J/Crews Sweep Van Isle 360 Race!

(Victoria/ Nanaimo, BC)- The biennial Van Isle 360 Race was an epic adventure and experience for nearly a dozen J/Teams that participated in the 2019 edition.  Comprised of nine individual legs that circumnavigate the outrageously picturesque Vancouver Island off the Pacific coastline of British Columbia, the race was full of drama as each leg completed and teams fought for good overall results.

The combination of the nine legs determined the class winners as well as the overall winner.  The legs were:

1. Nanaimo to Comox- 36.9nm
2. Comox to Campbell River- 27.6nm
3. Deepwater Bay to Hardwicke Island- 24.2nm
4. Hardwicke Island to Telegraph Cove- 41.0nm
5. Telegraph Cove to Port Hardy- 28.7nm
6. Port Hardy to Winter Harbour- 69.1nm
7. Winter Harbour to Ucluelet- 138.1nm
8. Ucluelet to Victoria Harbour- 98.2nm
9. Victoria Harbour to Nanaimo- 59.9nm

That made for a total of at least 486.8nm down the rhumbline. The fleet experienced the standard extremes of weather- from complete glass outs, waiting for breeze, to 40 to 50 kt microbursts ripping down from the mountains peaks on Vancouver Island transited across the notorious Johnstone Straits.

In the end, J/Teams led sweeps in the two largest big boat divisions. In the PHRF Division 1, winning was B. Chan and A. Smyth’s J/111 65 RED ROSES II with 19 pts and also taking 1st PHRF Overall (six classes). Tied going into the last race from Victoria to Nanaimo, it was Scott Campbell’s J/121 RIVA winning the final leg to take second in class over Bill Fox’s J/160 JAM that settled for third place.

Then, in PHRF Division 2 the final leg became a complete cliffhanger for the two leading J/109s. Indeed, they both ended up tied on 25 pts each. Winning on count-back was T. Sitar’s J/109 SERENDIPITY over Mark Hansen’s J/109 MOJO. Completing the podium with the bronze medal was C & J Wolfe’s J/120 SHEARWATER and taking fifth was Tolga Cezik’s J/109 LODOS.  For more Van Isle 360 Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.