Founded in 1887 by Coconut Grove pioneer Commodore Ralph Munroe, the Washington’s Birthday Regatta returns this weekend for its annual reenactment of one of Miami’s oldest maritime traditions.
Just after sunrise on Feb. 22, 1887, a group of hardy South Florida settlers in 15 shallow-draft sailboats headed east toward the northern tip of Key Biscayne in the inaugural Washington’s Birthday Regatta.
The race was conceived and organized by Coconut Grove pioneer Commodore Ralph Middleton Munroe, whose waterfront home, The Barnacle, has been part of the Florida state park system since 1973.
The race also drew competitors from other prominent Grove families, including William Brickell and Charles Peacock, according to “One Hundred Years on Biscayne Bay,” a history of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club founded by Munroe.
This Saturday scores of sailboats, many of traditional design and rig, will set off across Biscayne Bay for the 30th anniversary of the reenactment of Munroe’s 1887 Washington’s Birthday Regatta.
This year’s “Traditional Regatta” will consist of three round-the-buoys races for three classes of boats less than 30 feet in length and less than a four-foot draft. A separate event – the Mail Run Race – will feature modern boat designs with a deeper draft.
Mary Munroe Seabrook, who lives with her family just a few blocks from where her great-grandfather, Commodore Ralph Munroe, settled in Coconut Grove in 1886, said the race remains a vivid link to the area’s early history.
“Everyone who was anyone sailed in the first Washington’s Birthday Regatta,” Seabrook said. “There were no roads then — the bay was the center of life. This annual re-enactment keeps that history alive.”
Many of the shallow-draft vessels that compete in the annual regatta are modeled after traditional designs, similar to the commodore’s 28-foot sharpie-ketch named the Egret that he designed and built in 1886. Modern brands reminiscent of Munroe’s craft such as Beach Hens, Mud Hens, Sea Pearls and Bullseyes will make up much of the field.
Because of ongoing construction at The Barnacle Historic State Site, this year’s regatta will launch, starting around noon on Saturday, a few hundred yards up the coast at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club.
About 15 boats are expected this year for the Traditional Regatta, said John Palenchar, a longtime sailor and member of The Barnacle Society, the volunteer organization that provides financial support for the park and coordinates the regatta and other events.
The schedule of events includes a pre-race party on Friday, February 20 at Barracuda Taphouse and Grill on Fuller Street, followed by a skippers’ meeting Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at The Barnacle.
A post-race chowder party and awards ceremony — a tradition that dates back to the first regatta —will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday at Coconut Grove Sailing Club after the race. The party is open to the public for a $15 fee.
“The party is very Norman Rockwell-like,” said Danny Garcia, who with his wife Wendy have been participating in the regatta since 2008 in their 17-foot Beach Hen. “If Rockwell were still painting, he would paint the chowder party.”
The Mail Run Race on Sunday, Feb. 22, concludes the weekend’s events, sending larger, modern sailboats to Fowey Lighthouse, about 12 miles offshore, where crews raft up for a post-race celebration.
Seabrook said the race’s name — and the tradition behind it — dates back to her great-grandfather, who kept a telescope at The Barnacle and would sail Egret out to Fowey whenever he spotted a steamship at anchor, returning with the community’s mail.
Coconut Grove residents Alyn Pruett and his wife Janice bought a 31-foot traditional two-masted ketch rigged with a wooden mast in 2004 and have competed in the Washington’s Birthday Regatta for the past 10 years.
“The regatta has become an institution in the Grove and it’s a recognized race with classic boats. Occasionally we even get participants from North Florida,” he says. “This year I’ll sit it out because my boat’s mast needs work, but hopefully I’ll catch a ride with someone else.”
Olivier De Lavalette discovered sailing 12 years ago and learned under the tutelage of Richard Crisler, who has instructed novice sailors for 27 years from Coconut Grove Sailing Club.
“This regatta brings together people who have a passion for older boats and have respect and appreciation for the past,” he says. It’s a very friendly event. People need to get together for a good time. Munroe realized that it’s important to bring people together to celebrate our common humanity.”
Daniel Kelsey, park manager of The Barnacle Historic State Park, said planning between his office and The Barnacle Society has been underway for months to ensure the regatta runs smoothly, even as repairs continue at the park. With the pavilion under reconstruction and the pier not yet repaired, Kelsey said the event has been reworked with help from community partners.
“Thanks to the generosity of the folks at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club and Barracuda, I’m confident it will be a safe and enjoyable regatta,” he said.
Palenchar believes the endurance of the Washington’s Birthday Regatta lies in its balance of tradition and informality.
“It honors the history of the Grove, which predates the City of Miami,” he said, noting that some competitors race in nineteenth-century attire. “There’s some friendly competition, but the emphasis is on being together.”
For more information and to register for the regatta or to volunteer for the weekend’s events, please visit Washington’s Birthday Regatta or call John Palenchar at 305-803-1653.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the correction noted in the comment below.
Great article. It’s going to be a great regatta. Small correction: Ralph Munroe first visited the Coconut Grove in 1877 but didn’t settle permanently until 1886.