While many parts of the country are still suffering from their post-winter hangovers, the sailing is mighty fine in the Sunshine State in April. Take, for example, the annual Miami Key Largo Regatta, which is being organized by the Miami Yacht Club’s Youth Sailing Foundation, and which will take place between April 22-23, 2023.

Saturday will see the fleet race from Miami to Key Largo, while Sunday will see the fleet reverse course.

The MLK Regatta is open to any sail-powered vessel that’s 14′ LOA or greater, and is expected to feature a range of One Design classes, including (but not limited to) Hobie 16s, F18s, J/70s, J/24s, and A-Class cats. (The event will score a One design class if there are at least four boats entered.)

Additionally, it’s open to ORC and PHRF handicap fleets.

I checked in with Drew Mouacdie, race committee chair of the 2023 Miami Key Largo Race, via email, to learn more about this exciting One Design and handicap race.

 Pre-race action at the Miami Key Largo Regatta © Image courtesy of the Miami Key Largo Regatta

Can you please give us some history and backstory on the event, its competition levels, and the kinds of sailors it attracts?

2023 marks the 67th running of the MKL destination race. The race was first run in 1956, with less than 20 vessels and it grew to more than 130 boats during the late 1980s. That’s 130 boats of five classes on one start [line]!

In 2019 we held the inaugural Key Largo Miami race back making the MKL a regatta. Now in our post Covid era, we expect to see 85 entrants who, at the end of the day, love nothing more than getting out on the water for some friendly competition with friends and family. And maybe appreciating a cold adult beverage or two while they’re at it.

What kinds of numbers and interest levels are you seeing ahead of the 2023 Miami Key Largo Race compared with recent editions?

Obviously the Covid shut-down and subsequent advisories put a dent in the festivities. Last year, however, we attracted 68 [boats]. Again, we expect about 85 [boats] this year.

We’re getting some earlier interest from the beach-cat fleets in other parts of the state, which is exciting. They’ve historically represented a large part of the fleet, and we love seeing them turn out for the regatta.

According to the NOR, people can enter anything from an ORC-rated keelboat to an open foiling vessel, with plenty of hopped-up multihulls and even PHRF boats stirred into the mix. What kinds of challenges does this diverse fleet create for the race organizers in terms of racecourse management and ensuring that people arrive at the dock at roughly the same time for post-sailing festivities? Or, is the latter not part of the math?

Any sailing vessel over 14-ft, with an adult at the helm, [is welcome]. This year we have added youth trophy to the mix as well, with strict support/safety boats to accompany them on the water.

One of the challenges we face is fleet division. There are numerous One Design classes, which are easy to group up, but the hard part is placing “like” handicap boats together so they can sail within eyesight of each other, and not have a runaway finish miles ahead.

With multihulls, dinghies, displacement and foilers, some will be at the bar before others; [this is] one reason why our awards ceremony is one week after the regatta.

Racecourse action at the Miami Key Largo Regatta – photo © Image courtesy of the Miami Key Largo Regatta

Can you please walk us through the course and the tactical challenges that it presents?

The Miami Key Largo Race, and, the Key Largo Miami Race, are both fairly straight forward, no pun intended! The start is about a 3/4 [of a] nautical mile south of the Rickenbacker Causeway on Biscayne Bay, and [the course] finishes 33 nm south, about a half mile north of the entrance to Jewfish Creek on Barnes Sound in North Key Largo.

The challenges are so much tactical, but obstructions! And by that, I mean shallow water, Federally Protected seagrass, for which there are four narrow channels to observe. [Also,] the race flows through the Biscayne National Park, [the U.S.’s] first underwater national park.

Are there any new additions or important changes to the 2022 regatta, compared to previous editions?

The new addition this year will be the Youth Trophy. We expect it will be a Youth “Multihull” award, but this will mature during the registration process. We’ve also got a number of new sponsors on board this year! Vacation Inc. Sunscreen, Mamitas Tequila Seltzer, and Professional Boats, to name a few.

What about onshore entertainment? What can sailors look forward to once the finishing guns have gone silent each day?

The destination for the regatta is the resort area of Gilberts and the Anchorage Resort at the South end of Jewfish Creek at the entrance to Blackwater Sound. Gilbert’s, a giant Tiki bar with a pool and hotel attached to it, will have local live music and great food as well.

Across the waterway is the Anchorage Resort. The Anchorage also has rooms to offer for our event at a discounted rate! The Blackwater Siren, and popular bar and eatery is close-by too.

Thanks to Professional Boats, we’ll have a beautiful Tornado Inflatable Rib to ferry people back and forth across the channel between the two resorts.

The regatta benefits the MYC Youth Sailing Foundation. Can you please tell us a bit about that organization, its goals, and how the Miami Key Largo Race helps further this mission?

The Miami Yacht Club Youth Sailing Foundation [YSF] is a 501(c)3 dedicated to growing the sport of sailing at all levels. YSF engages in a variety of ways with local organizations here in Miami-Dade County, including The Overtown Youth Center, Genesis Hope Haven, Amigos for Kids, Lotus House, and most recently the Overtown Optimist Club.

YSF also hosts numerous US Sailing youth events such as the I420 Midwinters and next year, thanks to our resident partners the US Sailing Team, the Olympic Trials for the Men’s and Women’s 49er, 49er FX, 470, IQ Foil, and Kite Foiling.

Additionally, YSF engages our members and the public through sailing lessons and coaching.

You can learn more at www.mycyouthsailing.org.

Can you please tell us about any efforts that the club has made over the last year or two to further green-up the regatta and make it an even more sustainable event?

The Miami Yacht club continues to work with our operating partners and staff to make meaningful attempts at reducing single-use plastic waste. Additionally, proceeds from this regatta go toward educating our youth sailors who, as they spend time on the water, learn to love and care for our natural resources.

Is there anything else that you’d like to add, for the record?

We are so grateful for all our sponsors, participants, and staff for collaborating on this event with us. We hope you’ll join us for a fun weekend on the bay.

Here’s the link to the registration: yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eid=15739

Let’s go sailing!

by David Schmidt