No KWRW for me this year

I got flicked from my Melges 24 ride for Key West Race Week because of weight issues (I would need to weight 105 lbs for the crew to make the maximum class weight). This is a bummer because KWRW is fun event and I would have been sailing with some very good people in a competitive fleet. On the upside, I will have more time to work on Furthur, which is necesary as spring is fast approaching. I plan on towing her back to California during spring break so my Dad can do a professional job of wiring up the electronics.

However, I will still have plenty of opportunities to sail during winter term. On January 2, I did the 50-something mile Egmont Key distance race out of DIYC on the J/109 Mariah, along with Brian and Sheehan. We had some issues during the race and ultimately finished poorly, but it was a nice day on the water and Brian remarked that it was the first time he had finished that race before sunset. It was a good thing too, as the temperature dropped quickly with the sun. I wish I had raced my boat, as the wind and course had plenty of running and reaching with only one upwind beat.

I am also doing the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race on the Corsair 28R trimaran Flight Simulator, owned by Tom Reese. I did this race last year on Richard Stephen's Trevelyn, finishing first in our division and winning the multihull division overall. Richard will be navigating Flight Simulator this year, and I hope we can repeat our performance last year. Sailing lead-free is also so much fun, we rate faster than a Melges 32, but are 4 feet shorter. The Dark Side has good Kool-Aid.