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  Searching for signs of spring—Sailing news from North America & beyond
 | | Bacardi Cup 2017 Star Sailors League / Gilles Morelle |
Call me an optimist, but there's something about March winds that spell sailing. For us American and Canadian sailors who have been living behind winter's dark, cold curtain for months, March tends to bring relief, if only in the form of headlines. But, like migratory birds that reliably return to gardens and forests each year, the regattas start in the south and transition north, meaning that it's an excellent thing when sailors living in the northern climes start reading about various warm-water spring regattas, even if they are not attending (this year). As the saying goes, hope springs eternal.
So, while there's a cool, 12-knot breeze piping from the south here in Seattle right now, a simple look at sailing's big-picture calendar reveals that the late-winter/early spring season is in full swing in the Caribbean, Florida and Mexico. Take, for example, the recently furled Banderas Bay Regatta (February 28-March 4), the Rolex Swan Cup Caribbean (March 1-5), or the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta (March 2-5).
 | | Freya and Plis Play, Maxi Division, Rolex Swan Cup Caribbean 2017 Nautor's Swan / Studio Borlenghi |
Heck, spring is even starting to lurch forward in places like San Francisco, California, where St. Francis Yacht Club just hosted their Spring One-Design Regatta (March 4 and 5), and in my hometown of Seattle, where the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle just hosted the annual Blakely Rock Race (March 4).
Additionally, this week marks the start of the Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (March 5-11), and the 90th time that the venerable Star class has competed in this historic regatta that originally began in the 1920s on the waters off of Havana, Cuba. This year's event is set to feature 74 Star boats, along with six A-Cats, seven Flying Tiger 7.5s, 35 J/70s, one Melges 32, eight Melges 24s, 21 Viper 640s, six VX Evos, and 16 VX Ones.
 | | The 90th Bacardi Cup kicks off the eighth Bacardi Miami Sailing Week Cory Silken |
While you can bet your last bottle of rum that the on-the-water competition will be red hot on the waters off of Miami this week, you can also place a hefty-but-safe wager on the fact that the event will be organizing plenty of post-sailing fun, from cocktail parties and concerts to art exhibits and the awards party. And, if this isn't enough to placate your hard-charging foredeck crew, rest assured that the city of Miami has more bright lights and fancy sights than just about any other area in North America that's currently conducive to sailing.
 | | Bacardi Miami Sailing Week 2015 Cory Silken/STUDIOMILANO |
Need more proof that springtime sailing is just around the next peninsula? My calendar is advising me that come the evening of Saturday, March 11, it will be time to spring the clock forward by one hour, in anticipation of Daylight Savings Time, which starts on Sunday, March 12.
While this may seem overly flowery to any readers who might have started their day by shoveling “the white stuff” or dealing with an icy morning commute, the bottom line is that-based on the calendar at least-winter has just 14 days left before spring is officially welcomed.
 | | The 90th Bacardi Cup kicks off the eighth Bacardi Miami Sailing Week Cory Silken |
So, while winter's bluster may still be tormenting dinghy parks and lumping cold snow on boat covers and cockpits, remember, it's only a matter of time before mid-week racing, weekend regattas and offshore events start up again, and hopes for sailing glory can again spring eternal.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor
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