I’ll chime in on this thread. I’m one of the guys that has attended SF in the past, but has unfortunately not attended any regattas in the past 2-3 years. I miss it though, and I am really wanting to get involved again. I sailed a pieced together H16, but the hulls are from 86’ (coleman year boat). I also always sailed solo, so I was typically in the open classes. I’m also not class legal, but have never been contested on that. I did more chasing than leading in most of the races I was in.

I really enjoyed SF and I was sad to see that it isn’t going to be held this year. SF was my first “real” regatta, and I felt very welcomed as a newbie. People were very helpful to me both on and off the water. As others have said, it is by far one of the best put together regattas I had ever attended in the few years that I was relatively active. The race committee always did a great job, the sponsors were great, and it was always great to hang out with such a large group of sailors.

As great as Spring Fever is, it was a regatta that I increasingly ended up on the fence about. The biggest reason that would keep me home was travel cost vs. possible racing conditions. From where I live in Fayetteville, NC it’s about 300 miles away. I realize others drive significantly further. In addition, the chance of there actually being wind there always seemed like a crapshoot. Of the days I have been at SF to race, I think I may have flown a hull once. I know of others that have also been on the fence in the past due to the wind issue. This may not be as big an issue for the A-cats and spin boats, but for the older non-spin/non-carbon fiber boats it can be. Both of these are out of the hands of the organizers though. The actual cost of the regatta was never an issue. For the entry fee, you get every penny worth in terms of venue and entertainment/food/drinks/seminars/etc. For me though, despite the venue and organized nature of SF, it made more sense to skip it and save up for other regattas that are closer with more predictable conditions. I’m not trying to diss SF in anyway, but for me, honestly, I’ve typically had more fun sailing in other regattas closer to the beach simply because there was wind.

I know the general concern here is a lack of attendance overall. I agree with most people that this is a very complicated issue. For me, my lack of attendance has been part life commitments, part monetary difficulty. There has been a lot going on since my last regatta, (Ya Gotta Regatta in Myrtle Beach) I’ve moved three times, gotten married (our second date was Duck Cup btw, I couldn’t believe she agreed to go), changed my position at work, and had a slew of other family/friend commitments in between. I also have a transom repair hanging over my head due to my lack of repair knowledge that has kept me off the water, but that is a whole other issue. In some cases it has been a “this or the other” kind of problem. Dropping anywhere from 2-5 hundred dollars for a regatta weekend just hasn’t been terribly feasible lately. Sailing, recreational or competitive, is an inherently expensive sport. Even with a cheap boat like the 16, there is still the constant flow of money that goes into it to make upgrades, stay race-ready, and travel to sailing locations. I think this monetary problem has been exacerbated by the rapid advancement of catamarans in general. I would not be able to afford to buy a used f-18, a-cat, n-20, etc. let alone keep it race ready to a point to be competitive. So, I do think there could be a bit of a boat advancement issue involved as well. Why continue to go to regattas when there may or may not be boats to race against, knowing you can’t afford to upgrade to what everyone else is sailing, let alone keep up with all the technological advancements? That being said, I would like to reiterate that I have never felt unwelcome at a regatta and I don’t mind sailing Portsmouth against a mix-matched class. The majority of regattas I have attended have made every effort to make everyone welcome, and people like Jake and Todd (people passionate about growing the sport of sailing), to name a few, were one of the main reasons that I always felt welcome.

So, this is a long post without any real answers. But, I do think finances and boat advancement could have something to do with the lack of attendance at regattas and more specifically a continued stream of new sailors interested in racing. For what it’s worth I do plan to get back onto the water this year now that life seems a little more stable. I hadn’t planned to do SF, but I am very much considering making a solid effort to attend: Duck Cup, The Outback Cup, The Governor’s Cup, The Version Distance Race in VA Beach, and Indian Summer at Lake Wacamaw (which I’d like a little more info on)