Nov 15-18, 2002

Here is a Flyer and NOR

OVERVIEW:

Nov 14 -- Thursday afternoon from 1800 to 2000 will be a Beer/Wine & Cheese Tasting Party and Registration.
Nov 15 -- Friday Morning from 0800 to 1000 will be Final Registration and Measuring.
Skipper's Meeting at 1100. There will be the first Class Flag at 1200 with back-to-back races.
There will be a Beer Party at 1700 after the races daily and Awards Dinner Party on Monday Night..
On following days the first Class Flag will be at 1030 with back-to-back races.
Trophies will follow the races Monday ASAP.

NOTICE: We need you to pre-register online. You can pay the fee upon arrival. Click Here to Register OnLine

THE REGATTA HEADQUARTERS:
Rick's Place Motel and Sailing Resort is the regatta headquarters. Since some of you will NOT be staying at Rick's Place but will be spending a lot of time here, I just want you to know that we do have two bathrooms available for you to use at the headquarters. We will have a big tent here. We also have a jacuzzi and pool table in case you have idle time.

HOW TO FIND US:
Rick's Place is located right on U.S. 1 (which is called Overseas Highway down here). We are at mile marker 104.3, which is also 104300 Overseas Highway. Mile marker 104.3 means we are 104.3 miles north of Key West, which is where U.S. 1 starts. So as you are coming south from Miami, the mile marker numbers on U.S. 1 keep getting lower.
We are an hour south of the Miami airport. We are on the Florida Bay side, which is the right-hand side as you come south from Miami.
Take the Florida Turnpike south to where it terminates and merges into U.S. 1 at Florida City. Just stay on U.S. 1 and watch the descending mile markers as you head south. After crossing about 18 miles of Everglades, you will come to the Jewfish Creek Bridge (a lift bridge with a motel on the near side and a condo on the other side). When you cross that bridge, you will be on the island of Key Largo and about 3 1/2 miles from Rick's Place. You will pass a Winn-Dixie supermarket on your right and then go through a school zone. When you pass the "End School Zone" sign, you will be at Rowell's Marina. Just up ahead is a four-story condo complex. We are the very first driveway past that condominium.
The other three motels are just past us.
(I'm very serious about taking the Florida Turnpike. If you are driving down I-95, you want to get over to the turnpike preferably before you get to Fort Lauderdale. We always switch over to the turnpike at Fort Pierce or Jupiter, where they are only a half mile apart. This will keep you out of most of the traffic in Dade and Broward Counties. And I-95 is bad news -- not only is the traffic really awful, it ends in Miami and dumps you onto U.S. 1 in downtown, meaning you have to drive for many miles in city traffic with endless traffic lights.)

WHERE THE BOATS WILL BE LAUNCHED AND KEPT DURING THE REGATTA:
We should be able to "comfortably" accommodate most of the boats here at Rick's Place. If you are staying at Neptunes and want to keep your boat on their beach, you may launch here initially and keep your boat there, then after the regatta pull it out again at Rick's Place.
If we are out of room, I am recommending you might want to stay at Neptune's Hideaway, which has a small beach area, but it looks like it can accommodate 8 or 10 boats, first come first get, when they are pulled up to fill the entire sandy area. But even if you stay at Neptune's and keep your boat there, you will still have to launch originally either here at Rick's Place, because there is no way to get it from land to beach at Neptune's and no place to store trailers there.

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR TRAILERS IF YOU ARE BRINGING BOATS:
We have plenty of room in the front yard if everyone puts them in there neatly and nests them when possible.

