Some of the chatter on the recent (dreaded 😀) Wave topic got me thinking, and I didn't want to go further off topic there, so...
First of all, I recommend to all my sailing buddies, regardless of experience, skill, or interest in racing, to attend regattas. One doesn't even have to register/race...take the boat and daysail, help out with race committee, and/or just join the party. Either way, it's a great way to learn, hang out with some like-minded people, and have a lot of fun. (If it was all about competing well, I would have quit before the turn of the century!) I have good friends from all over the country that I first met at regattas.
It seems most of us are sort of locked in to our local region and, in my case at least, most of that action is learned by word-of-mouth. Further, searching a bunch of venue and class association sites is a PITA. It would be nice (and maybe increase participation?) if one could find out what's happening more easily, so I thought I'd throw out some brainstorming ideas to that end.
Of course Damon is always encouraging us to post on the Events Calendar here, and I intend to help with that as the 2026 schedules come out.
Regatta Network seems to be heavily used for registration these days, and I just noticed that you can filter the Upcoming Events by State. Would be cool if they could be further filtered by type of event...monohull/multihull/both, YC member only v. open, classes invited, etc.
I don't do any social media so cannot speak to that.
Related idea...When I first started racing, it was fairly routine that a regatta follow-up be issued summarizing the on and off water fun. Getting that info would often fire me up to put the event on my calendar for the future.
Finally, some word-of mouth directed at Cat Scratch's comments regarding Florida regattas over on the Wave topic: There's quite a bit of racing on the panhandle...Pensacola YC, Fort Walton YC, etc. I believe they're mostly 'local' regattas...not heavily attended by folks outside the area. (Someone at Key Sailing would probably have the scoop on that scene.) Then there's Juanas at Navarre Beach with teams from all over the place. (It's less than formal, but does attract plenty of highly skilled sailors.) If interested in racing on the upper Gulf Coast, Ocean Springs (MS) YC is where it's at. Slip To Ship (distance), Horn Island Hop (distance), and Shearwater (buoys) are their bigger events. These are regularly attended by sailors from the Carolinas to TX. Might be a haul, but it's a lot warmer than MI, OH, New England, or even NC!