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2015 Florida 300 Presented by Waves Surf Shop - Day One
2015 Florida 300 Presented by Waves Surf Shop - Day One - Islamorada to Key Biscayne, Florida - May 13, 2015
The big question from Day One involved the two foiling beachcats, the 20 foot Nacra 20 FCS of team Rocket and the 18 foot Flying Phantom of team Lupe Tortilla, would they be so much faster than the Florida 300 competitors that they would run away from the fleet?
Day one opened with a beautiful clear morning on the beach at the Islander Resort in Islamorada, Florida. The competitors were doing final prep and gearing up looking very focused and "in the zone", not a lot of talking as the experienced teams slid their high performance catamarans into the sea.
The start at Islamorada is unique in the four leg race, since the shoreline doesn't lend itself to a beach start the race committee setup a traditional upwind starting line offshore. The leg started in steady winds from the South South-West at 15 mph, clocking more Easterly during the day allowing for the shortest possible route to Key Biscayne. After the start most of the teams opted to hug the shore while three preceeded out a while before tacking. It wasn't long before the boats were pretty much lined up along the Upper Keys and it was a march to the finish with Rocket in the lead followed by Lupe Tortilla then team Key Sailing closely behind.
About 20 minutes after the start team Key Sailing had a tiller tendon come apart so they had to slow down and create a repair using what they had onboard. Sticky gauze tape from the first-aid kit was used for the repair and it held up all the way to the finish. The repair time slowed them down considerably and the defending champions found themselvs at the back of the fleet, not a position where they have spent a lot of time!
In the meantime, after the start all the team crews left Islamorada and started their own race to arrive at the finish line on the beach in Key Biscayn at the Silver Sands Beach Resort before their teams. Being able to live track the fleet using the Kattack tracking software that each boat carries helped take some of the stress away.
It wasn't long at all after the race committee arrived and setup the finish line before the first boat was in site. It was Rocket, and according to the Kattack tracker Lupe Tortilla was next along with Key Sailing a little behind.
In a little while team Rocket with John Casey and Colin Page finished in just 4 hours and 27 seconds followed by Lupe Tortilla in 4 hours, 33 minutes, and 35 seconds. With the tremendous amount of seaweed in the water it was a really fast time for Islamorada to Key Biscayne. Since the two foiling boats are sailing in their own class and not eligible for the overall Florida 300 win, the issue of who would win the first leg of the Florida 300 still remained.
Team Key Sailing had come into view earlier just trailing Lupe Tortilla but was able to pass them before the finish. After overcoming their early mechanical difficulties they finished leg one in first place in 4 hours, 29 minutes, 36 seconds.
So the answer to the big question of how fast will the foiling boats be in a race like this is probably still to be answered. While wind conditions were ideal for most of the race the heavy seaweed caused all the teams to constantly have to slow down and clean up their foils. This was particularly an issue with the inverted T shaped rudders on the foilers.
See full day one results
http://florida300.com/florida-300-news/130-florida-300-presented-by-waves-surf-shop-day-1
Track the race
http://florida300.com/tracking
mobile version
http://florida300.com/mtracking
Live video/audio feed from the starts and finishes.
http://florida300.com/live
Discuss the race at
http://www.thebeachcats.com/forums/viewforum/forum/9
2015 Florida 300 Presented by Waves Surf Shop
Florida 300 Presented by Waves Surf Shop
The Florida 300 is a four day open ocean endurance race sailed on high performance beach catamarans 16 to 22 feet long up the South Florida Atlantic coastline. The race is managed by Sail Series Promotions.
Next week will mark the second running of the Florida 300, starting off in Islamorada, Florida on May 13th and ultimately finishing after four grueling days of sailing at Cocoa Beach, Florida on May 16th. The last leg will start at Vero Beach and include additional competitors on the shorter 50 mile leg dubbed the "Dogfight" race .
The Florida 300 will include last years overall winner, Key Sailing with Kirk Newkirk and Thomas Whitehurst sailing a Nacra 20 Carbon, hoping to fend off a strong field of returnees and newcomers. The competitive fleet will include a variety of catamarans in three classes F18, Nacra 20, and open class. Each class will compete among themselves for line honors and for overall winners based on the Portsmouth handicap system and overall quickest time.
In addition to the classes competing for the overall trophy, an exciting addition to the fleet this year will be two examples of the new generation of foiling beachcats, the Lupe Tortilla Flying Phantom with John Tomko and Ian Billings on board and Papa's Pilar Nacra 20 FCS (Flight Control System) with John Casey and Colin Page. These two boats will form their own "Foiling Class" and compete with each other for line honors, but too little is known about the performance characteristics of these brand new designs to assign them a fair rating to compete for the overall win.
At the Cocoa Beach finish the award ceremony for the classes and overall winner of the Florida 300 will also include the presentation of the awards for the 2014 Endurance Series. To compete for Endurance Series honors, competitors compete in four catamaran distance races, The Florida 300, Gilligan's Run, Hiram's Haul, and Steeplechase. Each day of racing in the multi day events counts toward overall series points.
