Ya Gotta Regatta 2024

Last Saturday was the Downtown Sailing Center's Ya Gotta Regatta. To be transparent, we had the intentions of following the majority of best practices. However, in practice, sticking to these was a lot harder. For example, when it came to eliminating water bottles (1), straws (2), and plastic ware (3), although we offered majority reusable options, some of these plastics crept in. Whereas we had two, large, gatorade containers of water for refilling water bottles throughout the day, as sailors came off the water we had a case of single-use water bottles at a snack table. While the restaurant where we held our after party had silverware, cocktails came with plastic straws. I believe these instances were due to working with a large set of volunteers and wide range of vendors, and not communicating adequately to them that we were eliminating these items. This is a good lesson for next year. We did, however, have several successes: 4) We only gave bags to placing skippers, and these bags were sewn from old sail cloth and made by DSC volunteers 5) Placing skippers also received a plaque carved from up-cycled wood by a local artist and sourced from a local non-profit that salvages usable materials from deconstructed buildings/homes. Crews for placing boats received stainless steal, reusable, DSC-branded water bottles for practical use. 7) We involved several local groups, for example, getting breakfast donations of bagels from a local deli and coffee from a local roaster. 17) We had multiple vegetarian and vegan options at breakfast and our after party. We appreciate the chance to try to incorporate as many Clean Regatta best practices as possible, and are excited to try and do more successfully next year.