Rick's Place, regatta headquarters, can accommodate probably 20 boats besides the ones that are already on the premises. Launch fee is $20 for the weekend if you are not staying here. Space here is on a first-come basis, so there probably won't be room here if you arrive on Saturday morning.
The biggest launch area is Rowell's Marina, a short walk north of Rick's Place. They have enough space to handle ALL the boats and ALL the trailers, but you have to launch on their ramp, so bring wheels if you have them. Launch fee there is $7 a day -- pay in advance at their office for the number of days you plan to be there. Their gate is open 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., so try to plan accordingly. At least it is a secure, safe facility for leaving your boat and trailer overnight.
In regard to Rowell's, please be on your best behavior with them, because we all NEED this facility to be available for future events. They have had bad experiences with cat sailors from the Miami-Key Largo Race who pull out at their place and then drive right past the office without paying. The last regatta we had with people launching there was the Key Largo Steeplechase, and the manager said the sailors were just wonderful -- so let's keep that trend going. (The owners had to stay until 8 p.m. on Sunday for the sailors to leave from the Steeplechase, so maybe they will be flexible this time, too, on the gate closing.)
Neptune's Hideaway Motel, just south of Rick's Place, has room for maybe 7 or 8 boats on their little beach, but you will have to launch at Rowell's and sail your boat over to Neptune's. That, of course, is only available to people who are staying at Neptune's.
Gilbert's Motel over by the Jewfish Creek Bridge is probably the best option for a place to stay and also keep your boat there. They have a nice-sized beach and also good ramp launching and big parking lot for boats and trailers. Sailing distance to the race course will be about the same as from Rick's Place or Rowell's.
As far as the Caribbean Club, we are just considering it as not an option this year because of the current lawsuits resulting from injuries to employees of Island Style Watersports (on the Caribbean Club property) when a mast had some sort of confrontation with a power line. If you are going to stay at Neptune's and just launch your boat at the Caribbean Club, maybe you could get away with that, and then you would just be leaving your trailer there until you pull out. Their in-and-out launch fee is $10 -- pay the bartender. But if you try that, be sure to use only the concrete ramp over by the Caribbean Club to launch -- and don't block the launching area while you are rigging, because lots of powerboats launch there.
Logistically, this all may sound a little complicated, but it is better than the Citrus Sailfest used to be in Sanford, FL.
That's all I can think of right now. If I have other information to add, I will put it in this thread. If you have any questions, please post on this thread or e-mail me, [email]
[email protected].[/email]
And here is a commercial plug: If anybody needs accommodations, I still have a two-bedroom apartment available at Rick's Place.
