The 44th Annual San Diego Bayfair hit Mission Beach by storm once again this September 17th through the 20th.The legendary “Thunder Boat Regatta” is not only known for its two full days of offshore boat racing, but also for the numerous vendor booths, “Kid Zone” area complete with inflatable jumpers and face painting stations, as well as a wide variety of food booths, which all together makes for one big family-fun weekend.
Another great, but very expensive aspect the Bayfair has to offer to the true race fan, are the beach front camping spots located on both Ski Beach and Fiesta Island. A front row motor home spot can run anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500 a weekend. “In the past, the wait list for one of these exclusive spots has been around a 7-year time period,” Bayfair official, Becky Strauser said. “These elite spots are usually passed down from generation to generation and kept within the families and their companies, which makes for a high renewal rate and a slim chance for new race fans to get their hands on a spot.” Over the past few years, the Bayfair has created around 200 extra spots between the two event sites for the fans who cant afford these top spots, but still want to enjoy the race weekend in style. These additional spots are located right outside of the event gates, but don’t include any of the VIP amenities the beachfront spots include. This being said, these spots usually run for a much more affordable price. starting around $300 to $600 dollars a weekend, but don’t include the weekend admission wristbands, parking passes or the ever-so-scarce pit passes the VIP campers receive free of charge. This year however, all of that changed.
With the economy at an all time low, there were a few changes made to the San Diego Bayfair schedule this year. “More than half of our top sponsors did not renew their contracts with us this year, and almost all of our beach front spot owners were not very optimistic about renewing their spot again for this years event,” Strauser said. “we were forced to make negotiations with our loyal clientele in order to keep them from giving up their spots all together.” But spot renewals weren’t the only problem race officials faced this year. “The purse the Unlimited Thunder Boat class was asking for this year was not going to be an option with the tight budget we had to work with this year,” Strauser said. “We had to make a choice, and we decided that keeping the San Diego tradition alive, with or without the Unlimited class was our main objective. We weren’t going to put ourselves in debt just to get one of the 12 different boat classes to come out to the San Diego event this year.”
Strauser, as well as the rest of the Bayfair committee knew from the beginning that the loss of the unlimited class would result in a loss of fans, but the lack of spectators that turned out was one they could have never predicted. “The unlimited boats bring most of the ‘wow’ factor to the races and draw most of the fans and attention every year, but by using the purse money we would normally spend on that class and dispersing it to the other race classes, we were sure we could create the best event we possibly could,” Matt Schmoke, San Diego Thunderboat Regatta board member said.
The depletion of the unlimited class wasn’t the only problem the races faced this year. “We knew there were a few conflicting events going on in San Diego this weekend, like the Charger game at home, but we never thought our ticket sales would be at an all time low,” Schmoke said. Race officials knew that this year especially, money would be tight not only for the organization, but for the fans as well, and made the executive decision to lower the ticket prices 15% for the first time in 43 years. “It was a decision we were forced to make to ensure we would have a turnout, but unfortunately, it was not the turn out we expected,” Strauser said. In 2007, approximately 50,000 fans swarmed San Diego beaches to take in the race day events and the beautiful Southern California weather. This year, approximately 10,000 fans showed up over the duration of the weekend, taking the attendance level to an all time low.
Marty Coyne, long time San Diego resident and motorsports veteran, has been going to the Thunderboat Regatta for 21 years. “I hope the Bayfair can pull through the recession over the next few years. It has been such a tradition in San Diego and I would hate to see such a legendary event fall through the cracks in a time where events like these are what bring families together for a fun and safe weekend.”
When Strauser was asked if the San Diego Bayfair will be back again next year, the response was immediate. “Of course it will, we’ve been coming here for over 40 years and would like to continue bringing this unique style of racing and fan involvement to San Diego beaches for another 40.”
