a speaker, sets the day by day agenda, and researches hotel, restaurant and travel information. It is not an onerous job..
Then, I as rendezvous coordinator will offer help from WOA's side. We can send email invitations to nearby members. We publicize it on westsail.org. We'll get the info to Bud Taplin. (Bud has attended all rondys that he can.) We'll help with Kirk Brown to get a shipment of Westsail goods on consignment to sell at the rondy. And we'll give the host $200 for incidental expenses.
But it all begins with that volunteer host. If rendezvous never happen near you, then please consider volunteering yourself. It will be appreciated.
Dick Mills
WOA Rendezvous Coordinator
