Winter is for football

Sailing in really cold weather isn’t much fun, and usually is good reason to put one’s passion on hold until the forecast improves. This happens each winter, and we thought this was what made many parts of the US, not least of all the mid-Atlantic region, such thriving areas during the warmer months. You know, lots of demand, but due to the cruddy weather, minimal supply.

However, with the grace of a sailor’s memory, and perhaps a boost from global warming, the IRC East Coast Championship returns to Annapolis, MD November 2-4 to hopefully get a break from the pending doom of winter. Last year’s event was dealt decent winds on only one of the three days, and endured temperatures that never rose above 50 degrees. That is the fate of this region, which has average November temperatures of 56.0° F (high) and 36.0° F (low). Anyone who has ever attended Annapolis’ famous US Sailboat Show in early October can attest to the fact that fall weather can be, and often is, wet and cold.

Maybe folks that race in areas that have “real” winters are just tougher than those who don’t. That list likely includes Dan Meyers (Boston, Mass.), who won last year with his Farr 60 Numbers, commenting that it “was so cold it could have been called the Icicle Regatta." But Meyers will be returning again this year with his new Judel/Vrolijk 66 Numbers that will debut at this event. He will be joined by Edgar Cato's (Miami, Fla.) Farr 60 Hissar, John Brim's (New York, N.Y.) Reichel/Pugh 55 Rima 2, Michael Brennan's (Potomac, Md.) R/P 45 Sjambok, and Larry Bulman/Jeff Scholz/Dick D'Amato's (Bethesda, MD) Farr 40 Yellow Jacket.

For the good of the IRC East Coast Championship, we will be praying for a delayed winter… or at least until we hop on our return flight to the west coast after the US Sailboat Show.