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  Different types of sailing fun—Sailing news in North America & beyond
 | | Puget-Sound under winter skies David Schmidt |
Perhaps it's pride in my adopted hometown, but I've always considered Seattle sailors to be a hearty bunch. While I grew up frostbiting Lasers on the East Coast, I was fairly impressed to learn that out here on Puget Sound, winter sailing involves keelboats and more fleece and insulating layers than a ski trip to nearby Crystal Mountain Resort. While the hard-boiled reality of the situation is that we enjoy far better breeze in the cold, drippy months than we do the summertime, the corollary effect is that we breed some tough salts up here in the Pacific Northwet [sic].
Take this past weekend's Scachet Head Race (March 11), which was hosted by the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle as part of the greater Center Sound Series, and which attracted dozens of boats, despite the fact that the weather was rainy and the temps chilly (read: high 40s/low 50s).
 | | M32 sailors enjoying significantly warmer water temperatures than Seattle's Scachet Head Race fleet. M32 Series |
While I'll admit that I missed this race to go skiing at Whistler with my wife, I'm sure that my friends who spent their weekend trimming sails and gybing A-sails had to dig a little harder into their mental reserves than sailors who got to spend their weekend riding rails or jumping halyards on warm-water racecourses. To borrow a term from mountaineering (my other obsession), let's describe cold-water racing as Type II fun (read: character-building), interspersed with moments of Type I fun (read: real-time enjoyment).
That said, I'm sure our friends who spent their weekend sailing in shorts, t-shirts and sunglasses enjoyed significantly higher levels of Vitamin D than the Scachet Head fleet, as well as higher concentrations of Type I fun.
 | | The 90th Bacardi Cup kicks off the eighth Bacardi Miami Sailing Week Cory Silken |
(N.B., for sailors who are not familiar with this fun scale, it's worth a Google search as there's a lot of cross-over between mountaineering and Pacific Northwest sailing [or distance racing in general], especially when it comes to suffering cold and discomfort for long stretches of time...all of which is celebrated and toasted, come one's return to a warm hearth of home and the trappings of front-country life.)
Take, for example, the sailors who assembled in Miami for the Bacardi Miami Sailing week (March 5-11) or the M32 Winter Series (March 9-12). While the weather gods could have provided a bit more breeze, the temps were in the upper 70s/low 80s, and there was no danger of puffy jackets or foul-weather gear making on-deck appearances.
 | | The 90th Bacardi Cup kicks off the eighth Bacardi Miami Sailing Week Cory Silken |
(Suffice it to say that you could probably open a Patagonia retail store with all of the logoed fleece, Merino wool and polypropylene that was on display at the docks of Shilshole Bay Marina, prior to the start of Saturday's Scachet Head Race.)
While it's easy enough for us PNW sailors to exercise some patience when it comes to waiting for the nicer weather (remember, it's a double-edged sword, as blue skies mean wispy, fickle winds) to bloom while our friends are sailing off of Miami, other regattas are harder to simply read about, sans any flares of jealousy, or at least mild bucket-list envy.
 | | Miami to Havana Race Marco Oquendo/SORC |
Two regattas that fall into that category for me are the recently concluded Newport to Cabo Race (March 10-16...ah, Mexico!) and the Miami to Havana Race (March 14-18), the later of which ranks high on my list of “must-sail” events.
Anyone lucky enough to experience these regattas, please thoroughly enjoy these world-class events, but remember that there could be a Karmic tax, come your next life, so be sure to share all the great stories with your friends back ashore.
 | | Miami to Havana Race Marco Oquendo/SORC |
And for anyone who might just need a little shot of sunshine on this cold March morn, don't miss Sail-World.com's interview with Christopher Woolsey, the race chairman for the Miami to Havana Race, and remember, it's never too early to start planning your Winter 2018 sailing schedule!
May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor
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