Marc
You have three great yacht Clubs in the Tampa St. Pete area. It appears you are not a member of any of them. I can't begin to tell you the benefits of being a member of one of the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs. I suggest calling all three of the Clubs and talk with the Racing Chairman to see if one of the Clubs suit your needs to race. I have visited all three of these three Clubs and found some are more into racing then some of the others.  Beside racing, Yacht Clubs off many other amenities such as a outstanding exercise gyms, Tennis, Bocce, Billiards and a host of Social Activities where you will meet others with the same interests as you. I met my wife at our Yacht Club here in Punta Gorda. She is an outstanding sailor and navigator even though she is partially handicapped now.

That's what I did when moving here, call the yacht clubs in your area and speak with the racing chairman. They may offer a good slip program also. If you are a member of one of the 37 yacht clubs in the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs you can use the other member Club facilities with a first night free when cruising.

You have racing all around you.

There is no need to join a "yacht club" in order to race.  Davis Island has a very active race calendar, Apollo Beach was noted as very nice by one of our boat club members.  There are a lot of races coming up out of St. Pete.  Check the link below.

http://www.gulfracing.org

Southwinds magazine has all of the upcoming races listed and is probably the single best resource on this topic.
http://www.southwindsmagazine.com

I will be at most of these races but on another boat as I don't race mine.

Good luck and hope to see you out there!