Restoring Simplicity In The Sport

The sport succeeds when enough people with similar boats can meet on a race course and enjoy a competitive contest. The type of boat, you could argue, is secondary to the quantity of boats.

Nicely equipped boats with comfortable interiors once roamed the regatta schedule, but over time, interiors were stripped to save weight. A day of racing meant the removal of cushions and kitchen essentials. The effort, for some, was no longer worth it.

Rod Johnstone of J/Boats, who has been coming regularly to Key West Race Week since its inception over two decades ago, likes how the 2016 edition is seeking to restore some simplicity in the sport.

Short navigational races have been added to the format for Performance Cruising classes, offering an options for casual and/or shorthanded sailing teams to enjoy just one race per day. Johnstone thinks the Performance Cruising class can really take off.

“I think it’s an absolutely great idea,” Johnstone said. “That’s the type of racing a lot of people like to do these days and there are so many boats out there that would fit perfectly into that class.”

He also thinks a well-appointed cruising boat would provide housing for its crew. “I would think another good thing about this new class is that skippers don’t need to strip out their boats in order to do some distance racing.”

Event website: keywestraceweek.com