It was all my fault for selling Rick' Place Motel in the Keys.., another sailing venue lost. I never dreamed it would be so tough after that.

So, we are left with the Caribbean Club (who now has a barbed wire fence [well not quite that bad] around the beach), and Gilberts, where you never know from year to year what they are going to do, or how they are going act, or how much they are going to charge.

Since the new bridge over Jewfish Creek, myself and many others have pondered how we could utilize that opening to make a better race.., and we have yet to figure out a good way.

However, yesterday after looking at the improvements at the Islander, it would be awesome to launch from there, knowing that every year we would be playing with the same ground rules, knowing we could keep and rig our boat there, keep the trailer there, and not have some jerk hounding you about where you put your trailer, are you drinking your own beer or ours, etc.

The only way I can figure this is to start and finish at the Islander, with a non-stop trip. Going the same direction would allow for a spin run to Channel Five, and a beat/close reach up the IntraCoastal Waterway, and a spin run finish.

Most of the finish times have been under 8 hours, or around that. If it was really light air, we could shorten course before Jewfish Creek, or even at Card Sound Bridge (there is a place to pull out just to the north and east of the bridge.

The race would be easier to run from one position, despite some of the slower boats coming in late at night.

The thought occurred to me when I considered a lot of you love the Round the Island Race at Ft Walton Beach, and many of you are Worrell, Tybee and Great Texas folks.

Would it work for this year.., may only require you to cancel at Gilberts.

Please toss in your ideas and thoughts. And let anyone else you know that is interested to jump in.
Thanks,
Rick

I remember finishing the first day, multiple times in the glow of the hazard lights. Doing it all in one day would be very condition specific, which would, most likely,turn alot of people off due to the travel and time commitments to do the race. Plus it wouldn't really be the Steeplechase that you guys originally started.
Maybe try running that format as a new race in addition to the Steeplechase and see how it goes and go from there.

p.s. It kills me to see Rowells lot going to waste, every time I'm down there.

I am totally with you on Rowells. What a great place for so many venues.

Might be a good idea to try the new format in the spring sometime after Easter when room prices are back down.

You always come through for me, Tawd.
Rick

If you run out of the Islander, could we stop the end of the first day at the Upper Keys Sailing Club? that would be a split about equal to where we're used to.

Actually, that would be a really nice run. It would be nice to start and finish at the Islander with all that space.

Rick, what are the chances this might be possible for this year?

I also agree with Tawd...having it one day is definitely do-able but it just wouldn't be the same. It feels like I get more return for my trouble with a two day sail.

I would also like to vote for an upwind start if the predominant NE breeze is in place off the Islander...set a line square with the breeze into a short weather leg with a mark to be rounded before popping kites and heading south.

It's doable if the conditions are right. It's by no means guaranteed, more like the opposite. I'd say out of the 10 or so Steeplechases that I've done, the full race in one day would have been doable on maybe a third of them.Once you go through the creek back to the ocean you're pretty much committed, there are a few pullout spots but not many, and in the dark would be rough finding one.
I'm not familiar with the upper Keys sailing club, but if they have the room and a landing spot that sounds like it could be cool.

Only 18 miles up the road between them and not having to leave the boats tied up in the mangroves overnight at Anne's beach is a bonus.

I like the idea of using UKSC if possible as the layover.

I have only done one of these races and it was very light, we didn't finish the half way point at Annes Beach until 9:30 or later. We had some mechanical issues that didn't help either... It seems to me the idea of doing the whole thing in one day is very condition specific, and while do-able, would not be ideal.

My other input is that here we are only a month away from the start date of a race that for some requires quite a bit of planning. I have bought plane tickets for myself and a few friends who are using this as a winter getaway. We have made reservations at Gilberts. Its not that the plane tickets would change with a change in the race format, or that we couldn't cancel at Gilberts and go somewhere else, just that doing so a month before the event isn't great planning.

I don't have the experience in distance racing beach cats that some of you do, but I do have a lot of experience distance racing other boats, with lots of boat and crew logistics involved. It is in fact a large part of my livelihood. If you are going to change the format, start now and get it figured out for next year (2013), not a month before this years event.

Two years ago we had no problems with Gilberts whatsoever. We plan to arrive earlier this year to have a bit more setup and leisure time.

That my $0.02. That said, whatever happens we'll have a great time! Looking forward to less time drifting and more time socializing this time around.

I think that Karl's UKSC suggestion has a lot of merit. Is there space to pull the boats out for the night?

And do you stock the bar at UKSC or just double their income projection if we all pulled in there?

It's also probably closer to Islander to run back there between finish 1 and start 2. And it would split up the "steeple" part of the chase on the backside, right? Which might make it more challenging to have the start on day 2 with all the boats moving up through the mangroves. I think it might be pretty cool!

I do recall a few loooooong drives (hung-over of course) from Kelly's motel to Anne's Beach at the crack of what-ungodly-hour-is-this on Sunday....

And how much is Rowell's selling for these days?

Perhaps an equity membership?

Oooofff...that fleet wide entrance into Tarpin basin in race mode will be nutz. That's a pretty narrow creek and usually has a bit of boat traffic

I wonder if we shouldn't enter Blackwater Sound from the West north West...ala up and around skipping Tarpon Basin. That would give the fleet just a little time to stretch out a little.

edit...looking at it again, it's something a little over a mile to Grouper creek from the sailing club - that probably won't be too bad working through the creek.

or make it optional on how you get back to Islander? Either go North or backtrack your route south?

Is it exactly equidistant from UKSC to Islander

The club could work, but this year there is no way that would happen. The club has funny quirks, yet they were great about starting the Keys 100 for several years and enjoyed watching.

To utilize the Islander and UKSC, I think it would have to be a counter-clockwise race. That way on the second day's start the fleet would not all be roaring into a narrow channel, rather through one small hole and into another large sound.
If UKSC is for it, they would probably do a deepwater start for us on the second day. While you would miss the normal spin run down Hawks Channel, you would probably have a blast under spin going across the shallows of the back water. May be even more of a "Steeplechase."

Back to Gilberts.., the manager still has not called back despite emails and many phone calls. So, we drove over, but the bar and all the help were swamped -- veteran's day. So, we are going back over tomorrow and corner the guy.
Rick

I would be willing to live with the crowded fight through the creek, or a longer detour to the WNW entrance to Blackwater, to keep that typical south bound spin-run on the outside. But, I don't think I've ever run the kite through the backside...could be interesting.

I did....once

And "interesting" would be an understatement. But we survived and didn't destroy anything, although the conditions were pretty moderate (12-15knots)

I also remember a southbound beat to Anne's Beach in something like 15-20 out of SW with harsh gusts, but that's part of the charm...never really know what's going to happen until you're there.

Jake, weren't you at that one where few, if any, could get through Jewfish creek because of the headwind and current? Someone had neat video of all the "attempts" at making the bridge...

Can someone post that great youtube video of the boats attempting to get through the old bridge? No Steeplechase conversation is complete without that.

Yeah, our ground crew shot this video. I never got around to it, but I was going to put Benny Hill's Yakity Sax music on top of it.

http://www.teamseacats.com/2006/12/12/the-draw-bridge-video/

okay, checked Google Earth and from Islander to UKSC would be
+/- 33 nm going clockwise
+/- 54 nm going counter clockwise

So if Day 1 were to be the longest, you'd want to run counter clockwise...