Florida Vintage Raceboat Club Scrubs Spring Regatta

Based in Tavares, Fla., the Florida Vintage Raceboat Club has cancelled its Spring Regatta set for March 19. The news was announced this afternoon on the organization’s Facebook page in a post by David Overstreet, the chairman of the organization’s board of directors.

Ongoing COVID-19 pandemic concerns drove the board—which voted unanimously in favor of the cancelling—to scrub what would have been the first event of the club’s 2021 season, Overstreet explained.

Florida Vintage Raceboat Club members and fans of the genre will have to wait until November for their first event. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

“There were several reasons that drove our decision,” he wrote. “First and foremost is the undeniable fact that the COVID-19 epidemic is actually getting worse in Florida. Lake County our host now has over 21,000 cases which is a very large increase from only a couple of months ago. We consider the health and safety of our members and participants a major responsibility. 

“And then, in regard to safety, we must have an ambulance with medical personnel attending the event. Lake County and other ambulance services have suspended all event services due to a lack of personnel as a result of COVID-19,” he continued. We also tried to find a private ambulance service, inside or outside of Lake County, with no success. This was an obvious event-stopper.

Staffing the event with volunteers was another escalating concern for the organizers.

“We are also seeing an impact on the volunteers that are so necessary to support our event,” he wrote. “They are obviously reluctant to attend events even when outside.”

According to the post, club members who registered for the event can either receive refunds or apply their fees to the club’s November event.

“We had all looked forward to seeing you our boating friends and getting back out on the water for some hot laps in March,” Overstreet wrote. “We are very sorry to have to make this announcement but will make November an event we can all remember.”

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