Brisk winds and blue skies marked the opening of the Columbus Day Regatta on Biscayne Bay. It drew more than 500 race participants and boats in 22 classes.
Race officials predict that the total of boats sailing the bay and anchoring at Sands and Elliot Keys — including participants and the usual spectator boats — could reach 1,500 to 2,00. The regatta has two starts — the first was at 9 a.m. Saturday, the second today. The yachts left from Dinner Key Channel on Saturday, raced up the bay to a designated finish near East Featherbank Channel, then anchored overnight at Elliot Key. Racers today will head back up the bay.
Regatta chairman Dugan Patchett described the race as family-oriented.
“The majority of people who enter this race are old-timers who have done this before,” he said. “Every year there’s a turnover, though, and we get a lot of new people. People bring their entire families, down to the little kids.”
Many participants, however, are “completely and utterly” involved in the race and are very serious about doing just the race, Patchett said. “But anyone can enter. It’s not just for racers. It used to be that you could only race if you were a member of a yacht club, then (regatta officals) started to open it up to people who were not members of a yacht club, so it was not an elitist group. We’ve continued that tradition.”
Start and finish lines in the regatta, open to all single and multi-hull cruising yachts, are designated by an orange flag on the race committee boat and an orange inflatable mark. Each boat is assigned a number, which must be used for identification when crossing the finish line. Race officials are adamant on this point, insisting that “Numbers must be held up continously as you approach, as you cross and are well clear of the finish area and/or are acknowledged by the committee.”
Billed as the largest of its kind, the regatta began in 1954, with 25 boats.
Trophy presentations will be Saturday at the Coral Reef Yacht Club in Miami.
