All,
Due to events this year - Everglades Challenge in Tampa Bay and Dauphin Island Regatta in Mobile Bay - Fort Walton Yacht Club is postponing the Round the Island Race to 2016. We need the time to review and improve our safety protocols.
V/R
John D. Farris
2015 Fleet Captain
Fort Walton Yacht Club
Family, Sailing, Friends!
~~/)~~~/)~~/)~~~~/)~~~~~~~/)
Hate to hear it, I hope this doesn't start a trend of clubs being afraid to be associated with potentially dangerous events.
They do re-emphasize that skippers are responsible to make sure their crew is safe.
The many reports of crew not wearing their PFD's during the Dauphin Island Regatta were very surprising to me. I'm pretty sure these were all people aboard monohulls who probably considered the race more of a social gathering.
I think the beachcat community has pretty much adopted the necessity of always wearing your PFD, at least I hope so.
+ waterproof vhf, surface marker buoy, signal mirror, pocket flair, whistle knife etc... Did I mention helmet.. suunto watch with storm alert... be prepared as the scouts say... 😆
I think the beachcat community has pretty much adopted the necessity of always wearing your PFD, at least I hope so.
racing - yes
pleasure sailing - no, at least not around here.
there are only a few of us who wear a pdf most of the time (i always wear one)
I ran into problems last year with the Round the Island Race committee changing the dates on the scheduled weekend. We decided to run the course ourselves with a chase boat since many of the sailors had to schedule work around the original race date. We had a blast and may do the same this year. If anyone is interested, we could sail the same course on the scheduled weekend in June. I will provide one chase boat to follow the racers around the island.
There are dangers sailing this course and I recommend a radio, a PFD, running lights, food/water and common sense. If anyone is interseted please let me know. Last year we finished around 9 pm.
Edited by hobiewonkanobie on May 08, 2015 - 03:51 PM.
Unofficial multihull sail around Santa Rosa Island (we will accept monohulls if they want to try and keep up). This get together is not affiliated with the "official" Round the Island Regatta. We are only sailing on this day and this course for fun. Next year when the "official" race is back online we will continue to sail in that race. We will start the sail at 7 am just North of the Destin pass in the Choctawhatchee Bay at Crab Island. The sailboats will be followed by a 21 foot Robalo fishing boat. The chase boat will hold supplies (that you provide) such as food, water and first aid kits.
We plan to finish by 7-9 pm and if we are not back to the Choctawhatchee Bay, we may stop at any number of locations on Santa Rosa sound such as Juana's Pagodas or Leeside park or any other location that has a boat ramp. Last year we had a blast and finished by 9pm. The chase boat will assist with any problems and can exchange any sailors that tire or need a break.
This will be a very informal sail and a way to enjoy the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding beauty from the water. Each boat is responsible for their own safety. I recommend at a minimum: VHF radio, cell phone, PFDs, running lights, food and water. Oh and don't forget common sense.
Contact information:
•Chris Reid
•850-259-4219
•cr@renalus.com
Fee: free
hobiewonkanobie wrote: Unofficial multihull sail around Santa Rosa Island (we will accept monohulls if they want to try and keep up). This get together is not affiliated with the "official" Round the Island Regatta. We are only sailing on this day and this course for fun. Next year when the "official" race is back online we will continue to sail in that race. We will start the sail at 7 am just North of the Destin pass in the Choctawhatchee Bay at Crab Island. The sailboats will be followed by a 21 foot Robalo fishing boat. The chase boat will hold supplies (that you provide) such as food, water and first aid kits.
We plan to finish by 7-9 pm and if we are not back to the Choctawhatchee Bay, we may stop at any number of locations on Santa Rosa sound such as Juana's Pagodas or Leeside park or any other location that has a boat ramp. Last year we had a blast and finished by 9pm. The chase boat will assist with any problems and can exchange any sailors that tire or need a break.
This will be a very informal sail and a way to enjoy the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding beauty from the water. Each boat is responsible for their own safety. I recommend at a minimum: VHF radio, cell phone, PFDs, running lights, food and water. Oh and don't forget common sense.
Contact information:
•Chris Reid
•850-259-4219
•cr@renalus.com
Fee: free
Is this happening June 26 - 28?
david.ingram wrote: [quote=hobiewonkanobie]Unofficial multihull sail around Santa Rosa Island (we will accept monohulls if they want to try and keep up). This get together is not affiliated with the "official" Round the Island Regatta. We are only sailing on this day and this course for fun. Next year when the "official" race is back online we will continue to sail in that race. We will start the sail at 7 am just North of the Destin pass in the Choctawhatchee Bay at Crab Island. The sailboats will be followed by a 21 foot Robalo fishing boat. The chase boat will hold supplies (that you provide) such as food, water and first aid kits.
We plan to finish by 7-9 pm and if we are not back to the Choctawhatchee Bay, we may stop at any number of locations on Santa Rosa sound such as Juana's Pagodas or Leeside park or any other location that has a boat ramp. Last year we had a blast and finished by 9pm. The chase boat will assist with any problems and can exchange any sailors that tire or need a break.
This will be a very informal sail and a way to enjoy the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding beauty from the water. Each boat is responsible for their own safety. I recommend at a minimum: VHF radio, cell phone, PFDs, running lights, food and water. Oh and don't forget common sense.
Contact information:
•Chris Reid
•850-259-4219
•cr@renalus.com
Fee: free
Is this happening June 26 - 28?
The original race was set for June 26-28 but as you can see in the first post FWB yacht club has cancelled their race and will reschedule for next year.
I enjoy the sail so have decided to run the course on June 27 starting at 7 am from an area North of the Destin pass called Crab Island. So far we have 5 sailors on two cats and one chase boat. Would love to have more boats.
Chris
We are still on for the "unofficial" around the island race June 27th (the official race was cancelled last month). Start time 7 am at Crab Island just north of the Destin Pass bridge close to Fort Walton Beach and Destin. Hope to have 5 or 6 boats for the 100 mile sail around Santa Rosa Island. So far I have 2 Hobies from Niceville, possibly 2 Nacras from Houston and a Hobie from Birmingham. Will have a chase boat with room for coolers and food.
Hope to see more boats come out.
I'm curious to know what hobie is coming from Birmingham. I don't know of any up here where I am
The sailing is still on for tomorrow June 27th, however we have made an adjustment. NOAA is predicting 20kt winds and 5 foot seas in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the cold front moving through this evening and tomorrow morning so we are going to sail within the Choctawhatchee bay starting at 10 am in Niceville. Anyone still interested call me at 850-259-4219. We will stop for lunch at one of the bayside restaurants and sail in the afternoon as well if the weather permits.