J/122 & J/120 Win Cape Flattery Race!
(Victoria, BC, Canada)- While this year’s Pacific Northwest classic offshore yacht race- “the Swiftsure”- may not go down in the history books as the fastest ever, it will surely go down as an eye-opener for the fleet to see so many J/Teams excel in the highly variable conditions they raced in. Starting off with a 5-10 kts breeze from the SE swinging slowly to SW, the fleet was split on how to play breeze over adverse current. Some boats stayed along the northern shores along British Columbia while others made the mad dash across the Juan de Fuca Straits over to the southern shoreline along the Olympic Peninsula. Ironically, both strategies seemed to work as winners came from both sides! “Dose crazy yotsmen” seemed to make it all work!
The
highly popular Cape Flattery Race attracted a flock of thirteen J’s
that certainly knew their way around the race track. The top performers
were Tom Kelly’s J/122 ANAM CARA from Portland YC (Oregon) and Bob
Brunius’s J/120 TIME BANDIT from Orcas Island YC together; they dusted
the entire Cape Flattery Race fleet, taking 1-2 both in L-1 Class and
Overall! Quite a feat to achieve in the largest race against some of
the best offshore sailors in the Pacific Northwest. Not far behind them
was another J/120, Johnson & Liffring’s WITH GRACE, taking 4th in
class.Another Portlander from Portland YC, Scott Campbell’s J/46 RIVA took 6th overall and won H-1 Class! It seems their epic race in the Oregon Offshore was good preparation for the focus and navigational challenges required to succeed in the race.
Then, 8th overall and 2nd in L-2 Class was Jerry Diercks’s J/105 DELIRIUM! Just behind them in L-2 Class were George Leighton’s J/35 TAHLEQUAH in 4th and Jim Geros’s J/105 LAST TANGO in 5th.
In the Cape Flattery IRC Unlimited Division, Ron Holbrook’s J/133 CONSTELLATION from Corinthian YC- Tacoma took home the silver both overall and in class.
The
Juan de Fuca Race proved to be popular with the J/30 gang; both entries
from Sloop Tavern YC were clearly match-racing all the way around the
course since they finished within 5 minutes of one another at the finish
off Victoria, BC! Taking 2nd in L-2 Division was Ulf Georg Gwildis’s
IMPULSIVE and settling for the bronze on the podium was CONRAD J
skippered by the two partners- Geoffrey
Wolf & Adrien Felon. Todd Rutter’s J/32 BLUE JAY sailed well in
H-1 Division to grab 4th place and Jim Prentice’s J/109 DIVA sailed
incredibly well to take not only 3rd in L-1 Division, but also take 4th
overall in the entire Juan de Fuca Race! Finally, the Swiftsure Inshore regatta saw the J/80 SW sailed by Kevin Reath from Royal Vancouver YC win Division 2 and also take 3rd overall in the 21 nm race! Taking 2nd in Division I and 10th overall was the J/33 CORVO skippered by Tom Kerr from Corinthian YC- Seattle. For more Swiftsure Race sailing information
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