San Diego Yacht Club and Balboa Yacht Club regret to announce that the Rum Runner Regatta will not be held this year. The event had previously been scheduled to run Saturday, October 27, the weekend prior to the first San Diego Hot Rum, to ideally draw racers from Long Beach/LA to participate in that classic fall race. The reality is that prior participation has been modest at best, and most of the few competitors were San Diego boats trekking up to LA to just enjoy the race south.
Simplifying the race was discussed as well, but despite any austerity, the timing and route for the race dictates the pace and enjoyment of the race. Most know that if the sun goes down and you are close to the coast, you’re going to be parked for the evening squarely in the ‘slat zone’ and waiting for the winds to freshen in the morning and resume racing for the finish on day two. In all, not an enticing race profile.
Looking forward, SDYC will be considering ways to improve its remaining offshore races, notably, the Islands Race in February, and the SoCal 300/California Offshore Race Week in early June. Check in at www.sdyc.org for developments.