We recently recieved this communication from the Storm Trysail Club (below), announcing that there will be no Key West Race Week for 2018.
We here at SpinSheet were really sad to hear the news. We were a sponsor and huge supporter of the event from the day we launched SpinSheet. We loved the escape to Key West in January and writing about the Chesapeake sailors who crushed it down there – on land and on the water.
With the massive Annapolis NOOD Regatta just behind us, we’re excited to see more growth in Chesapeake Bay racing followed by a cool new generation of Florida racing in the coming years.
From the Storm Trysail Club: After extensive discussion and deliberation, the Storm Trysail Club has decided not to organize and hold Key West Race Week in January 2018. Many factors led to this difficult decision. The bottom line is that with declining participation, the event has become heavily dependent upon sponsorship making the event unsustainable in its current format. Our primary sponsors remain very supportive and the Storm Trysail Club is committed to exploring alternative formats for the future that address changing conditions in our sport. The club anticipates that this could lead to another edition as soon as 2019.
The Storm Trysail Club wishes to thank especially Quantum Sails (the title sponsor for the last six years) as well as the city and community of Key West for their gracious hospitality and help in underwriting this event which has spanned the last 30 years. Many thanks as well to all our other sponsors, supporters, and past participants for their support of the event and of the sport of sailing. Most importantly we wish to thank the countless volunteers, Storm Trysail Club members and others who made Key West Race Week possible and produced a world-class event.
