As they say and show in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYHesq9uD1Q) - it's simple. Invite your friends and neighbors, set a course, get out and sail. Regatta Pointe Marina decided to do that a few years ago and hosted a Summer Sailstice event in threatening weather but all perservered and celebrated a great day of sailing with Summer Sailstice burgees awarded to winner at the end.
Regatta Chair, Nana Bosma, writes in with this report on the event,'The 4th Annual River Regatta, hosted by Regatta Pointe Marina in Palmetto, Florida, on June 23 - part of the 12th annual “Summer Sailstice” - may have been rainy but it produced a great day of racing for 8 hardy boats and their crews.
Tropical Storm Debbie, twirling a 100 miles off the mouth of Tampa Bay, brought us a cool summer day with steady winds from the southeast of 10-15 kts.
The course was 10.7 nm, with 12 legs, taking the fleet zigzagging down the Manatee River, and sailing around two triangles before returning to the finish in front of Regatta Pointe Marina.
The fleet had quite a spread of ratings ranging from 260 to 15, making the Pursuit start stretch for over 43 minutes.
For the 2nd year in a row, local sailor Peter Wormwood, was the last to start and the first to finish, winning spinnaker class with his Stiletto 27 “Deuce Coupe”. Rolf Hahn with his Olson 30 “Reagan e”, who came up from Venice, won the non-spinnaker class.
After sailing, Riverhouse Reef and Grill provided a great dinner and awards party at the excellent 3rd floor setting at Regatta Pointe Marina. In spite of the threatening weather that kept some of the participants away, the day turned out great for a day of sailing celebrating Summer Sailstice.
Thank you Sponsors, Race Committee, and Participants for turning what could have been a wet Saturday in front of the TV into a great day of sailing on the Manatee River.
For results and more: http://www.regattapointemarina.com