Miami to Havana Race Announcement!

(Coconut Grove, FL)- Hosts Coral Reef YC and Hemingway International YC of Cuba, along with SORC as Race Committee, proudly welcome your participation in the inaugural Miami to Havana Race. In the past year, SORC competitors have raced to the Bahamas in the Nassau Cup Race, Key West in the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race, and to Jamaica in the Pineapple Cup Montego Bay Race.  Yet, the crown jewel sitting geographically between all of those terrific winter racing destinations, Cuba, remained out of reach.  However, American sailors are once again allowed to race to Cuba.

The result is the Miami to Havana Race, starting on February 10, 2016, just south of the Miami harbor entrance. Host Coral Reef Yacht Club and Cuban sailors have a long history of association with the former SORC “Southern Circuit” regatta and sailing to Havana.  For example, Luis Vidaña’s CRIOLLO was crowned the Overall Winner of the SORC Series in 1957. Havana played a big part of the Circuit, with the first St. Petersburg to Havana Race in 1930 and last in 1959. We now renew our ties with our sailing neighbors, first with the Miami to Havana Race, the final race of the Islands in the Stream Series, and then on February 14, with a coastal race along the Malecón, with local junior sailors assigned to each boat. An after race awards party will follow at the Hemingway International YC of Cuba.

There are nearly a dozen J/Boats racing from J/105s to J/125s in this exciting event that has fifty-six boats entered!  One of the more famous offshore J’s in the southeastern USA will be making its presence felt on the dash across the Gulf Stream; Robin Team’s J/122 TEAMWORK from Lexington, NC will be competing for class honors in the ORC Division.

There are six J/Teams joining the fun in the massive 40-boat PHRF Class, and they are traveling far and wide to participate in this inaugural race.  For starters, the J/105 GONZO sailed by Ken Ganch and Ed Reagan is headed down from Chicago’s Columbia YC and the J/111 HEATWAVE helmed by Gary Weisberg’s crew Jubilee YC are coming down from Gloucester, MA.  The most “local” boat happens to be Frank Atkinson’s J/125 RAISIN CANE from Coconut Grove SC.  Finally, three J/120s are competing that include some of the usual suspects we’ve seen in the past- Frank Kern’s CARINTHIA from Detroit’s Bayview YC, Bill Terry’s TAMPA GIRL from Tampa’s Davis Island YC and Marcus Cholerton-Brown’s SUNSET CHILD from New York.  That is one incredible collection of diverse, fast, fun, and friendly offshore racing talent.  Perhaps a few more J/sailors will join the party to Havana!   Entry list for the Miami Havana Race 2016.  For more SORC Miami to Havana sailing information