Keep in mind the name of the race: Key Largo Steeplechase. That includes all things in the way of completing the course.
There is not always mud flats that shallow at Anne's Beach, but it was extremely low tide this year. Not much I can do about it except wait for more Global Warming so that the flats will be 10' deep. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
I did walk the outer mark out quite a ways and noted that the water never got any deeper. So, there it was.
Interestingly, most of the sailors did a fine job of making the finish quickly, without slogging through the mud. The object is to sail across the line and it can and could be done, and was done by most of the fleet.
As Jake said, your best bet is to be sure and overstand so you are reaching to the line.
As a war story, I remember sailing the race with my new Mystere 6.0. All the way down Hawk Channel in deep water the rudders kept kicking up. It was driving me nuts.
Then when we hit the flats they got stuck down. We had to drag the boat on its side to the finish.
My son Dave sailed a Mystere in the Worrell and now calls the design "Mis-Steer."
My other great experience was with a G-Force. Thinking it would be nice to not have to worry about boards, I bravely went at it. Only to discover that the boat is very, very deep without the boards. Again, we had to drag the boat across the mud.
I used to have a motocross track in Ohio. A couple of riders asked me to cut down the size of one of the jumps.., they said they had to slow down for it to be safe..!
Duh! This is Motocross, dumby.
Very similar.
Rick