Classic Raceboat Association
(CRA) was officially formed January 1, 2007 by a merger of S.K.I.F.F. (Special
Class Intended For Fun), and a group of investors.
SKIFF was formed July 4,
2006 when a group of 35 Florida Jersey skiffs owners had an event in Stuart,
Florida and decided to incorporate. Officers were nominated and elected. Most of
these people were also members of APBA Vintage, but vintage shows were far and
few within the state of Florida. By incorporating, they were able to organize
and continue putting on their own shows. Many one-day demonstrations were
already on their schedule, so there was no problem keeping their commitments.
In October 2006 Judy and Tom
DĄŻEath were appointed Special Council to SKIFF. They along with the officers
formed a committee to explore ways to expand the club for future growth and
additional shows. One focus was to enlist investors to generate cash flow for
more equipment and spread the word about the organization.
Things were falling into
place quite nicely and on December 15, 2006 a new corporation was formed in
order to draw more boats into the organization. This is how Classic Race Boat
Association was born. Today, for ease of name we call it CRA.
The first show CRA attended
was the Rolex 24 hour race at Daytona Speedway. Tom DĄŻEathĄŻs connections with
Robin Bragg, President of Daytona Speedway opened for us. Although Jersey Skiffs
(from SKIFF) were the only boats participating in this event this was the first
CRA event. In the beginning Jersey Skiffs were the only boats in CRA.
January 2007 CRA was
officially in business with 21 investors. We elected officers and board members,
purchased equipment, and we began planning for a show in Tavares. Word spread
quickly and all classes of classic boats (Hydros, Flatbottoms, Raveaus, Donzis
and others) were encouraged to join and membership started to grow. SKIFF Inc.
merged its membership into CRA, but still remained also as a separate group to
fulfill their commitments with ACBS (Antique Classic Boating Society) and the
offshore racing group
May 2007 SKIFF Inc. was
named as a Marque club within ACBS. All SKIFFS commitments were done the end of
2008, and SKIFF Inc. closed its doors and concentrated on CRA. In December
2008, 10 of the original investors opted for a buy out of CRA, leaving 11
investors. These remaining investors elected a new board which consists of 5
members to run the daily operation of the club.
Today CRA is totally mobile
and a sanctioning body for boating events. During 2009 CRA purchased an
equipment trailer to haul all regatta supplies and equipment and a Rescue boat
was also purchased.
CRA organizes 3 shows in
Florida during the winter months; Tavares, Crescent City, and Fantasy of Flight
(Polk City). In 2009 CRA membership grew to 308 members.
