Please Note :t There are two separate events in the bay during the Columbus Day Weekend. The first is the Columbus Day Regatta the other is Columbus Day Weekend at Elliot Key. The two events are not connected. They just happen close to each other at the same time.
Columbus Day Regatta
Columbus Day Regatta features nearly 300 different crews, impressing all with the festive time offered during the regatta. The oldest event on Biscayne Bay will be running again as usual, the 57th Annual Columbus Day Regatta. The regatta committee is presenting numerous new venues to revitalize this regatta and bring back the enthusiasm of the past. Come join us and race in the greenest sport on the earth!
WARNING: Don't go to Elliott Key on Columbus Day weekend if peace and quiet is what you seek. Don't go there if it bothers you to see adult beverages consumed in prodigious quantities. Don't go there if you don't want to see bikini tops doffed for beads and beer. Don't go there if you are unwilling to be tossed overboard at the slightest provocation or soaked by some of the biggest damn water guns on the planet. (from the National Park Traveler)
* Personal Watercrafts are not allowed in Biscayne National Park.
*No Rafting of more than 5 boats.
Coast Guard Suggestions:
Here are a few safety tips to remember before you head out this weekend:
1. Don't drink and boat. Be responsible with drinks aboard. Designate a "sober skipper" before departing the dock.
2. Remain anchored and on your vessel, particularly after dark. While no official curfew will be in place for the weekend, it is in your best interest to "stay parked after dark."
3. Check your safety gear to ensure it works. File a float plan with a friend or at a marina. A float plan form can be found at www.floatplancentral.org. Remember to wear your lifejackets and make sure you have flares and a working VHF-FM marine radio onboard. Another potentially life-saving device to invest in is an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).
4. Groundings are costly to your boat, your engine, and the environment. To avoid groundings make sure to have navigational charts or an electronic navigation system onboard and learn to properly use them before you head out on the water.
5. Avoid the shallow areas of the Featherbed Bank. These areas will be lit at night with strobe lights.
6. Help protect marine life, the environment and your boat engine. Dispose of trash and plastic bags properly.
With your cooperation, we can make this a safe and enjoyable Columbus Day Weekend in Biscayne Bay.
Aroldis Chapman was arrested for speeding and driving with a suspended license early Monday, a few hours after it appeared he was in line to become the Cincinnati Reds' next closer.
Editor's note: The 2012 NCAA baseball tournament bracket will be unveiled on Monday, May 28 at noon ET on ESPNU. As most schools head into conference tournaments, there isn't much time left to impress the selection committee. What's at stake over the last week of the regular season for at-large and top-seed contenders? ACC tournament (Greensboro, N.C., May 23-27): Two teams from the conference ...
The Indianapolis Museum of Art has received a grant to digitize, catalog, and put online a collection of materials about a 1957 modernist-style home in Columbus designed by famed architect Eero Saarinen.
