Getting man and machine to support the sailors is the biggest hurdle for organizing regattas in our area. We spend $500 per regatta for fuel, mileage, boat rental, etc. for committee boats and chase boats at our fleet's two biggest regattas (we sponsor three, of the seven events in our Division). Travel time ranges from 45 min. to eight hours for Hobie Div. 5 events. All of them offer camping, which almost everyone does, with about half in motorhomes or hard-sided campers. This aspect of regattas is at least half the fun of these events. Camping on the beach, tinkering with your boat, drinking barley juice and playing with the kids is what makes catamaran sailing so unique.

A relatively new club that is catamaran friendly has established itself in our area. Though the lake they are on is smallish for two hulls, it gives me a chance to race on Wed. evenings and almost every weekend. This year, including Wed. nights, I'll hopefully get in 12 events plus nationals or about 20 race days. Once my son is a little older, I suspect we'll travel to many more events, unless he decides (God forbid) that one of the mainstream sports is to his liking.