Attention all Flying Scot sailors: The 2009 Midwinter Warm-up regatta begins two months from today. The venue has changed from previous years and will be hosted by the Sarasota Sailing Squadron (SSS) in beautiful Sarasota FL.

For many of you a visit to SSS will be your first and should not be missed. This is the home of the Florida District's largest Flying Scot fleet and is the favorite venue for many of us in the District. The club is decidedly casual, perhaps a little rustic and reminds many of us of "Old Florida" before the explosion of condos and urban sprawl. The sailing venue is awesome. Sarasota Bay offers protected sailing in clear, beautiful water and a reliable sea breeze. Some visitors have commented that it seems more like the Caribbean than Florida but in truth, that may be a slight exaggeration.

As the crow flies the club is just 30 miles south of the St. Petersburg YC. Driving time between the two clubs averages about 45 to 50 minutes. Racing will begin Saturday March 21 and should wrap up Sunday in the early afternoon with awards to follow. Those heading off to St. Pete should be there in time for dinner but Monday is an open day so, there is no rush.

Sarasota is one of Florida's nicest cities and offers a wide variety of shopping, restaurants lodging and just about everything a tourist would want. Like most areas in Florida, March is the busy season so hotel reservations should be made right away. For the budget conscious or nature lovers, camping (free) is allowed on the SSS grounds.

To help you get acquainted here is a link to the SSS website; http://www.sarasotasailingsquad.com/ From the home page you can click "About Us" and then "Visiting Sailors" for local information on lodging, directions, weather, etc.

The NOR link is; http://www.sarasotasailingsquad.com/_uploads/2009ODMidwintersNOR.pdf Note; the NOR is a pdf and may take a minute to open. You will notice this is a multi-class regatta but the Scots will have a designated race course with no other classes.

Some cool aerial photos can be viewed by clicking; http://marinas.com/view/marina/2805#Scene_1

With a little cooperation from "Mother Nature" you can be assured you will be glad you came and looking forward to your next return. See you in Sarasota!