This is a really fun thing to do and it's a benefit for the American Cancer Society in memory of Stephen Smith, a sailor who died from a rare form of leukemia at the age of 29. There's a lot of non-racing stuff and the usual antics and hilarity from the characters at Shell Point Sailboard Club are guaranteed. Parrothead golf cart parade/contest. Dancin' & Debauchery. Benefit auction...
Sailboards, beach cats and big boat racing. Wind can be anything from light to honkin' but the seabreeze should be working to get maybe 10-15 in the afternoon and there's often enough to sail shortboards.
http://www.smithregatta.com/Index.htm
Live beach cam at Shell Point:
http://www.20knotsnob.com/ (Go to Sailing then Weather then Local Beach Cams).
Beach cats at Shell Point ............................................................ How to bribe the judges in the Parrothead Boat Parade
Wow! Cool stuff up on the auction page... how 'bout a nice boat for cheap??
http://www.smithregatta.com/Donations.htm
It was a swell weekend at Shell Point with plenty of wind, weather & wackiness. We did 3 races on longboards Saturday morning and after lunch we had enough wind to do figure-eight slalom races right off the beach... great fun in the building wind that ended up in the 5-something range. The beach cats did a lot of capsizing on their course, that was also set close to shore, so the crowd of spectators had plenty of high speed action and nautical carnage for entertainment.
After suppah at the Apalachee Bay Y.C. it was back to the beach for a night of dancin' and debauchin'. The band, bright waxing moon and the wind that continued to howl all night seemed to make the local hussies (as they are affectionately known), extra frisky. The free-flowing taps from the infamous beer truck probably didn't hurt that cause either.
Raucous thunderstorms Sunday morning delayed the racing (and let more than a few grateful debauchers sleep in for a while). By mid-morning the rain ended and the wind came back with a vengeance. It looked like slalom racing would again be the call, so we set about rigging small sails and putting away the big stuff. By the time we were ready, the wind backed way off and the RC wisely pulled the plug on racing.
The Parrothead golf cart parade and auction benefitting the Cancer Society followed. Huge kudos go to the army of volunteers and sponsors who made it all happen. The lovely Linda Downey chaired the event and did an amazing job.
Curious take on the local TV coverage:
http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/92060159.html
Photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmgnole/sets/72157623813334563/