Friday, February 16, 2018

Islands Race Preview

J/125 Timeshaver (San Diego, CA)- Back for its ninth year, San Diego Yacht Club will host the 130nm Islands Race on February 16-17, 2018. The Islands Race is one of SDYC’s signature offshore races, and the first of the 2018 racing calendar for most boats. Following the Islands Race will be the Puerto Vallarta Race in March, the SoCal 300 in May, and the Rum Runner Race in October.

The Islands Race brings San Diego Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club together when the race starts in Long Beach Harbor. From there, competitors will head west off the Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands before finishing in Point Loma. This scenic course showcases Southern California’s gratifying sea breezes and profound ocean swells.

A number of J/Crews are ready to attack the course on their start Friday evening.  Every crew are veterans of the southern California offshore experience, including Viggo Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER from Dana Point YC; Tom Barker’s J/65 GOOD CALL from Cortez Racing Association; Ed Sanford’s J/105 CREATIVE from SDYC; Seth Hall’s J/124 MARISOL; and Paul Stemler’s J/44 PATRIOT from Newport Harbor YC.

San Diego YC Staff Commodore Wayne Terry, a co-chair of the event, commented, “the 9th annual Islands Race is co-sponsored by the San Diego and Newport Harbor Yacht Clubs. The race is often used as a tune-up for SDYC’s semi-annual running of the Puerto Vallarta Race, which is scheduled to commence on March 2nd. Over the years, the Islands Race has experienced weather conditions ranging from mild to extreme, while usually fun and always challenging. As always, refreshments will be on the front deck of SDYC awaiting the sailor’s arrival at the prize giving ceremony.”

SDYC will host the award ceremony on the clubhouse main deck on Saturday, February 17 with food and drinks for competitors beginning at 3pm, or later, depending on when the majority of boats complete the race. Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels/ JoySailing.com  Friends, family, and the sailing community can follow the race by tuning in to the YB Tracking website. Add to Flipboard Magazine.