Personally, I don't like doing 'point to point' distance races because you need ground crew to move your vehicle/beach wheels to the finish line. If we had a good circular type distance race I would be much more inclined to show up.
The Mug race is good because they'll give you a free bus ride back to the start area after you drop your vehicle at the finish, still no help with the becach wheels though, that and there's never any wind for the Mug race.
I agree with you Timbo, logistics have to be simple to make it attractive from a financial, time, and enjoyment perspective.
Hiram's fits the bill in all respects. Distance is comfortable yet challenging (about 40 km +/- each day), relatively easy logistics (down and back to the same spot), and nice accommodations. We'll forget that little Halloween party incident for the sake of keeping it civil here...
Macho has potential in terms of great venue, but the logistcs are difficult
KL Steeplechase is a great venue, a bit more challenging distance, the logistics are "tolerable", but it's geographically undesirable for many snowbirds that close to the holidays.
Miami-key largo is nice but logistics are a nightmare. And you can get your face eaten off by meth-heads.
RTI pensacola is quite a challenging distance/course, but everything else is top notch
Rudder Club Mug Race is second only to Hiram's in my book as far as venue (nice), course (moderate challenge), logistics (great), geography (good location for out-of-towners) and diversity (great selection of keel, sport, canoe, multi, etc)
