J/109s Crush Juan de Fuca, J/80s Win Inshore(Victoria, BC)- This year's running of the "Swiftsure" was another epic, challenging race, with all types of weather thrown at the sailors as they criss-crossed the Straits of Juan de Fuca seeking advantage over their fellow competitors. For many the race really starts once they past "Race Rocks", a symbolic, but not official mark of the course. The iconic black and white stripped lighthouse is the divide between the Juan de Fuca strait and the coastal waters off Victoria and it’s where the true strategy and tactics of Swiftsure begin. The sailors then face open ocean swells, stronger currents, and hopefully, more wind. On the return trip back to Victoria, Race Rocks is the “almost there” point when the city lights of Victoria come into view.
Unusually, the weather conditions were close to what the Canadian weather services were predicting-- a steady wind filling in from the West with a high-wind warning for the Strait of Juan de Fuca with winds in excess of 25-35 knots overnight. Remarkably, they got this forecast and more, some sailors reporting gusts to 40 knots and breaking waves.
The
race started off nicely enough, sunny, light winds, with the current
pushing the fleet towards the first turning point, Race Rocks.
Thereafter, with a strong ebb, the top teams sailed upwind into the
Northwesterly breeze playing large shifts and staying in the middle of
the Straits to take advantage of a strong ebb current pushing the fleet
to their faraway turning marks. Most of the fleet ended up on the
western shore about halfway up the Olympic Peninsula (that wild place
where the famous "Sasquatch" man/animal lives). By midnight, most of
the fleet in the Straits were sailing in 20+ knots of breeze and by
morning many were sailing downwind under spinnakers flying down the
waves and trying to avoid a massive broach or "sending it down the mine"
in a submariner's dive into the trough ahead.In the classic Swiftsure Race division that goes out of the Straits of Juan de Fuca for 139 nm- the 24 boats participating from the start to Swiftsure Bank and return had to beat the "wind shutdown" that often happens at the opening of the Straits. The big boats made it, the small boats didn't. In the end, the gorgeous J/160 JAM sailed by John McPhail finished 5th in Class I and 6th overall. And the speedy lightweight flyer, the J/125 WARRIOR skippered by Greg Constable finished 2nd in Class 2 and 8th overall!
The popular Cape Flattery Race division that goes for 103 nm had 75 boats going from the start to Neah Bay and return. In the Unlimited Class, the J/145 DOUBLE TAKE sailed by Tom Huseby (his second J/145!) finished 3rd in class and was not far behind the leaders for the top of the podium.
The successfully campaigned J/122 ANAM CARA (Tom Kelly- from Portland YC in Oregon) sailed an incredibly good Cape Flattery Race despite breaking their boom in a 40 knot gust and gybe-broach downwind in the Straits with all the laundry flying! Reports Bob Ross who was a crew member aboard ANAM CARA, "we were winning our class boat-for-boat and on corrected time with about 40nm to go to the finish, when we tried to do an 'inside gybe' on the A3 spinnaker down big waves and a big puff. Broke our boom and broached. Not a good idea. It took awhile to wrestle in the mainsail after taking down the chute. We proceeded in under a smaller chute and jib to the finish-- quite an amazing and unexpected outcome to get 2nd in Class and 2nd Overall!" Always a top contender in class, and past winner, was the J/120 TIME BANDIT (Robert Brunius), sailing a great race to finish 4th in class and 6th overall. Sailing in their inaugural offshore race was the new J/111 ADALGISA (Lynn Adkins), sailing to a 5th in class and 11th overall!
In the Cape Flattery Heavy division, the J/46 RIVA sailed by Scott Campbell sailed a great race and managed to finish 2nd in class and 4th overall. Just behind them was the J/37 FUTURE PRIMITIVE sailed by Ron Mackenszie getting a 4th in class and 6th in fleet.
The Juan de Fuca Race division that goes for 80 nm had 44 boats sailing from the start to Clallam Bay and return to the finish off Victoria's waterfront. The J/109 teams simply cleaned house. Winner in class and overall in the Juan de Fuca Heavy Division was DIVA (Jim Prentice) followed in second by TIPPY (Peter McComb) and 4th was JEOPARDY (Ed Pinkham).
In
the Inshore Racing along the waterfront, the much vaunted battle
between SWISH and JOYRIDE, a pair of J/80's, saw SWISH beating JOYRIDE
by just under a minute on a 22 nm course with a wind ranging from 3 to
10 knots all day long. Elapsed time for this pair was about 5 hours and
10 minutes. As a result, in the Battle of the Sexes, Commodores (men)
vs. Commodores Wives (women), the boys prevailed. Congratulations to
the Commodores from Royal Victoria Yacht Club (Jeremy Smith), Royal
Vancouver Yacht Club (Guy Walters) and Seattle Yacht Club (Chuck Lowry)
that raced SWISH. And, "good on ya gals" to their wives- Tara Smith,
Barbara Picton and Pam Lowry that raced JOYRIDE to a solid second in the
large class of competitors! For more Swiftsure Race sailing information on Facebook For more Swiftsure Race sailing information