Fans will be able to "watch" the race from anywhere in the world thanks to live tracking provided by Kattack tracking software. Each boats position will be transmitting in minute increments. Check the www.Florida300.com to follow all the action live.
Besides the live tracking, Damon Linkous from TheBeachcats.com will be providing on-the-scene updates, interviews, pictures, and a daily summary right from the beach. Fans will be able to get in on the action and play commentator by joining the discussion in the forum at www.TheBeachcats.com/forum. Questions posted on the forums will be relayed to the competitors.
Of course all this wouldn't be possible without the contributions of the race sponsors who supply the time, merchandise, and cash money to make it all work. Along with this years title sponsor, Waves Surf Shop, the race appreciates the support of Key Sailing, Kattack, Islander Watersports, Zhik, and Shark Bait Beach Rentals.
For more information on the Florida 300, please check out www.Florida300.com and "Like" www.Facebook.com/Florida300. For more information on Sail Series Promotions, please check out www.SailSeries.com.
See you on the beach!
2014 Round the Island, Fort Walton Yacht Club
Ft Walton Beach, Florida, September 27, 2014
The 2014 Round The Island Regatta saw plenty of breeze and moderate carnage.
Friday night's skippers meeting saw a few course changes and a Coor's Light keg sponsored by Mike Kelley's Beach Liquors.
Saturday morning was overcast with a pretty solid NE wind.
Front beam failures seemed to be the trend early in the day (within ten minutes of the start), and a sheared rudder pin dropped the field to three boats by noon. The Nacra Olympic 17 team (Sam Ingham & Casey Gilmore) only flipped a few times to take a pretty decent lead over Randy Smyth's Sizzor coming past Key Sailing. The sail east through the narrows was a beat with slightly dying breeze and a ton of incoming current, but the Nacra 17 and the Sizzor finished before 6:30.
"You can't complain about going downwind for 50 miles. 50 miles downwind. Even if you have to go back upwind after."
--- Sam Ingham, winner of 2014 RTI
Those who couldn't sail due to assorted boat failures spent the day either volunteering, rescuing sailors, telling stories about past years, and helping plan next years regatta.
Congratulations to first time racers Sam Ingham and Casey Gilmore for winning the 33rd Round The Island regatta, and thanks to the sailors that pushed to have the regatta and all of those that helped, especially Mike Kelley, Steve Dowell, Rundell Curtis, and Doug/Gwen Klem.
Ashley Sukalski (FWYC)
RESCHEDULED: 2014 Round the Island, Fort Walton, FL
Message from the Fleet Captain of Fort Walton Yacht Club, Fort Walton Beach, FL -- Sept. 11, 2014
Due to some scheduling conflicts and lack of promotion, I have decided to postpone RTI to September 26-28. If you are even CONSIDERING sailing, please preregister. I will not be collecting any money until the skippers meeting.
$50 discount off $60 entry fee for registration before September 26, 2014!
Quick rundown of upcoming events (including the two rescheduled events):
- Sept 13th - Pier & Back (PBYC)
- Sept 26-28 - Round The Island (FWYC) Link to NOR
- Oct 2-3 - Leukemia Cup (OSYC/SRYC)
- Oct 25-26 - Shearwater Regatta (OSYC) and Wave NAs (PBYC)
- Nov 1-2 - GYA Multihull Regatta - PBYC - (see NOR for team/awards info but ALL boats invited)
Any questions, please email or text.
Thanks,
Ashley Sukalski
FWYC Fleet Capt 2014
fleetcaptain@fwyc.org
850-621-2017
2014 Slip to Ship Regatta Final Results
Here are the complete results for the 2014 Slip to Ship Regatta.
Key Sailing takes First Florida 300
The first running of the Florida 300 was successful with 12 boats taking the start and nine completing all four legs. There was a good mix of seasoned veterans and new talent combined with two new venues. Competition was close with seconds separating overall leaders Key Sailing from Marspeed going into the final leg.
2014 Slip To Ship Regatta Pictures
The 2014 edition of the Slip To Ship Regatta was held this past Memorial weekend at Ocean Springs Yacht Club and was a big success. With over 50 entries in the various classes it was a record attendance for the regatta since the club was completely destroyed by hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Complete detailed results will be available soon, in the meantime enjoy some pictures from the event in this years photo album here.
http://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures/?g2_itemId=108254
If you have pictures you are willing to share with the community please create your own albums inside the 2014 Slip To Ship album and upload your pictures. If you haven’t tried this before, there are instructions in the FAQ here. http://www.thebeachcats.com/faq/Photo%20Gallery/how-do-i-upload-photos/
Newkirk and Whitehurst Win Inaugural Florida 300
Florida 300 2014 Results
Team Key Sailing on a Nacra Carbon 20 drove to victory over the other 20 foot carbon boat in the race, Team Marspeed by 24 minutes after four days of racing.
