Just a quick post to remind everyone that the Round The Island Race is definitely on for the weekend of 9-16,17,18.
The race consists of a 100 mile trek around the Santa Rosa Island, 50 miles in the Gulf and returning 50 miles in the Intracoastal Waterway. Its a beautiful race course in great scenery and the prevalent winds usually allow for a great downwind/broad reach the entire way home! As in last years race this event is being hosted by the Fort Walton Yacht Club and all activities will be at the Club.This includes Registration, the Friday Skippers mtg,RTI race secrets seminar and the breakfast/awards presentation Sunday morning. All entries are invited to set up at the club or the traditional Leeside park, the location used for all past events. For more information including NOR and Entry forms go the the club site at fwyc.org and you will find all you need.

As to post-Katrina and Dennis we have been spared any major problems this year and the weather the last week has been gorgeous. The is no storm debris in the waterways and most of the local conditions appear normal. Gas is not a problem locally and does not appear to be a concern going forward ( a few stations are out but supply is constant and on regular schedules). As to hotels "progress" has dictated the sale of several of the nearby usual locations for condo developement so you can try the Chamber of Commerce at 850 244 8191 or look to the fwyc.org site to post recommendations in a few days.

Here are some local hotels that are within 2-3 miles of the Yacht Club as well as Leeside Park:
Ramada Inn 850 243 9161
Best Inns 850 244 0121
Best Western 850 243 9444
Days Inn 850 244 6184
Holiday Inn Sunspree 850 244 8666
Hampton Inn 850 243 7700
Howard Johnsons 850 244 8663
I cant verify rates for you but I do know that all of these will offer clean rooms in a safe and secure location in downtown Fort Walton Beach ( the Ramada Inn is 300 yards from Leeside Park).

If you need furhter information you can reach the Regatta Organizer, Sandy Zevins at home at 850 244 0755. Hope to see you there!

Just a reminder that Randy Smyth will be hosting the free Round The Island Race Secrets seminar Friday night Sept 16 at the yacht club. This is filled with years of local knowledge and Randy shares it all.It is an invaluable way to get to speed quickly on this 100 mile race and also includes any questions you may have on how to tweak your boat for extra speed. Dont miss it !!

I finally decided I am going to do this race. How long does it usually take? I understand the distance etc, and certainly there is a range, and wind condiserations, but what would you say the average is? Just trying to plan a little

If the wind is light make sure you get a good nights sleep. The year I did it the wind was light and coupled with a mistake or two I think we got back at around 3:45am. The wind is usually much better.
Definitely go do it. We had a good time and I wish I could do it again this year.

A few details are in order for finishing at a respectable time....the race ALWAYS starts promptly at 7 am.....and I mean ALWAYS. So the key is to not be late for the start or else you wont be happy sailing thru the backdrafts! Its usually a NE wind ~5 to 7 knots which makes it a one tack beat to Destin , then a reach out the Pass to the seabouy before turning west for Pensacola. As the sun rises and the land heats up the wind follows the sun, going east, south east , south and then finally southwest late in the afternoon. During this process the wind will usually remain 7 to 9 knots until the SW seabreeze kicks in and it usually builds to 12 to 14 knots . This mainly occurs around 2 to 6 pm and makes for a fast spin ride home if your in the Pensacola Pass during this time range. As the sun goes down it will lighten up until it refreshes after dark and reappears from the NW.....great reaching weather for the final miles home. So how long does it take? The Supercat 22s will usually be in around 4 to 6 pm, with I 20s etc following. A well sailed H16 which does great on the return leg reaching can be in by 10 pm....however those guys who choose to take a ton of beer and stop in at Juanas for dinner will show up at sunrise on Sunday. The key is to get home before the evening wind goes dormant which is usually after midnight. Its wise to prepare for being out after dark with a fresh shirt, windbreaker and some good snacks.

Hope this helps and look forward to seeing you there!

UPDATE : We just finished the Juanas Good Time Regatta at Navarre Beach and had a great prelude as to this upcoming weekend of sailing for the Round The Island race. Juanas had a turnout of 33 registered and had blue skys and great steady winds. The Intercoastal Waterway has sandbars that have moved but the channel is well marked and of course in great shape. The RTI should be a great event with no bad weather on the horizon. Dont forget to go to the Fort Walton Yacht Club web site fwyc.org for full details and other information,maps and accomodations.

