(Riva main square looking out onto the lake)

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1 Venue Guide Riva Del Garda Location: Fraglia vela Riva is situated in Riva Del Garda, located in Riva, which is in the North West corner of Lake Garda in Northern Italy. This has been a fixture on the RS calendar on even years for quite a while now due to the excellent conditions, sunshine and holiday nature of the trip. The town of Riva is particularly attractive and has a wide range of shops, bars and interesting restaurants. (Riva main square looking out onto the lake) For non-sailing friends there s lots to do including mountain biking, windsurfing hill climbing, canyoning, beach activities (pebbly), canoeing etc. The majority of these are available within a short walk of the town centre. So if you have friends or relatives interested in sharing your holiday bring them along the more the merrier! Socials The social side of Garda is part of the charm of the regatta with the Ora turning up at lunchtime, there s no need to get to the dinghy park until 10:30, so this helps to encourage later nights. Evening entertainment usually consists of finding a lovely restaurant, then decamping to a bar (often the Occa ) to discuss the days racing. If you re on holiday with your partner there are some lovely romantic venues. The club will host a dinner with a DJ on Monday evening. There will also be a Prize-giving party on Friday evening with an excellent local band. The club will serve pasta after racing each day except Monday. This is all included in your entry fee.

2 Fraglia vela Riva (yellow building with white canopy), marina, Dinghy Park and beaches beyond Wind / Racing Garda is well known for being a sailing and windsurfing mecca, largely due to the thermally generated Ora wind that kicks in from the south usually around 12-1pm, and builds regularly up to a F4 and occasionally up to a F6-F7. Occasionally you get thunderstorms rolling around the mountains and the clouds and drop in temperature can prevent the Ora from kicking in and if the light northerly or Peler is in place racing does sometimes take place in the wrong direction that emphasises a range of different skill sets. The racing will run from Monday to Friday, but you can arrive at the club from Saturday 24 th July and stay until Saturday 31 st July. Longer stays may be arranged with prior notification with the club. You can register at the club from Saturday 24 th. We have arranged 2 courses with Fraglia vela Riva, and we will race the RS700s and RS800s on one, all other fleets on the other. We have assurances from the club that, if conditions allow, both courses will be alongside the popular western cliffs. The club has been in existence for over 80 years, and has a deserved reputation for hosting events to World Championship level. You can be sure that the race management will be spot on and the support staff are used to dealing with foreign competitors. There are a number of key things to consider about you/your boat if going to Garda for the first time 1) Water Bottles you ll need at least 2 litres a day out on the water potentially more if you re working hard and it s really hot. 2) Boat Preparation is key anything that can break will break due to the wind, short chop and the potential for capsizing. Make sure you ve checked the boat over carefully before going out there and replace any ropes that look dodgy especially halyards and the entire spinnaker related ropes. You might well not have time to get back to the club between races if there is a problem.