Congratulations to all the racers for accepting the challenge and the bar is set for everyone who thought about entering, but did not.
Below are the complete result details starting with the overall, click on Read More to view day by day results.
Results are Final
Florida 300 OVERALL
|
Rank |
Boat |
HelmName |
CrewName |
Class |
Rating |
Elapsed |
Corrected |
|
1 |
Key Sailing |
Newkirk, Kirk |
Whitehurst, Thomas |
Open Class |
57.9 |
21:13:37 |
1:12:39:41 |
|
2 |
Marspeed |
Moss, Bret |
Casey, John |
Open Class |
58 |
21:37:27 |
1:13:16:59 |
|
3 |
Waveyhaven |
Tomeo, Charles |
Dowd, Mike |
F18 |
62.4 |
23:52:41 |
1:14:15:58 |
|
4 |
Royal Yellow |
Sonnenklar, Jay |
Lohmeyer, Steve |
N20 |
59.3 |
22:51:09 |
1:14:32:14 |
|
5 |
SolarWind |
Ingram, Dave |
Ingram, Bob |
F18 |
62.4 |
1:0:32:01 |
1:15:19:00 |
|
6 |
Team Cat Fever |
Hart, Todd |
Tebo, Dalton |
F-18 |
62.4 |
1:0:42:34 |
1:15:35:54 |
|
7 |
Turtle Mojo |
Macdonald, Dick |
Herendeen, Mark |
F18 |
62.4 |
1:1:09:22 |
1:16:18:51 |
|
8 |
Royal Orange |
Page, Colin |
Green, Evan |
N20 |
59.3 |
1:0:15:19 |
1:16:54:10 |
|
9 |
SMS Racing |
Steiger, H.M. |
Sawyer, Chris |
N20 |
59.3 |
1:1:26:48 |
1:18:54:42 |
|
10 |
Cat In The Hat |
Ferber, Larry |
Smith, Jackson |
N20 |
59.3 |
1:2:53:34 |
1:21:21:01 |
|
11 |
Knot 2 Slow |
Norvell, David |
Jackson, Dustin |
F18 |
62.4 |
DNF |
|
|
11 |
Royal White |
Greene, Terry |
Runge, Chris |
N20 |
59.3 |
DNF |
Set Up Day for the Inaugural Florida 300
Photo Credit: Mike Shappell (TMS 20)
Registration for the Florida 300 Endurance Catamaran Race is complete and 12 boats will take the start of the inaugural event. The start is at the Islander Resort, mile marker 82.1, Overseas Highway, Islamorada, FL. tomorrow at 10:00 am.
Florida 300 May 19-May 22
The Race will be a distance race, stopping each night at a different location encompassing a distance of approximately 300 Statute miles. There will be 4 legs to the race. The overnight locations are planned and expected to be:
May 18, 2014 - Arrive and setup, Islander Resort, mm82.1, Overseas Highway, Islamorada, FL.
Race Day 1, May 19 – Islamorada, FL to Key Biscayne;
Race Day 2, May 20 – Key Biscayne to Singer Island;
Race Day 3, May 21 – Singer Island to Vero Beach, FL;
Race Day 4, May 22 – Vero Beach FL to Cocoa Beach, FL .
These are currently expected stopping locations which may change slightly based upon detailed planning currently in work. (Negotiations on going with Hotels and Cities)
If this goes well, we are certainly further considering distances 500-1000 starting next year, BUT WE MUST GET A FIRST RACE OFF THE GROUND AND SUCCESSFUL AND THIS MEANS YOU SAILING WITH US!!!!!
The last segment (Vero Beach to Cocoa Beach) will have a separate start for boats with Hobie 16 or faster portsmouth rating. Details to be published soon.
The NOR and Registration form can be found on: www.Florida300.com
Warren Green
Chuck Bargeron
Dennis Green
Craig Van Eaton
Larry Ferber
May 18, 2014 - Arrive and setup, Islander Resort, mm82.1, Overseas Highway, Islamorada, FL.
Race Day 1, May 19 – Islamorada, FL to Key Biscayne;
Race Day 2, May 20 – Key Biscayne to Singer Island;
Race Day 3, May 21 – Singer Island to Vero Beach, FL;
Race Day 4, May 22 – Vero Beach FL to Cocoa Beach, FL .
These are currently expected stopping locations which may change slightly based upon detailed planning currently in work. (Negotiations on going with Hotels and Cities)
If this goes well, we are certainly further considering distances 500-1000 starting next year, BUT WE MUST GET A FIRST RACE OFF THE GROUND AND SUCCESSFUL AND THIS MEANS YOU SAILING WITH US!!!!!
The last segment (Vero Beach to Cocoa Beach) will have a separate start for boats with Hobie 16 or faster portsmouth rating. Details to be published soon.
The NOR and Registration form can be found on: www.Florida300.com
Warren Green
Chuck Bargeron
Dennis Green
Craig Van Eaton
Larry Ferber
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