As Bruce mentioned in his pre-race brief last Friday, the wind gods haven’t been looking too kindly on Three Tree Point’s Duwamish Head Race the last few years. And it wasn’t looking too promising this year, either. But as Jan’s photos show, there was wind at the start and enough to get the fleet around the course, and as Dave Knowlton reports, the racing was hard fought with a breezy end to it all. Results here.
Be sure to check out all of Jan’s photos.
Following is Dave Knowlton’s report. And if you have tales to tell, please add them below in the “Comments” section. Make sure that you make all of us who weren’t able to be there feel like we missed something.
By Dave Knowlton
Southern Sound Series Rep Report: Duwamish Head.
Two races for the price of one!!!! But Wait! The adventure starts way before the race held on Saturday, 7 January 2017!
It was bitterly cold the days before the race. There were five racers moored in Swawntown Marina and they unable to move due to about an inch and a half of ice in fairways! Thanks to Bruce Marshall, Olympia Harbormaster, and his crew, they ran the Port’s aluminum skiff up and down the fairways to break up the ice. Four of the boats on ‘H’ dock departed around 1100 on Friday headed for the Tacoma Yacht Club, the fifth departed later in the afternoon and went directly to DesMoines. The four boats arrived at TYC around 1500 and tied up at the reciprocal moorage docks. As we have done for the past 20 years, we had reservations at the wonderful TYC dining room for dinner! A great way to break up a long delivery and have electricity at the docks!
We had all read Bruce Hedrick’s prediction for this race: Four knots of wind dying in the afternoon. Cold. Eighty percent chance of an accurate forecast. So upon arrival in the starting area, all were surprised to discover some wind in the low teens!
The start in front of the DesMoines breakwater went without a hitch. Boats, after clearing the line, were able to use their spinnakers as they headed north to Alki Point. Then Bruce’s prediction became accurate. The wind diminished and the fleet slowed down. About three in the afternoon, most of the boats had worked their way around Alki Point in the soft breeze. Crossfire, with a -105 handicap had made it all the way to Blakely Rock. Crossfire contacted the committee boat on VHF Channel 72: ‘This is Crossfire; we can anchor here and take times when you shorten the course!” You could hear throughout Elliott Bay sighs of relief that this drifter was at least going to end at the rock! The committee boat responded: “No, we are going to complete the entire race.” You could then, again, hear sighs of frustration. This could be a long drifter!
Well, the Three Tree Point Yacht Club race committee must have a real powerful crystal ball! About a half hour later the wind picked up from the south and started blasting the fleet! Naturally several sail changes were made, some reefs put in, and the fleet beat hard to the finish line back in DesMoines! Several of the slower boats in the cruising classes decided to drop out. The wind was too much for them.
Approximately 53 boats registered for the race and about 11 did not finish or did not start. So, 42 boats completed the entire course! This is important, because the past three years of Duwamish Head races did not happen: too much wind and the boats could not get out of the marina; too little wind; and an abandonment near Alki Point/Duwamish Head due to lack of wind and adverse current.
The Three Tree Point Yacht Club ran a great race, although most did not realize it until about 1500 in the afternoon!
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.