Southern almost never leads day 1 racing because they bring boats that are designed and built for windward lewards that do not have a good reaching capability, all other clubs try to find that mix between the two. This distance race and the scoring benefits this clubs that bring good reaching boats but will backfire when you get into windward lewards.

I personally feel that the idea of only doing windward lewards for a race that is claimed to be the offshore challenge cup is ridiculous. I understand that’s is more competitive than fixed mark racing but the fact that we’re only doing one distance race is ridiculous to me. It’s even more ridiculous that the point value for the distance race is changed so it’s worth the same as windward lewards racing.

My personal opinion is that this regatta needs to die for a few years before being reborn into something greater than what it is. Many owners do not want to take on the financial burden of funding a challenge cup appearance, especially when yacht clubs only cover the entrance cost and that’s it. And to clarify what I mean with a financial burden is purchasing a new set of racing sails, housing for the crew, meals and drink for the crew while racing, the cost of racing or motoring the boat to Gulfport, and also the cost of having the boat sit in a slip in the Harbour between the delivery and racing.