Shtp 2021

[AlanH]

I don't want to be a nag...and I know everybody is busy with 3BF...

But the main SSS website still says "SHTP 2020" and the associated web page has "2020" all over it. Even this forum subgroup still says "2020 Singlehanded Trans Pacific Yacht Race". The 2020 event was cancelled almost 9 months ago, now. In theory, the 2021 race is now five months away.

The NOR on Jibeset says 2021...that's good. But it also says that "registration is closed".

I've now had my third message from people as SA asking about whether there's a 2021 race or not, and wanting to know what is going on. Two told me that they are potential entrants for 2021. We all know that "saying you're a potential entrant" in a msg doesn't mean a darned thing, and that it's happened on SA all the more so, but still....

Maybe after the 3BF, can we bring things up to date?

[oregonian]

Thanks for your post AllanH. There are a number of people waiting for an update.

[BobJ]

There's something else in play here as we approach the March 15th go-no-go decision: There are only six boats registered. That's not a "race" worth doing. Last year's ten boats was not a race worth doing.

If you're planning to race please let the rest of us skippers know. If you don't want it to cost you $150, register with the "pay later" option in Jibeset. But register. I'm holding off on the remaining SER projects, waiting to see if we have a fleet. That entry list is my primary motivation to move forward and I know I'm not alone in that.

What say you, lurkers?


Update: One little poke of the bear increased the long-standing six entries to fifteen! With eight days until decision-day, do I hear 17? 17 going once, 17 going twice... Robb Walker, are you out there?
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[AlanH]

There's something else in play here as we approach the March 15th go-no-go decision: There are only six boats registered. That's not a "race" worth doing. Last year's ten boats was not a race worth doing.

If you're planning to race please let the rest of us skippers know. If you don't want it to cost you $150, register with the "pay later" option in Jibeset. But register. I'm holding off on the remaining SER projects, waiting to see if we have a fleet. That entry list is my primary motivation to move forward and I know I'm not alone in that.

What say you, lurkers?

i registered. I haven't uploaded all the documents but I've registered.

And now I'm going to just say what's been boiling inside for about six months. I'm going to say what I've heard from at least half a dozen people including a handful of SHTP veterans.

COULD WE GET SOMETHING

SOMETHING... SOMETHING--- UP TO DATE ON THE SSS WEBSITE BESIDES A LINK THAT SAYS SHTP 2020, THAT LEADS TO A COMPLETELY EMPTY 2020 WEBSITE??

SOMETHING?

THE RACE IS THREE AND A HALF MONTHS AWAY AND THERE IS NOTHING, WHATSOEVER ON THE SSS WEBSITE ABOUT THE 2021 EVENT!

This forum subsection even has the wrong name!

I'm sorry to be an asshole about this, but it's RIDICULOUS. There is zilch. Nothing. NO information AT ALL on the SSS Website about the 2021 Singlehanded TransPac race. The Link on the website goes to the 2020 event, which was cancelled A YEAR AGO. I've heard from people on Sailing Anarchy, wondering what's going on. MY PASTOR AT CHURCH has asked me what's going on. (he's a sailor). The manager at the boatyard I just scheduled a haulout at, who is an SHTP Veteran has asked me and wonders WTF is going on. I don't want to be a dickhead, I'm sorry to make this obnoxious post but if we don't tell people that there's a race, how the fuck are they supposed to know about it? How the hell are they supposed to know how to sign up?

THE BOARD barely reads the forum, and we expect potential entrants to comb through the forum to find out if the race is happening or not? How is someone from out of town supposed to know to go to Jibeset?

PLEASE

Whoever the SSS Webmaster is....PLEASE get SOMETHING current up on the SSS Website!

[brianb]

i registered. I haven't uploaded all the documents but I've registered.

And now I'm going to just say what's been boiling inside for about six months. I'm going to say what I've heard from at least half a dozen people including a handful of SHTP veterans.

COULD WE GET SOMETHING

SOMETHING... SOMETHING--- UP TO DATE ON THE SSS WEBSITE BESIDES A LINK THAT SAYS SHTP 2020, THAT LEADS TO A COMPLETELY EMPTY 2020 WEBSITE??

SOMETHING?

THE RACE IS THREE AND A HALF MONTHS AWAY AND THERE IS NOTHING, WHATSOEVER ON THE SSS WEBSITE ABOUT THE 2021 EVENT!

This forum subsection even has the wrong name!

I'm sorry to be an asshole about this, but it's RIDICULOUS. There is zilch. Nothing. NO information AT ALL on the SSS Website about the 2021 Singlehanded TransPac race. The Link on the website goes to the 2020 event, which was cancelled A YEAR AGO. I've heard from people on Sailing Anarchy, wondering what's going on. MY PASTOR AT CHURCH has asked me what's going on. (he's a sailor). The manager at the boatyard I just scheduled a haulout at, who is an SHTP Veteran has asked me and wonders WTF is going on. I don't want to be a dickhead, I'm sorry to make this obnoxious post but if we don't tell people that there's a race, how the fuck are they supposed to know about it? How the hell are they supposed to know how to sign up?