3 3) It can get really hot, so take suntan lotion out in the boat and top up between races. Also think about a baseball cap or sunhat and sunglasses, although these can get quite wet if the wind is on form The other thing you must bring is a copy of the boat insurance certificate. You may be asked to produce them when you register. Getting There This is one of the more interesting challenges you may have seen some of the discussions on the yahoo groups. Simple maps are also attached. Get your boat delivered The best way to go if you are time poor. Either arrange for a friend to take the boat out on a double trailer and offer to share costs. One way to find a trailing partner is to advertise on the yahoo groups you can join these via your fleet / Mailing Lists. Sailboat Deliveries, still have a few places left at 425/boat. Flying If you get your boat delivered then you need to arrange to fly out. Airports to head for are either Verona-Brescia or Milan Bergamo, both of which can be reached from a number of the cheaper airlines. Venice (Marco Polo), Verona, or Milan (Linate and Malpensa) are also quite near. On arrival at the airport the next issue is transport to/from Riva. Options include - hiring a car for the week (get a route from the airport from before you leave home), - taxi or trains to Sirmione (bottom of the lake) and then ferry all the way to Riva (pretty but time consuming) - train to Rotoverto and bus to Riva (every hour) - bus down the East Coast of the lake to Verona and then taxi (slow!) - from Verona airport: A.P.T.V. connecting bus service every 20 minutes to Verona train and bus stations (travel time 15 minutes). From there you can catch an A.P.T.V. bus to Riva (two hours) or take a train to Rovereto (50 minutes) and then an Atesina bus to Riva (45 minutes). - Cheap taxi transfer - Driving Depending on your car/speed/trailer/route/traffic/pit stop strategy the journey can be done in about 14 hours from Calais. There is any number of possible routes, but the two main ways are - Switzerland Aim for Basle and then head south through Switzerland through the St. Gotthard Tunnel. Drop down to Milan and pick up the A4 heading east signposted Verona or Venice. Go along past the bottom of the lake and pick up the A22 North signposted Brennero, and exit at the Roteverto Sud exit (toll fee payable). Follow signs to Torbole and then Riva. After the tunnel from Torbole you will enter Riva itself, continue on the main road until you get to a roundabout, turn left here and the sailing club is at the end of this road. - Austria Head into Germany and go south aiming for Munich. Follow the A8 to Salzburg, but turn off onto the A93 (South) which becomes the A12, following signs to Innsbruck. It is well worth getting a route plan from before you leave, and buying a decent road map. Ferry Travel Try Alternative Promotions for cheap ferry deals , altpromtravel@aol.com,

4 Carnets & Tolls Travelling through France and Italy you will have to pay road tolls on the Motorways, with barriers every now and again. In Switzerland / Austria its slightly different, as you stop at the border and buy a carnet that covers you to drive on their motorways. Details of these tolls are available on the AA website allaboutcars/overseas/european_tolls_select.jsp Other Driving Tips - Is the car up to it? It s a 2000-mile round trip or thereabouts with the pedal on the max for the most of us. Make sure the car won t overheat or breakdown etc, as this definitely takes the gloss off the holiday. - Trailer Bearings get them checked, a break at 4am in the middle of France is not what the doctor ordered. - Spare Wheel, and check you have a spanner that works on these wheel nut - Lighting board is there and all works - Emergency Kit warning triangle, first aid kit, headlamp deflectors all legal requirements in certain countries you might pass through - Insurance & Recovery Get this sorted. - You cannot overtake during daylight hours on many of Germany s roads look out for the signs On Arrival On arrival in Riva the club (Fraglia vela Riva) is quite well signposted, plus see the attached map. If you are very nervous I have bigger scale ones I can send you. At the club, you will be instructed to park the boat in the appropriate spot depending on your launching option. All road trailers need to be moved immediately to a nearby trailer park. The lagoon is not available for boat parking this year, so boats will be parked in the normal club area, and in the large car park behind the club. Slower boats, which will need to launch first, will be parked nearer the slipways. Launching There are 3 launching areas off the main slipway (se below), or via the 2 small slipways into the marina or the lagoon. Launching, especially from the main slipway, is quite tricky given the narrowness of the ramp and the prevailing wind direction which is onshore when the Ora kicks in.

5 Communal trolleys will be used, so make sure yours is in good repair. Patience and helpfulness are essential for efficient launching and recovery, so come in the right spirit! Club Amenities The club amenities are very good with a nice bar and lounge area. There s an upper level sundeck and a smaller one for a post race beer in front of the club. Water, Coffee, and rolls are all available from the bar in the morning, and usually after racing there s free pasta for all competitors. In terms of chandlery, a couple of the LDC lads will send a couple of reps with a wide range of spares and fittings. For more general stuff there s a windsurfing shop in Torbole which has a range of ropes, blocks etc but no specialist parts. Accommodation There is an accommodation list on the club website which provides extensive details of the accommodation that s available. It is also worth looking at If you are interested in camping, Monte Brione can be booked in advance and also has chalets for hire, but is a short walk from the lake and sailing club. Camping al Lago and Camping Bavaria are directly on the lake. Neither can be booked, operating on a first come, first served basis. These are more cramped and lively than Monte Brione. See you there!