J/Crews Sweep Cape Flattery Race!(Victoria, British Columbia)- Light winds, relentless rain, and unforgiving current was the theme for the 76th Swiftsure International Yacht Race on May 25, with only 16 of the 128 starters completing one of the six courses ranging from 79 to 138 nm that start and finish in Victoria, BC!! The winning J/105 averaged 2.59 knots of “rhumbline” boatspeed over their 101.9nm Cape Flattery Race course (notably, they did not sail rhumbline, read what they had to say below!).
Chuck Stephens, owner of the J/105 PANIC, had this to say about their adventure up and down the Straits of Juan de Fuca, “we had a rather successful Swiftsure 2019, winning The Cape Flattery Race overall. It was very much due to the teamwork of the crew lead by Iain Christenson. We likely did more (maybe twice as many) tacks, gybes, sets and take downs than in all of the twelve prior Swiftsure’s that PANIC has done since 2002! Here is a photo of the crew at the inspection dock after the race. We did well but getting a "Thank You" card from the Race Committee was very special.”
A quote from PANIC’s main trimmer Naomi Medley after the race, “the crew was great! How many people could you spend 40 hours with racing in light wind with several hours of drenching rain and be absolutely all smiles at the end?" 2.59 kts was the rhumbline race average for J/105 winner!!
Behind the winning J/105 in the Cape Flattery Race were a slew of J/Crews. Taking the silver overall was Chris Phoenix’s J/105 JADED, while Kirk Fraser’s J/109 ECLIPSE took the bronze. Taking 5th place was Chad Stenwick’s J/35 THE BOSS, and then Bob Hayward’s J/105 KINETIC took 6th. Notably, the three J/105s swept PHRF L3 Class, while the J/109 won PHRF L2 Class.
The Juan de Fuca Race had Ulf Gwildis’ J/30 IMPULSIVE finish the race, take 4th overall, and win PHRF L2 Class!
In addition, there is a “day race” called the Swiftsure Inshore Classic. Based on the wind conditions, the RC PRO chose Course #10, a random-leg 19.0nm course. In the top PHRF INF1 Division, Matt Dahabieh’s J/29 GODZILLA got onto the podium, taking the bronze. Then, Jim Bottles’ J/30 CELEBRATION took fourth place and Tom Kerr’s J/105 CORVO 105 placed 5th. For more Swiftsure Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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