Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association
makes for some beautiful scenery

This past weekend was the BBYRA (Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association) double-handed race. This means that you can sail any boat you want, but with only two people. There were a few boats out around 33-35 feet, who usually race with 8 crew, and several smaller boats who sail with anywhere from 2 to 5 people.

Generally the owner will drive the boat, help with pulling up halyards (the lines that pull up the sails), and the crew will do everything else (trimming and tacking the jib, hoisting and dousing the sails, trimming and jibing the spinnaker, and any other minor jobs the skipper may request from his vantage point on the stern). This is an exhausting race for both skipper and crew as the heat is more draining with all the work and there's little time to jump below for more water or to hand off a job and take a break for a bit.

The smaller boats are more used to sailing with two or three, so it's not quite as difficult (although they may disagree with that!). Saturday's race had the one unusual element of not enough water under a turning mark, causing at least one deeper keeled boat (drawing 7'6") to run aground. You can see the owner, Eamonn Delisser, standing with his arms crossed in frustration, while his boat sits, sails full, unmoving atop the mud. They were able to move the keel enough to escape and ultimately won their division.

More info about racing in the bay, including a crew sign up form, can be found at www.bbyra.net.

Photo and story by Paige Brooks