it’s all about having
fun, but ~ alas ~ fun comes in different flavours
we organize some great chances to cruise together inshore & there’s room for ‘newbies’ & old salts alike
true, any time a couple boats head in the same direction, a bit of competition turns on, but there’s no official flavour of racing in these events ~ ~ we call these adventures
FLOTILLAS
as the competition comes more front & centre, we have a combination race & flotilla known as a
RALLY ~ two very substantial rallies that people may know about from our region (but not in our region) are the
BAJA HA HA from SAN DIEGO to CABO SAN LUCAS, held each fall for the last 20 years, & the ARC or
ATLANTIC RALLY FOR CRUISERS - heading across the ATLANTIC from LAS PALMAS to ST LUCIA
a little known fact is one of our fleet boats was in the ARC a few years back on its way to join our BC fleet
the HAHA also mentions that power boats are welcome participants
rallies provide flotilla camaradarie & safety with a little friendly competition to boot ~ look for some in BC including our
ROUND VANCOUVER ISLAND RALLY in JUNE
then, at some point, a few people lose their minds completely & make their foray into the world of
RACING & REGATTAS
sailboat RACING is really where the line "SLOWLY GOING NOWHERE AT GREAT EXPENSE" really comes into its own
premium sails can cost thousands, be competitive at high levels for times measured in hours & you need an "inventory" of them
organizing crew & the like becomes a lot like another job, but in the end, the satisfaction of getting a boat around a course as a team ~ working to squeeze another 1/10th of a knot out of the boat is all worth it
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for one of the legendary regattas in our region (also known as "adult day camp") check out
WHIDBEY ISLAND RACE WEEK
ALAS ~ it need not be so ~ our low key FRIDAY NIGHT RACING & some of our new TEAM events are INCLUDED for members, who also enjoy unlimited sailing through the
JIB SET sailing club for $149/month
that's right, when those moderately insane people on big boats talk about their $4,000 spinnaker, realize that that could be over TWO YEARS boat access with EVERYBODY'S SAILING CLUB - the JIB SET
TWO YEARS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE SAIL (that is competitive part of the inventory for less than that)? you can see how certain people can call the insanity