An oldie but a goodie

While the manpower needed to host a proper windward leeward race is beyond what health restrictions permit in most areas, Scuttlebutt is highlighting alternatives such as this iconic event in South Florida:

On May 30, sailors will compete in the 64th and 1/2 annual Miami Key Largo Race.

Wait. Sixty fourth and a half? Yes, that bit of creative counting comes courtesy of Hans Evers, the Miami Yacht Club’s race-committee chairman.

Evers said there were 59 boats entered in 2018, when the race — for the first time — became a two-day event, starting in Miami, just south of the Rickenbacker Causeway, and then spending the night in Key Largo. The two-day idea was a success, and the 2019 race grew to 71 boats.

“We have a great party in Key Largo, and we were hoping for 100 boats this year,” Evers said. “But, because of the coronavirus, that’s not going to happen this year. So, we’re going to have the race in a modified way.”

That ‘modified way’ is a race to the featherbeds and back. In other words, there will be no trip to Key Largo in this year’s Miami Key Largo race.

“Instead of doing a 40-mile run straight south to Key Largo,” Evers said, “we will do a 24-mile loop.”

Evers said the party aspect of the race down in Key Largo will return next year. That’s why he wants to count 2021 as the 65th anniversary and not 2020.

So far, 42 sailboats have been entered to race this year, and Evers said he believes that number will rise to 50 by race day. The race, which is open to all types of boats 14 feet or longer, is the oldest such sailing event in Miami.

Details: https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=11858

Source: https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/outdoors/article242992376.html