Feelers out for Florida 300

Did you ever consider that by starting with a 300 mile race, it might bring some new people into this longer sailing format that would never consider a 1000 mile race.

sounds like the OX500 that joined the T500

Absolutely. The Texas guys are doing it right too with the optional one leg race for people that want a taste. It would be interesting to see a (neutral and well designed) poll on this topic that could reach outside this forum.

Completely different deal. You had two separate races run by two separate groups. This is the same group rotating distances each year.

I am pulling my boat off the beach to add a third crossbar. It has been on the beach since 2010. My goal is to do a test run to the Bahamas.

While on the worrel subject, I've read that the entry fee for that race was $20,000?!?

I don't remember what it was exactly but it was up there at the end. There was to be a cash purse that would pay out so hopefully you got some of your money back at the finish line. Coincidentally, that first year of that structure was the race that never happened - but they had entries.

I would be all over a 500 mile race starting in Tybee and heading north.

I'm also interested in racing over to the Bahama's.

The other ideas pitched, not so much. But that's just my opinion.

Craig,

This is a game changer for sure. Very different than a 300 mile dash. Something I'd be interested in participating in.

wildtsail,

It really is a long haul. The OBX500 portion is something I would certainly consider, or a New England 500. Either of these would require someone to get off their a$$ and make it happen. I can certainly see development of this race in parallel to the Florida 300/500, with an eventual meeting in the middle for a 2016 1000 miler.

Mike, you and I posted at the same time. +1.

Anyone want to gather all the options and put them on a formal online poll to see where the interest would be?
I'll make sure it gets out to the NE Fleet.
I would definitely be in for a 500 mile race starting in Tybee as well.

Thanks for the feedback and keep it coming. Seems like some of the veterans are not interested in the shorter distance. Are there any new people that would possibly be interested in a shorter format with ambitions on longer races?

IIRC, that price also included the boat. No need to re-hash the past, but the dream was bringing in Europeans and associated big $$$ sponsorships. Catacup works because of the sponsors. We aren't talking about little guys. Try Air France and the French equivalent of Verizon Wireless. It is also in a warm location at a time of year when it is relatively inexpensive to travel and doesn't conflict with the summer season in most countries with high F18 populations. It is also relatively easy for the participant; lodging is arranged, containers are arranged, ground transportation is arranged and some meals are included. Thus, registration closes in under an hour with all slots filled!!

Jake, this isn't the place for this reply, but warranted a little caution. A guy like you with a good amount of experience, plus capable of fixing things, can certainly jury rig something up. My jury rig did not go so well, and ended with a mildly torn sail that could have turned out a lot worse had I not sought outside for a sail repair kit. Loads on our sails are high and reefing requires proper reinforcement patches. Please discuss with a local sail maker prior to attempting this modification on your boat <img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" />

Or just join Craigs race and avoid the mess <img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" />

rest assured...It's not rocket surgery and it's all well under control. I mean, seriously...if Playstation managed to get a couple of reef points in...

I'm in the 300 mile camp. I'm also one of those that if time and $$ is tight I'll attend my class championship instead of a distance race.

Hi distance threaders:
Nice thread going. Great to see many ideas out there!

A few comments:

1) Jackson and I did the everglades challenge in 2009 after heavy recruitment by Steve and Jamie on the Tybee. We were the only cats (Randy S. had a homebuilt fast tri and actually someone did the one day event in an inflatable cat with a Hobie rig). It is an awesome time and a great race and I hope to do the 1000 sometime. It is NOTHING like the tybee. You see everyone at the start, maybe night 1 if u stop, then u just see logbooks, and a dude at the end with maybe a cooler. It's an isolationist experience through untamed everglades coast. We did have to drop our mast once (and almost put it up on a powerline in the dark on the way back out!) but it wasn't a big deal. The fact that they took that part out is gravy. We never added grommets or reefing capability, didn't recall that as a requirement. Chief (the organizer) is very reasonable, I am sure u could discuss with him if that was the single reason not do do it. I remember almost every minute of the race, it's that cool and unique.

A lot of the people on this board and friends I've made sailing have been thru the Tybee, its a social race, its a family experience, its adventure sailing but within a somewhat controlled environment. Two different animals, EC and Tybee.

Many of us (including me) want a 1000. Obviously there are many ideas floating about. One thing for sure though, the difference between typing and doing is ACTION.

There are five of us willing to start putting action to words this year, and we are hoping to have you all join us. We need to start somewhere. We need to build. If we can pool and invest our sailing time and sailing resources to a three hundred this year, we can come back next year with a 500. Then hopefully a 1000.

Please stay tuned to this site (and others) for an ideally simple announcement and action plan in the next few days. If we can get 15-20 boats, this will happen and the rest will follow.

Thanks, I didn't get started until the Tybee was done and the Worrel was long gone. I only get to catch a few bits of pieces here and there.

As I am not experienced in distance racing, a 300 mile race sounds like a better starting point than the longer options/suggestions. I have mixed thoughts about the distance itself, it seems a race that might last longer than a week would be a much bigger burden to work and finances. That said, if this was a 500 mile race, I still would be interested.