Hey everyone! I was out sailing yesterday in the beautiful Choctawhatchee Bay of Fort Walton Beach!! I'm planning on taking my Nacra F17 around the island. Any body else showing up? Looks like sunny skies and great temps for the race.

Bob

September 17, 2005 - Full Moon!

Tom Turlington
NI17R #124

It all depends on the wind. The first year I did it on a Hobie 16 and finished at 8 AM Sunday morning....sailing all night. The next year I came back with a P19 and finished at 11 PM Saturday thanks to the light air abilities of my crew and ex-tornado olympic trialer. Regardless of when you finish it is a VERY fun race and the key to doing good is to not give up. You see a lot of people start to relax in the late afternoon which is a good opportunity to gain sevaral positions and make up for any earlier mistakes.

Today, parts of the course saw 14kts out of the SW!

BC

I hope this keeps up... the weather report changed today from 5-10k on sat to 10-15 out of the north. It would be nice not to sit on the gulf without any wind (or be on the boat for 20 hrs)

It will change again!

BC

Today, the seabreeze came crankin' in at 16-17mph on the military wind sensors on the western edge of the island by Navarre!! NWS forecast has now aligned itself with my forecast of northerly in the morning followed with an afternoon seabreeze! Going to be a blast especially with the full moon. Hope lots of sailors turn out to race!!

Bob

Okay Folks,

How did the RTI go this year? I saw 3 boats in the Pensacola area at 5:00pm. Two at Chicken Bone Beach on the inside and one poor soul on the outside. I certainly had a yearning to be out there until I did the math. That's 10 hours on the boat and about 40 miles or so still to go. (for the boats on the inside that is ) One of the boats appeared to be a NACRA 6.0 or 5.8. The guys were in cruise mode. Sitting at the back and center of the boat. One guy using the daggerboard as a back rest. Now that definitely brings back some RTI memories! Well, hopefully next year there will be a big turnout and a little better forecast.

Tom

ahh.. that would be me (look at the mainsail in my icon). My crew is lazy.
Rough day... very little wind coming out of the pass with a strong ingoing tide (and a late start, thanks to crew forgetting trap harness/gloves . Once past the sea buoy things looked up, good wind from wsw and made about 10-12 knots directly at pensacola. At navarre wind died, sat around for a long time (should have tried to make progress toward shore, but got sidetracked fixing broken pin on mainsheet block) and aquiring sunblock (crew mistake again:) froma very nice fisherman.
Wind started building, from WSW again nearing Pensacola, fleww through the past on a nice reach reaching 14-15 knots. Then LONG LONG process of gybing back and forth through ICW with decreasing wind veering W.
The best I can tell is this: 1) bad timing on our part with relatively late start and wasted approx 1 hour fixing block and aquiring sunscreen. 2)should have gone closer to shore to get some seabreeze action 3) need to learn HOW TO GO DOWNWIND BETTER!!! I have the huge flippin jib (nacra exp jib) and we don't seem to use it really well. We finished at 1105pm. Pretty discouraging that I think most everyone else (in the class w/o spin) finished by about 7pm. I guess I shouldn't get on my case too much considering it is only our second race (Juana's regatta one week ago, then the RTI). Any ideas on how to use this boat better downwind owuld be greatly appreciated.
Would I do the RTI again? depends on the wind forecast the PRIOR day!

How nice that you had a crew to blame your problems on. Maybe you need a singlehander.

I don't necessarily "blame" him of course... without his weight the express would be a wild ride. Even our (his ) mistakes wouldn't have made up the 4 hr time difference. Oh well, more to learn.
As an aside, my wife got me a Suunto GPS watch... really kind of cool to be out on the trap and look at my wrist to see how fast we were going (and if the changes we made changed anything- like velocity made good on downwind legs etc)

Like I said......

ok... guess I shouldn't have complained earlier. I had to work today so I couldn't go to the awards lunch but a friend just called and left a message that we got third. Much more than I definately hoped for.

Thanks Mary, let him have it. He always treats me like a 2nd class citizen! All he ever does is criticize me everytime I make a suggestion. I don't feel needed. Maybe he should go with a single handed cat. I need some affirmation here! Let's hear it from the rest of the crew out there who just don't feel needed enough. Union!! Union!!
Thanks again Mary, I'll buy you that beer I owe you. (wink)