Whose Money do you want to give away?

Are you talking about awarding a sponsor’s prize money to a mixed fleet of pro’s and amateurs?

Are you talking about a Pro grand prix series… aka the Volvo 40’s?

Are you talking about cash prizes raised by the entry fee’s of the mixed fleet of pro’s and amateurs and the regatta management chose to not purchase trophies and gave cash instead?

Are you talking about large cash prizes raised by charging a steep entry fee and raised from a mixed fleet of pro’s and amateurs? (Similar to the Poker Tournament that are so popular these days)

These are events that have run in the past with cash prizes.

The F18HT class had one successful regatta in Virginia Beach about 4 years ago awarding significant cash to 5 deep.

The Seacrets Cup in Ocean City MD awarded about a 1000 bucks in cash plus silverware for three years before they realized that the local sailors who they wanted to support were not served by this kind of event. It morphed to a race that required a skipper and a kid racing on a 16 during the week.

The Volvo 40’s hit the USA in about two weeks.

The New England 100 awarded cash prizes from the entry fee’s in one of it’s last runs.

As far as I know, nobody has organized an event like a poker tourney with steep entry fee’s which award a significant cash prize to the winner.


My take home message from running or attending some of these events is that the CASH PRIZE is not sustainable. All of these events have not succeded long term.

Racing for the pickle dish... is sustainable!

Promoters run events with cash prizes.... Clubs run events with pickle dishes...

I personally choose to spend my time working with clubs which award the pickle dish....

Some of those pickle dishes are really OLD and mean quite a lot in the end.

Check out this site: NYC photo's