THE BOARD barely reads the forum, and we expect potential entrants to comb through the forum to find out if the race is happening or not? How is someone from out of town supposed to know to go to Jibeset?

PLEASE

Whoever the SSS Webmaster is....PLEASE get SOMETHING current up on the SSS Website!

Hello ALan.

Sure - you want to take it on ? You are an IT pro, correct ? It is a wordpress site. I have the credentials in an email that I got last week.

LEt me know,

Brian

[BobJ]

"This forum subsection even has the wrong name!"

I've tried to get this simple update done. AFAIK, Rob Macfarlane is the sole remaining forum administrator. He is apparently unwilling to share the necessary credentials, nor even simply change "2020" to "2021." Rob hasn't done an SSS race in ten years and the last I heard, he was living on his boat in Oxnard. I asked Joe, in his role as Commodore, to engage with Rob and get the forum administration transitioned to one or two individuals who are active in the club. That hasn't happened. Rob, you read this forum - what's the problem?

All this is very frustrating. I just signed up for the Pacific Cup double-handed. It cost me $400 to register. They seemed happy to have my entry and are enthusiastic about their race. Jim Quanci is the Commodore of the PCYC this cycle. There are already about 30 double-handers registered for the race in 2022, including several boats who often race in the SSS. So I'll see more SSS friends at the Kaneohe YC than I would have seen in Hanalei Bay. And that's just wrong.
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[tiger beetle]

I've tried to get this simple update done. AFAIK, Rob Macfarlane is the sole remaining forum administrator. He is apparently unwilling to share the necessary credentials, nor even simply change "2020" to "2021." Rob hasn't done an SSS race in ten years and the last I heard, he was living on his boat in Oxnard. I asked Joe, in his role as Commodore, to engage with Rob and get the forum administration transitioned to one or two individuals who are active in the club. That hasn't happened. Rob, you read this forum - what's the problem?

Hi Bob -

In 2018 I offered to help Carlianne with the website, she accepted - she sent to me all the known credentials for the web host, web server, the web site, and the forum. I performed a backup of everything at that time, made a couple of changes at her request. She mentioned the idea of her son taking on managing the site and I received no further communication on the matter.

As part of reviewing the forum software in 2019 I told Don Martin (SSS Commodore at the time) that the Forum was out of date, insecure, would need to be ported to currently-supported software, and that I did not have the bandwidth to take that on. Nothing was done that I am aware of as regards pursuing an upgrade or port. At least I got the SSL certificates working correctly on the forum site.

In 2020, prior to the end of year meeting, Joe Balderrama telephoned me and we spoke for two hours about ideas for the club going forward. He asked if I would be interested in being a sound board should any questions come up at the Board and I said yes. He and I talked briefly just before that meeting, and I have had no communications with Joe since then.

I'm sorry that you would characterize that as "unwilling to share the necessary credentials"; no one has asked me for them and I was unaware anyone needed them. Greg Ashby is the current webmaster, I expected that he was maintaining everything - certainly Joe never mentioned any issues to me. If Greg doesn't have the login information for the sites then I can review what I have (which is now 2-1/2 years old) and see if any of that information remains valid.

As regards racing with the SSS, I have not raced with the SSS since 2013 that I can think of - that's when I retired to go cruising. Since then I have sail to Mexico, Canada, back to Mexico, out to French Polynesia, spent a winter in Hawaii, back to Pacific Northwest, down the coast to San Francisco and now in Southern California. When was in San Francisco on my trips through, I served on RC a couple of times, was the SSS start boat, worked on the web site a bit, and happened to be in Hanalei on Beetle when the 2018 SSS TransPac finished there. I'm not certain how any of that information is relevant to frustrations with the SSS web site. It does strike me that your statement about not racing with the SSS for 10 years is factually inaccurate and a bit of "attacking my character"; that is not helpful and in effect suggests that I have no relevance to the club; perhaps that is true, perhaps I'm not relevant to the club - but I don't see it that way. And I whole-heartedly agree, the SSS website is in a woeful state of disrepair, the value of the site as an information-distribution channel has been lost, and there's lots of work that could be done there to make the website vibrant, useful, and relevant.

My current situation is something of a bummer in that I was wrapping up final preparations to roll out to the South Pacific April 2020 - which is precisely when the island nations across the Pacific started to close their borders due to the Covid virus. I elected not to return to French Polynesia as it looked iffy from a cruising perspective (turns out lockdowns on boats did happen there, for months - no boat movement, no swimming, no going ashore except for food once a week, just stay on your boat). I'm glad I elected to remain in Southern California - at least I speak the language, have my car for transport, have access to medical facilities if needed, and I am hoping to receive a vaccine sooner than later.

