I was last place in my first Tybee. Our goal was to finish. We wiped out...crashed...broke...limped 60 miles...fixed...lost sight of land...sailed the fastest I've ever ever gone before...finished dead last by hours....partied like an animal.

Three years later...cool calm collective. Prepared. Focused on consistency. Finished 3rd.

Your first year, your goal should be to simply finish in one piece. It's really not that difficult of a race - but it takes a little while to understand how you need to prepare the boat and how to prepare your gear to be comfortable - how to keep lines from chafing, what rigging to replace, what spares to have, how to pack food/water and be comfortable / accessible etc. It took me until last year when I discovered (Frank's idea) that cutting down an old thick (too large for me) wetsuit leaving the thighs, butt, and belly/back made the trap harness INCREDIBLY more comfortable.

On your 3rd year, the legs don't feel as long anymore. You lose that "Christ! are we there yet!?" feeling. Your mindset becomes a little more relaxed and less worried about when the leg will end....because it will eventually end and there's no point in fretting about it. It becomes more about doing a job, passing the guy in front of you and keeping the guy behind you at bay. The job ends when you slide onto the sand at the next checkpoint and your ground crew awaits with a couple of cold beverages and a sandwich and you have a while to relive the day and tell stories with your competition.

I would love to do this race but can't race what I own. Not going to charter a boat I have no knowledge of. Not going to buy a boat for one or two races a year that require it. I could barely get the money together to campaign the boat I currently own, forget buying spare parts for a boat that I would have to charter. This race could be way bigger and better promoted for sure but limiting the entries to I-20's or F18's just isn't cutting it. I tried twice to enter, will not attempt it again.

What boat are you sailing that Tybee forbids? The GT has an open class and it works very well for the odball boats (figure of speech).

All of the sailors that you all feel are unbeatable, all started from the back of the pack and watched many sterns. My first race I was DEAD LAST! Two years later I lucked out and won the NAs, thanks to a lot of advice from seasoned sailors.
And that is what I have seen in cat sailing ever since I have been in it. Not so in Lasers and Motorcross.
Rick

Rick,

I believe the focus was on point to point racing up the east coast. You were there when Carlton and the Hobie 16 posse went non - stop to VA with support teams and three crewmembers - very limited 'resort' accomodations.

You were right on with the race track "buoy" racing concept that - one day it will all come together; and that is usually by surprise in some major event. RE: Taylor and Matthew.

Now, what can we do to present the history of east coast multihull sailing to the USSA for their sailing museum and historic collection?

I remember seeing your early books at the Whitehurst Hobie dealership. I admired the conciseness/clarity of content and formatting.

What are we prepared to do now in honor of Dick Blanchard and Darline Hobock? I am sure Matt can handle the HCA.

Kind Regards,
Bert