NOTICE: We need you to pre-register online. You can pay the fee upon arrival. Click Here to Register OnLine

ACCOMMODATIONS:
We only have five rooms available at Rick's Place (305-451-3287), which is the regatta headquarters, so the majority of the sailors will be staying at one of the neighboring motels.
Amoray is immediately next door, right on the other side of our fence, only 30 feet away.
Kelly's is right next to them, and they sort of adjoin with Amoray, so you can walk through Amoray's property from Kelly's to here. Those two motels share a swimming pool, too.
Just to the south side of Kelly's Motel is Hobo's Restaurant, and just past Hobo's is Neptune's Hideaway Motel, so it is still a very very short walk from Rick's Place. (It took us three minutes to make the walk at a slowish pace. Island Style Watersports is only a minute or two farther.)
Also, as I mentioned above, Neptune's has a small beach of its own that can probably accommodate 10-11 boats.
Rick's Place 305-451-3287
Amoray, 305-451-3595
Kelly's, 305-451-1622
Neptune's, 305-451-0357

CAMPING LOCATIONS:
America Outdoors (7 miles away) 852-8054
Calusa Camp Resort (2-miles, but not sure if they are still open) 451.0232
Campers Cove (2 miles)451-0561
Florida Keys RV Resort (2 miles) 451-6090
Key Largo Campground (2.5 miles) 451-1431
Kings Kampground (.5 miles on the water) 451-0010
Largo Park (2.5 miles) ?? 451-2911
Pennekamp State Park (has camping, but I can't find a tel. no.)

ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO GET HERE IF YOU ARE FLYING AND DON'T WANT TO RENT A CAR:
If you are flying into Miami International Airport (which is about an hour from us) and are not renting a car, there are three possible transports:
*Airporter: They pick up three times a day at the airport. Phone number is 305-852-3413 for reservations and pick-up information.
*Upper Keys Transportation: They pick up any time, by reservation, and will also pick up at Fort Lauderdale Airport. Phone is 305-453-0100.
*Greyhound -- they leave the Miami Airport to the Keys four times a day. For schedule and reservations, call 1-800-231-2222.

THE SAILING AREA:
We will be sailing on Blackwater Sound, which is a subsection of Florida Bay, which is a subsection of the Gulf of Mexico. Blackwater Sound is a beautiful body of sailing water. It is in the shape of a square, 3 miles each way, giving nine square miles of unobstructed water about 6-8 feet in depth throughout and with no reefs, sandbars or rocks to worry about.

WEATHER CONDITIONS:
Air temperature usually is in the 80's in the daytime and around 70 at night. Water temperature should be in the mid 70's. Wind is normally 10-15 out of the eastern quadrant. If we get a cold front, the air temperature could be as much as 10-15 degrees colder, and the wind would blow out of the west as much as 10 mph stronger than the norm.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING (AND DO) FOR YOUR BODY:
Wetsuit and/or drysuit and/or spray suit. We don't really expect any serious cold fronts that early in the season, but you never know. The weather has been weird ever since they invented the bow and arrow.
Bring a water bottle and a piece of shock cord or something to attach it to the tramp. You are going to be out there for a lot of races, so personally I would take a gallon jug of water like I get at the local supermarket.
A little toolkit is always nice to have on the boat -- small vice grip (or pliers), a Swiss Army knife that has both types of screwdrivers on it, extra ring pins and shackles, small pieces of line for jury-rigging.

WHAT YOU WILL GET FOR YOUR ENTRY FEE:
* T-shirt for all competitors, both skipper and crew
* 7-function pocket knife tool
* Beer/Wine/Cheese tasting Welcome Party
* Beer & Soft drinks after sailing each day
* Dinner Awards Party
* LOTS of racing. In two days
* Entry Fee is: $235

NOTICE: We need you to pre-register online. You can pay the fee upon arrival. Click Here to Register OnLine
:

TROPHIES:
5 places deep for the F18HT North Americans
3 places deep for the F16HP Nationals

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Mary Wells or Rick White
PO Box 2060
Key Largo, FL 33037
tel 305-451-3287
fax 305-453-0255
email rick@catsailor.com

NOTICE: We need you to pre-register online. You can pay the fee upon arrival. Click Here to Register OnLine