In the meantime I am trying to enjoy Southern California, have been scuba diving the islands, continue to maintain Beetle, and am hopeful that come November Mexico might be open and safe to cruise. If we're lucky by next spring (another year from now - egad!) countries will have re-opened their borders and I can sail again for the South Pacific and visit places beyond French Polynesia. Currently I am in Arizona helping out my parents at their place.

If you have constructive suggestions or questions that I can help with, please let me know.

- rob/beetle

[AlanH]

Hello ALan.

Sure - you want to take it on ? You are an IT pro, correct ? It is a wordpress site. I have the credentials in an email that I got last week.

LEt me know,

Brian

We don't need an entire WordPress website yet. There may not be a race. The WordPress site comes later. What we have needed for six months is so simple...it's SO SIMPLE. Just change the Goddamned SSS Splash Page to say SHTP 2021 instead of SHTP 2020. Make it a link to a simple informative HTML page about the race status. This is just not that hard. SOMEONE has the credentials to edit the SSS website, because somehow the 2021 racing calendar got up there.

WHO IS THE SSS WEBMASTER?


1. I tried to make a significant contribution to this event already, and because Board members don't read the forum aside from their own posts....on a forum which has been in place for over a decade.... that contribution got "scheduled over" by something else with NO COMMUNICATION WHATSOEVER TO ME about the conflict. Joe called me after the fact, which is something. But both you and Joe KNEW ABOUT THE DATE FOR WEEKS and yet it still happened. Am I frustrated? Gee. Ya think?

2. HOWEVER. I will happily put up a simple HTML page stating that there is hopefully a race and that we're in a holding pattern until March 15th. It will encourage participants to register on jibeset and inform them that they can register without paying the nonrefundable $150 fee. I will give them the Jibeset URL. I will happily edit the SSS Splash page to point to a SHTP 2021 link instead of the year-old cancelled 2020 Wordpress site. Give me the credentials and I'll do it.

What I will not do is set up an entire WordPress site and maintain it until the race, and during the race. But a simple HTML information page with links to jibeset? Sure.

We don't need an entire WordPress website yet. What we need, and have needed for six months is for the link on the main SSS website to say STHP 2021 and point to SOMETHING with some information. Give me the credentials, and I'll do it. It's months too late, but sure, I'll spend an hour and make an HTML page and change the SSS splash page.

AGAIN...we don't need a whole WordPress site, yet. What we need is SO SIMPLE. It's not even your job, Brian! IT'S NOT BRIANS JOB!!!! IT'S THE WEBMASTERS JOB. It's the webmasters job! WEbmasters job. WEBMASTERS JOB!

1. Change the link on the main SSS splash page to say SHTP 2021 , link to to....
2. put up a simple HTML page that states what the current situation is and encourages potential entrants to register on jibeset.

===================================

[AlanH]

I understand that COVID has made planning the race a nightmare. I get it. I totally understand. I appreciate the work that's been done. I know it doesn't sound like I do right now, Brian, but I do.

Frustration has skyrocketed in the past couple of months NOT because of COVID.....I understand that and so does everybody else. My own frustration level has skyrocketed because of the inaccuracies on the website and that this Board, apparently just like the last one...REFUSES to use the forum to communicate with members. You guys post your own info-bits and REFUSE to read anything else. There are discussions about the SH/DH issue. Apparently nobody on the Board reads them. I announce a SHTP emergency rudder Zoom seminar and gathered presenters and put updates on the forum. But apparently nobody on the Board paid any attention, for WEEKS.

IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO KEEP UP ON THE FORUM.

I put this fucking thing in place a decade ago as a tool for communication. I happily ran it for four years before I turned it over to the next person. It's here. People read it, even if they don't post.

USE IT! READ IT!

If you don't want to use it, then take it down. Seriously, more damage is done by having the forum in place and having the Board ignore it, than any benefit that is accrued. We have a Facebook page. Does the Board want to use the Facebook page and Jibeset instead? FINE, that's totally fine..... then announce that in Screaming Huge Text up top and close the forum.

[Rainbow]

There's something else in play here as we approach the March 15th go-no-go decision: There are only six boats registered. That's not a "race" worth doing. Last year's ten boats was not a race worth doing.

If you're planning to race please let the rest of us skippers know. If you don't want it to cost you $150, register with the "pay later" option in Jibeset. But register. I'm holding off on the remaining SER projects, waiting to see if we have a fleet. That entry list is my primary motivation to move forward and I know I'm not alone in that.

What say you, lurkers?


Update: One little poke of the bear increased the long-standing six entries to eight. Do I hear ten? Ten going once, ten going twice...
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14 now with Rainbow.