Puddle Duck Regionals at Red Top
Red Top Mountain
Lake Allatoona, GA
Come bring your Puddle Duck Racer to beautiful Lake Allatoona, location of the 2009 World PDR Championship, for the Red Top Regionals hosted by the Allatoona Puddle Duck Fleet and the Sea Scouts.
Date:
September 17th to the 19th, 2010
(campground reserved Thursday the 16th to Monday the 20th)
Location:
We have reserved the Pioneer group camping site at Red Top Mountain State Park off of I75 North of Atlanta (see: http://gastateparks.org/RedTopMountain). The Pioneer camping site is separate of the general camping area on the shore of a beautiful little cove with plenty of sloping shore to park the puddle duck racers on. The camping site has plenty of room for tents and limited room for camping vehicles (about 5). It has a roomy pavilion in case it rains, a nicely set up fire ring with bench seating, and several outhouses. If you want a more traditional camping experience with flush toilets you can book a campsite at Red Top Mountain State Park and drive to the Pioneer Campsite.
Updated directions:
From the road – Red Top State Park, turn onto Webster Ferry Landing (not to be confused with Websters Overlook which is just outside of the park). At the turn you will see a white sign with blue anchor and the sign reads “Allatoona Yacht Club – Club House” – this is Webster Ferry Landing. Down the road you will see a brown park sign that reads “Webster’s Ferry Day – Use Area --- Gate Locked at Dark”
GPS Coordinates to the entrance of the camping area:
N 34 09.021
W 084 41.813
Camping Area:
Camping Area:
Right across the cove is the Red Top Mountain Lodge which would be available for non-campers to stay and provide a restaurant except Georgia State decided to close the lodge down this June. If you want hotel accommodations, the nearest nice hotel is the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Cartersville, GA (see: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/atlcv-fairfield-inn-and-suites-cartersville/)
There is a paved boat launch ramp near the Pioneer Campsite that lets out into the main lake or you can simply cart your Puddle Duck down to the shore at the campsite. The cove is a deep one so plan on some form of alternative propulsion to get your boat out into the main lake for the races. We will have tows available. People wanting to watch the races should go to the nearby launch ramp for a good view.
Costs:
There are no fees for this event though donations are gladly accepted to cover the expense of the Pioneer Campsite. There are no camping fees you will have to pay to stay in the Pioneer Campsite.
Schedule:
Thursday: Pioneer Campsite available after 2pm. Lake is always open.
Friday: 3pm practice racing and race clinic
7pm Chili Cookoff
8pm communal campfire and meet and greet
Saturday: 9am Skippers meeting for races
10 am to ? official regional race series (we will run multiple races)
4pm Pirate Poker Run! Arrgghh!!
7pm Dinner and awards ceremony hosted by the SouthWinds Sailing Club
Sunday: 10 am long-distance race/cruise
Events Details:
Practice Racing and Race Clinic: Get familiar with sailing your boat around the racing marks on Lake Allatoona. Experienced racers will be on-hand to help explain racing and sailing rules.
Chili Cookoff: Chefs bring your best Chili to share with the group. Prizes for best chili and most original chili will be awarded Saturday night.
Skippers Meeting: Very important to attend as you will be learning about the race course setup, number of laps, and number of races for the day based upon forecasted conditions.
Official Regional Race Series: We will be running at least three races weather permitting for this years Red Top Regionals. We will be doing a traditional water racing start across a starting line. More information to be presented at the Skippers Meeting. Please bring a trophy that will be awarded to another ducker.
Pirate Poker Run: This popular event is back so bring 20’ of floating line, a 2 liter bottle to tie at the end of it, and boat booty to share. There will be several stations around the lake where you can collect one card each for the best poker hand. If you capture another Puddle Duck pirate by grabbing hold of their line you can steal one of their cards. Best 5 card draw hand will select first from the boat booty people bring. Boat booty are useful boat-related items you have in your workshop that you do not believe you will ever use. An extra card will be awarded for each participant who decks themselves and their boat out like a pirate. ARRGGHHH!
Saturday Night Awards Potluck: The SouthWinds Sailing Club will be hosting a pot luck at the campground on Saturday night. Awards for the Chili Cookoff, Regional Races, and Pirate Poker Run will be awarded there.
Long Distance Race/Cruise: This event depends on the weather but we will set up specific spread out points for the skippers to sail to on the lake where they will be given a letter to spell out a word or phrase. First skipper back who knows the word or phrase wins!
Pictures:
Pioneer Campsite from the land
Pioneer Campsite from the water
Beach at the Pioneer Campsite
Fire Ring
Shelter in case it rains! Anyone have a Puddle Duck flag for the flagpole?