Prelude to Swiftsure Offshore Classic
(Victoria, BC, Canada- May 13-16)- The J/130 ORIZABA sailed a great race and repeated her 1998 performance as she won first in Class A and the Overall trophy for the Oregon Offshore Race, the traditional "feeder race" for the renowned NW offshore classic-- the Swiftsure Race. The first-to-finish boat was the ULDB WYLIE 70 called RAGE, finishing the course in 1 day, 13 hours, 19 minutes and 6 seconds, followed by the ORIZABA, John Hanna's J/133 from Portland, Oregon finishing at 2:30 am, just three hours behind RAGE.The Oregon Offshore was first run in 1976 as a result of a challenge set forth by Jack Gainer (Raindrop) and Richard Kipp (Vagabundo) to all the Portland area sailors. They wanted an event that would put the Oregon racing community into "offshore" racing rivaling Seattle, British Columbia and even California. The first race was from Astoria south to Newport. It started at buoy "2" off the entrance to the Columbia River and went to buoy "Y" at Newport, Oregon. The distance was 100 miles. Over the years, the course has changed to the present one which takes you from the channel buoy off Cape Disappointment, Portland, north to buoy "2", off the treacherous Cape Flattery at the tip of the remarkable Olympic Peninsula (home of the infamous "Sasquatch"), then southeast down the Straits of Juan De Fuca to Duntze Rock buoy then into Victoria, BC for a course of 193 nautical miles.. More Oregon Offshore Race and sailing information here.