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Lake Erie Solo Challenge



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Lake Erie Solo Challenge

The second Lake Erie Solo Challenge will take place on August 23, 2008.             

The documents for the 2008 Lake Erie Solo Challenge are posted in links below - feel free to download them at your convenience! They are all available as PDF files - if you don’t have Adobe Reader™ installed on your computer, it is available as a free download by clicking the button below.

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The Challenge

True to the mandate stated in the GLSS Constitution, the Lake Erie Solo Challenge represents the latest effort to establish a solo sailing Challenge upon all of the Great Lakes. While Lake Erie may be the smallest and shallowest of the Great Lakes, those very characteristics make for some extraordinarily difficult sailing at times. Winds can produce large, steep-faced waves seemingly in minutes, and summer thunderstorms can turn a placid body of water into a tempest just as quickly. Throw in in a high concentration of pleasure craft, fishermen, and fish nets interspersed with commercial freighter traffic, and the ingredients are in place for a Challenge on par with those of any other lake.

The Lake Erie Solo Challenge begins with al start off of North Cape Yacht Club near Monroe, MI and the fleet proceeds past Pelee Island, Ontario and eastward to a rounding of the Seneca Shoal Light near Buffalo, NY, thence on to a finish off of Presque Isle Harbor at Erie, PA. The course measures 312 statute miles, and in terms of comparison to the other GLSS Challenges, it ranks third behind the Trans Superior Solo, and the Chicago to Mackinac Island Solo Challenge. The 2008 event marks the second running of the event - come on down to Erie and see what all the excitement is about!

Would you like to see what the inaugural Lake Erie Solo Challenge offered? The 2008 LESC Race Chairman, Paul Nickerson, has posted an excellent recap of the 2007 event.

2008 Lake Erie Solo Challenge Documents

Changes for 2008

  • The flare requirement has been changed to conform to that of ORC. For 2008, required flares will be 4 SOLAS red parachute flares, 4 SOLAS red handheld flares, and 2 SOLAS orange smoke.
  • A VHF masthead antenna for the primary VHF marine radio telephone is now required.
  • A PHRF certificate issued within the previous three years is required for entry without a performance penalty. Skippers who do not wish to obtain the PHRF certificate will be assessed a 6 second/mile penalty.
  • No roller furling credits will be allowed.

Resumé and Solo Passage Documentation - Non GLSS Members Only
Non-GLSS members who wish to enter the Lake Erie Solo Challenge, must submit a Sailing Resumé and also a Solo Passage Documentation form to be considered for entry. Early submission of these documents will allow the GLSS Board of Directors ample time for review, and provide you with time to correct any deficiencies.

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