I think the 2003 Worrell that never happened was $10k entry fee.I wasn't sold on the 18ht so I did not register. A few on this board did. The previous 4 to that which I did do were $1000.00. Dollar a mile like this and the Tybee.

+1...it's not rocket science. No reason to over think things.

Bacho,
There are several 100 milers out there. If you can do that you can do 500 as long as you're up for the endurance. I can't speak for the 1,000 as I've never done it but I know that 6 days into the Tybee I was ready for more (can't say the same for the first three days).
There is also the GT if you want to do 300.
But more importantly, it's not about the mielage other than endurance and boat preparation. It's about getting out in gnarly conditions which are the worst you can imagine to make sure you can get through them. Surf launches are nice to do ahead of time but I didn't, though I still have to experience some of the surf launches I've seen on video. You figure out how to get through it and eventually figure out how to get through faster.
-Todd

West Palm Beach Sailors: I got a firm commitment from Dick Macdonald on his F18. I have a softer commitment from Matt Derego (Hobie Tiger). He works with the Coast Guard and might not be able to get the time off. I will check with the Delray guys but they don't usually like a lot of distance.

I am on the fence and at odds because I will be helping with the race. Ive always wanted to do the Tybee but my boat never fit in the rules. It is looking like my boat won't be excluded from this event.

My boat has been sitting on the beach for the last five years and needs a lot of work. I need new sails, new trampoline and a third crossbar added. My big issue is like most, time and money. Unfortunately I am going to need to spend a lot of time helping to put this race together. That is why, I am thinking of just working toward a test run to the Bahamas. I have a set of dacron sails that are not fast, but will work for a run across the gulf stream.

I know Dick has aspirations of building to the 1000 mile race and I think after doing a 300 miler Matt could be headed that way as well. That is part of the reason I am partial to the 300/500/1000 build up. Getting new blood in the sport is critical. It would be great to have three good distance teams based out of West Palm Beach.

I would give my left nut to race over to the Bahama's with some other boats. I'll even bring a chase boat for safety if we could get someone to organize a race no matter how low key it is.

I want to really do it with two guys, one boat, no support. I have all the proper emergency gear and my boat will be properly prepped. Picking a good weather window is key and since my boat lives on the beach, that is not the issue.

If I understand correctly, there may be a few trimaran group sails to the bahamas. As these boats are close in DPN to the F18s, maybe

carpooling

with their event could provide some support? I would suspect the start/finish lines may be different if you wanted a LeMans type start but if you're just out to do it, I think Steve Marsh at Finish Line of Treasure Coast has a bead on the when/where ...

On one hand, that sounds almost foolish. On the other hand, if the weather is right there is a good bit of traffic between FL and Bahamas.

About August of 2013, a friend of mine had his boat sink right in the middle of the passage (he stepped

up

into his lifeboat) and another boater spotted him about 90 minutes later (he didn't have an EPRIB).

Oh, and don't expect your current insurance to cover a beachcat going offshore, no matter what navigational territory you signed up for. No BI/PD, either. The boats aren't designed for that usage and the underwriters sure as sh*t know it.

One of the main drawback of distance races is the cost and manpower of the support teams. One of the advantages of races like the steeplchase is the you eliminate those costs. It looks like most of the raids that are becomming so popular are also setup so to eliminate those costs. The other thing that seems to attract people is warm water warm weather. We have the florida keys. Run the race in the same time frame that the Tybee was run but start and end in the keys. Maybe 25/35 mile legs. Two legs most days and maybe 3 short legs on one day. Total 5 days. You could run some great courses on the bay side back thru the islands on the Florida bay. Start in Ley Largo end in Key Largo. Both Ocean side and Bay side with a lap around Key West. By having shorter legs and multiple legs each day you keep the racing tighter. Scoring done on low points so you don't have to worry about keeping time.

On the one hand sailing off shore in a cat that has been sitting on the beach for 5 years sounds sketchy. They use stainless rivets in aluminum all over beach cats. Corrosion can be a problem. Then there is the stitching on the tramp to rot as well.
On the other hand, in the early 80's, when i was manager of the Hobie cat rental at Phil Foster park, The sails were left up one nite by the slackers working that day, and along came a fugitive running from the law. He jumped on one of the H16s and sailed all the way to the Abacos. We got a letter weeks later to come and pick up the boat. The boat wasn't worth it though.

As for a Raid in the Keys. Makes sense, but you would need to pay a crew to set up all those start and finish lines.

Also Mike Worrell sailed the 1000 miles with just the one boat the first time. Later on,i think it took 3-4 days non stop, except for checkpoints, for the 3 man teams to finish the 1000 miles on H16s. They would rotate the third man in at some of the checkpoints, and the turn around took seconds to complete.

Seems several are interested to do this. I'm in.

yes, and it seems there might be several

camps

:

- expedition (checkpoints) style racers
- formatted, multi-day (everyone starts together each day) <500 mile distance racers
- formatted, multi-day >500 mile distance racers