I have bad eyes and didn't have too much trouble seeing A mark from about 1/3 of the way up the course (even with Bailey driving) which gave us plenty of time and opportunty to tack short on the right and overstand on the left

The gates and finish marks all being the same relative size (coming downhill) and color did make for the occasional double take when trying to bang the corners, but that's easily fixed by using orange for the gate and yellow for the line.

It was pretty flat / protected water, so I don't know if those giant offshore tetrahedrons are necessary, especially if they would drag their anchor in higher winds.

Now, if my prescription lenses were overboard, I would not have been able to see the marks. But I would have had trouble seeing land from there as well...

Compass headings? Jeeze, do you expect us to be all "nautical" and stuff? Can't you just paint white lines and arrows along the bottom for me?

If nothing changed from this event to next year, I'd still have a great time. But I'm not there for the pickle dishes (or the Sasquatch/Mankini episode). It's a fun event with plenty of people I like to visit with. That it's in the tropics during the dead of winter makes it that much more enjoyable.

To keep Rick and the organizers from going broke, I'd be in favor of the pre-register/pre-pay thing with a late fee strapped to on-site registrations.

I mean, for people who spend thousands on this hobby (boat, fuel/lodging, etc) $50 for a 3 day regatta in the Keys ain't bad.

Even if I didn't end up sailing it, it would be a 'donation' to a good cause (next year's event) right?