If preparations are made and the winds don't show, then what? Rum is boring.

Black tie croquet.

http://www.cmcs-sail.org/ These folks have a raft up, picnic, and black tie croquet party every year. The black tie is made from garbage bags and the accoutrements are about what you would expect. Sometimes a coconut gets substituted for a ball...

If one buys a nearby house, can he have his boat at the club you mentioned or is the club a kibutz? How much for a house nearby?

Sacrilege !!!!!!!!!!!!!

We set the rally at the begining of summer, when winds are reasonably predictable, and have never yet had to cancel because of weather. In fact, we have had more trouble with strong winds than no wind...
Luiz, are you planning on coming to Israel? The club is open to all cats for a fee. There are also wind surfing, kiting and kayaking clubs, as well as a dinghy racing club which consistently puts out world class sailors.
House prices vary, of course, but several hundred thousand $ is normal

You're doing it wrong.

No sh!t. If you need lessons we can help. We are here to help you help yourself.

Back on topic.

One year a group sailed to a campground, drank all night (Rum). They left at noon the next day to return to the start.

Another time we had three cats go from Muskegon to Ludington on Lake Michigan. Made it to Silver Lake before the wind and waves flipped one guy, he said enough. Rule was, one person stops, the others stop and the sailing is done, for reasons of safety. We want to do that again. The biggest problem is ground crew for most people.

We used to start in Ft. Liquordale and finish in Va. beach. That was a fun "rally".

I need space, as most people in America (the continent). Claustrophoby hits hard when opposing borders of a country are visible from the same point.

I always check prices everywhere, one never knows where will be the best place to live in the future. Looks like housing and land prices did not raise that much, I expected higher prices by the sea. Is it due to the kibutz or what?

Fair winds,
Luiz

my best memories are of the Hobie lifestyle. No racing, family, beach, grills and coolers. Sailing was fun, not the only reason to be there.

Eric... I will bet a nickle that those days were not scheduled, planned or organized. Each day you dropped in the party was a bit different. The once popular sailing beach (Sandy Point on the Chesapeake) is still open but it is a rare event to see a recreational sailor trailer in and go sailing... much less the casual sailing scene of the past.

Today... it is all about schedules. Would you elevate a beach party day on you calender and/ or replace a race day? Would you choose to organize a beach party or a race day?

IME, the sailors that do the organizing, coordinating and fleet building are hard core racers. These folks (me for one have been there done that) would not trade a race day for a beach party (much less organize one). Moreover, all of the rec sailors in my club on Hobie Getaways or old Hobies and Prindles are family oriented and they would not schedule a beach party over a family day either.

What venues (public beaches or even private clubs) still exist where casual beach party... drop in for some recreational sailing is the general order on a weekend in season???

Back in the day... Notable places for a casual beach party sailing scene were
Barn Island in Connecticut
Heckshir State Park on Long Island
The Jersey Shore Communities. (boats on the ocean beach)
Sandy Point State Park Maryland
Dunedin Causeway in Florida

Do they still exist... what's the scene like this past season?

The best beaches in FL have come under scrutiny of the local town fathers, who have seen beaches and boats of all types as a money a making opportunity, by tacking on boat registration fees, parking fees, etc. and not allowing sailboats or jet ski's or kites or windsurfers into what is left of the public beaches. You have the 'liability issues' too, what happens if a cat runs over a kid in the water?

The overdevelopment (think huge Condo's instead of mom'n pop motels) of the beaches caused a lot of good public beaches to go private as well, which reduced the amount of launch sites. It's tough to find a place on a 'public' beach to park a trailer, set up and launch, without getting a ticket for...something.

Our community has a sailing center. It costs about $400 a year for the entire family and they have over 100 boats, paddle-boards and kayaks to choose from, along with "fun" races once a month and cookouts on race day. It also has a strong youth team. They also have cheep, mast up, storage.

Barely 20% of the people who are at the center actually get out on the water. Most seem to like to hang out on the verandah, chat and watch the boats from shore (especially this time of year.) I guess this is the kind of thing Eric is reminiscing about?

Dan, where is Palm Harbor, is it near Stuart? Or is that Palm Bay?

Palm Bay is north of Sebastian on the Atlantic Side.

So...where is Palm Harbor? Too damn many Palm...this and Palm that, in Florida!

Just like too many Peachtree's in Atlanta!

Palm Harbor is just outside of Dunedin.

Are you guys telling me that Dunedin has gone the way of Hobie Beach in Miami?

The sailing center is in Clearwater. http://clearwatercommunitysailing.org/

Lately, we have had Vipers in the water, and one Capricorn. The center has a Hobie Tiger for members as well.