[geohan]

Our club has incorporated a few wrinkles into some of its destination cruises. A bottle of whiskey supported by an empty plastic milk jug was dropped at a predesignated location and time 2 to 3 hours prior to the start of the search. Best guesses had to be made as to its travel in the prevailing winds and tidal currents. Recovery was its own reward!
Another fun thing, in and only in, light air conditions, is the Penultimate Race in which the next to last finisher or the only one with tow intact, wins. Each boat towes an empty one gallon plastic milk jug on a thread 100 feet long. The participants try to cut off each others tow while retaining their own. The thread must be weak enough to break when attempting to drag the milk jug under a hull. The "penultimate" feature prevents a fast boat from running away from the fleet to finish first, or a boat to dog it by sailing way off course to avoid mixing it up and risking its tow. All boats must recover their tows and a variation in the game is to allow each boat to reattach their tow only once.