SORC Islands in the Stream Series – Right around the corner

by SORC on 8 Aug 2017 November is going to be here before you know it, and with it comes the beginning of winter offshore racing in South Florida. That can only mean one thing: the Nassau Cup Ocean Race, hosted by Coral Reef Yacht Club, Nassau Yacht Club and the Storm Trysail Club, is scheduled to start on Thursday November 9.

Where would you rather be in early November, making sure you have enough layers to stay warm, or setting off from South Beach in the first race of the SORC Islands in the Stream Series, for a blast past Great Isaac, Great Stirrup and the Berry Islands on the way to Nassau as competitors before you have done since 1934?

Get moving, because if you complete your entry before September 15, you will get a free bottle of Mt. Gay Rum when you check in before the Skippers Meeting at Coral Reef Yacht Club on November 8, courtesy of SORC Race Management. As always, there will be match racing and an Awards Party at Nassau Yacht Club on Saturday the 11th.

December’s race is the winter classic Wirth Munroe Invitational Palm Beach Race, hosted by Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, the Storm Trysail Club and the Sailfish Club of Palm Beach, and managed by SORC. The Wirth Munroe Race, from Miami to Palm Beach, the second race of the SORC Series is always held on the first Friday in December and always concluded with the best buffet dinner in racing, at the Sailfish Club. The “Race to the Buffet” is not one to miss.

Something old, something new... for the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race. Kick the new year off right with a January visit to Ft. Lauderdale and a Tuesday night party at the Lauderdale Yacht Club prior to the Wednesday, January 10, 2018 start of the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race, hosted by LYC and the Storm Trysail Club and managed by the SORC. The race once again serves as the third race of the SORC Islands in the Stream Series. Spend a Thursday or Friday afternoon in the sun at the Duty Station at the upstairs patio bar at Turtle Kraals, and enjoy the Mt. Gay Rum pour at the awards party at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar and Grill on Friday night.

Stick around on Saturday morning for the return of the Conch Grinder Race, a fun foray onto the waters off of Key West. The Conch Grinder was a staple of the era when the Lauderdale to Key West fleet rafted up in the submarine basin, for all manner of activities that resulted in a common recollection of the Conch Grinder: “I remember thinking that I could not believe that I was out racing on a Saturday morning in that condition.” Those were the days and the SORC will bring the sailing part of that back for 2018; the rest of the experience is up to you.

The third Annual Miami to Cuba Race will start on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, finish in Varadero, Cuba, and will once again serve as the deciding race for the SORC Islands in the Stream Series. Details for the race, hosted by Coral Reef Yacht Club and SORC, are being finalized and will be announced shortly.

What started as a trial run in last February’s Havana Race had enough interest that it will be a feature of all four SORC races this season. The East Coast Racer Cruiser Association class will provide a chance for racer/cruisers to get on the course and enjoy the camaraderie and competition of racing against similar boats to interesting and fun destinations, while enjoying a comfortable boat with a full interior, and without the need for an annual purchase of a new sail inventory. The ECRCA comprised a third of the monohull fleet for the Havana Race, and the close scores showed just how competitive this group of racers can be. Welcome to the Series, ECRCA.