Showdown at Peapod Rocks
(Seattle, WA- Nov. 19)- In 1790, Francisco Eliza, captain of the 16-gun Spanish pacqueboat, Saint Carlos, sailed around a complex of islands in what was to become Washington State, naming the islands the ‘San Juan Archipelago’. 197 years later, the Orcas Island Yacht Club took the same approach as Captain Eliza, sailing around the archipelago— now San Juan County— and called it the Round the County Regatta. In its 23rd running, Round the County has become one of the most popular end-of-the season races in the Pacific Northwest.
Round the County starts at Lydia Shoal off Obstruction Pass, which separates Obstruction and Orcas Islands, two of the fabled San Juan islands. This year the race went clockwise; other years it has gone counterclockwise. Either way, the racers overnight at Roche Harbor, once the home of a limekiln, which supplied that key ingredient for tons of cement, used to rebuild San Francisco following the big one of 1906. After a quiet night at the now posh Roche Harbor, the fleet sails around the other half of the County, finishing at Lydia Shoals.
The race always falls on the first or second weekend in November. The day temperature in early November is in the low to mid 50s (Fahrenheit) and the winds can be light and variable to howling. The race also highlights the Northwest’s long-standing allegiance to the PHRF handicap.
73 boats registered for this year’s race despite a forecast for the weekend for - yes, rain (what else would you expect?)- but also light and variable southerly wind. Predicting the weather in the Pacific Northwest is difficult. Much changes as the Pacific fronts collide with the mountainous terrain of western Washington State and the long rocky shore of Canada’s Vancouver Island. This Round the County proved that point.
Three starts were scheduled at Lydia Shoal in Rosario Strait between the sprawling, mountainous Cypress Island to the east and Orcas and Blakely Island to the west. Rain seemed written on the underside of the solid blanket of low hanging gray. Strong current ebbed south through Rosario. The wind was, as predicted, an underwhelming two knots from the southeast.
The
small boats were away at 0840 hours. They hugged the steep-sided,
Blakely Island shore. Chris White’s blue-hulled J-80 CRAZY IVAN took the
early lead ghosting under a big asymmetric chute, white against the
dark green mass of Douglas Fir blanketing the steep hillside. Mid-sized
boats were off at 0850 hours, with the majority on port tack. A few
spoilers, coming in on starboard, caused mayhem at the committee-boat
end, forcing a phalanx of port-tackers to go wide, with some having to
tack to starboard in the light air. The boats fanned out across the
current driven waters of Rosario Strait. Fingers of wind reached into
the jumbled fleet beckoning, with the fickleness of a wickedly beautiful
woman, first one boat forward only to drop it in favor of another. The
rain did not fall. After the first hour, the maddening fingers of
southerly breeze settled into a slowly building southeasterly. The
current was with the fleet, adding about 2.5-3.0 knots of VMG to a
boat’s hull speed.The first turn for the fleet is Davidson Rock, situated at the southeastern tip of Lopez. This is the point where the race turns west, out the Straits of Juan de Fuca, keeping the shores of Lopez and San Juan Islands to starboard as it steadily arcs toward the north where San Juan Island becomes the eastern shore of Haro Strait.
The wind held steady from the southeast. Strategy and tactics began to play out on the chess board of Juan de Fuca Strait. Some boats turned west not long after passing Davidson Rock, but others carried straight south seeking stronger wind and a gybe angle to keep them off the islands’ lee shores. With eight knots of southeasterly breeze, and favorable tide, the fleet makes the half way point Salomon Bank Buoy with ease. A race committee boat noted times in case the race had to be called before its 1800 hours limit.
Not long after Salmon Bank, the steady southerly—quickly and unpredictably—swung round to the northwest. Poled-out spinnakers were suddenly against the forestay. Jibs and genoas went up as spinnakers were snuffed below. Tacking up the shore became the strategy, although constant care was needed to avoid perilous wind holes or tangles with the kelp. That's how it ended for the first day of racing on Saturday.
For Saturday night, the fleet stayed at Roche Harbor, which had plenty of open slips this time of year to dock the fleet. Overnight a 35-knot front blew through, but the morning dawned clear. Sun sparkled the water as the fleet checked in for the start of racing on Sunday. The wind was light; the tide ebbed in Spiden Channel as the boats reach across toward Stuart Island’s aptly named Turn Point, home to one of the most beautiful lighthouse settings in the San Juans. The southerly breeze continued to build as the fleet rounded Turn Point heading northeast up Boundary Pass, Canada is on the port side. The big boats legged-out as the breeze rose to 14 knots. At 19 knots of true wind, at least one spinnaker was turned to long, ineffective ribbons. The sun was warm. White caps pocked the sea, and the air was clear and clean as only it can be in the Northwest. Alden Light, on Patos Island, was the halfway mark and the turning point to the southeast for the day’s 34 mile leg. To escape the hard current, a number of boats tucked behind Patos popping into the current at the last moment as they rounded rocky Alden Point.
The real showdown came at Peapod Rocks just off the east shore of Orcas not far from the fleet’s southerly turn around the island’s eastern most Point Lawrence. The current was pounding north up Rosario Strait. The old adage warns never go inside Peapod, but the tack carrying a boat beyond Peapod put her broadside to the sweeping current with little breeze apparent all across the Strait. A few brave tacticians venture across the flooding tide while the majority of boats tack the eastern shore of Orcas, inside Peapod Rocks, working hard to keep out of the current,
The wind was fading as boats, having pealed down to light number ones, broke from the Orcas shore on their last tack out toward the Lydia Shoal line. Only then did they witness those boats that went wide of Peapod Rocks, mad with delight, on a steady southeasterly lifting right to the Lydia Shoal Buoy.
A number of J's took part in this classic Northwest event, savoring the gorgeous scenery and the extraordinary camaraderie that is unique to sailors in this part of the world. In Division 0, Bob Brunius's J/120 TIME BANDIT took 5th and Lynn Adkins J/124 TINETTE sailed nicely to stay out of trouble and get 8th. In Division I, the J/109s were seemingly match racing around the track both days. In the end Adam Korbin's J/109 ASTRAL PLANE finished 2nd and Dave MacLean's J/109 ILLUSIONIST was 3rd. Like the J/109s, there were to well-sailed J/33s in Division II that are strong competitors in the light conditions often seen in the Sound and Straits. Todd Koetje's J/33 HRAVN finished 4th and not too far behind, other than a few tactical errors, was Tom Kerr's J/33 CORVO in 7th. Early race leader in this division, Chris White's J/80 CRAZY IVAN, ended up struggling in some of the lighter patches against the bigger boats and finished 8th. Finally, in Division III, Jim Bottles beautifully maintained J/30 CELEBRATION sailed strongly to get a 4th! Article contributed by Stephen Orsini. For complete Round The County sailing results.