A shout out for the Shaw Island Winter Classic…
Hey, while the South Sounders were getting a little tough love from Mother Nature, up here in the San Juans we had our own go round with the elements. President’s Day Weekend is always the date for going around Shaw Island in the winter, when there is wind, more likely than not. 2018 was no exception. 21 boats registered, which is right about the average over the years.
Photos by Matt Nelson and a nice guy on a fishing boat for the photos.
Despite the breezy forecast, the race started just after the ferry departing Orcas had cleared the course, in light and patchy breeze, with the fleet heading east through Harney Channel. As soon as the fleet rounded the corner into Upright Channel it was a whole ‘nother world. #1’s were quickly peeled to #3’s, and much of the fleet put in a reef to bash south towards San Juan Channel in 25-30 kts. Sir Isaac, the unmistakable, schooner-rigged Burns 47, saw 37 knots, which seemed just fine as they sliced upwind double-handed under jib and jigger. Several of the under 30’ fleet quickly turned tail back home to fight another day. The bigger boats quickly reached San Juan Channel and were able to crack off a touch for a fast, close reach towards Wasp Passage. Time Bandit, the local J/120, led the way, and even they had a few knockdown wipeouts as the puffs slammed onto the water after tumbling over San Juan Island. The most surprising thing to me, at least, was that I had to reach for my sunglasses, as the heavy morning rain gave way to glorious sunshine and increasing breeze. Wasp Passage is a notoriously fickle, narrow section of the course that has served up many a winner and loser over the years, but with the wind blowing straight up Wasp Passage, this year, the only question was kite or no kite. Most boats, satisfied with 10+ knots over the water, opted for some version of wing on wing, after accounting for the small margin for error the narrow waterway provided. Eager to make up for the extra time needed to beat upwind for almost 2 hours with a 24’ waterline, only Spadefoot and Wild Rumpus opted for the “go big or go home” option. Spadefoot had a satisfying run seeing 15 knots on the fun meter, followed quickly by the boom on centerline and the kite streaming back against the spreaders, followed by another quick burst, threading the needle between sailing too low and collapsing the kite or running into the wind shadow of Shaw. Wild Rumpus had a “Wild” ride that ended beautifully, but prematurely (see photos).
In the end, Division I was taken by the slow boat in the class, Chinook (Cal 39), and Wild Rumpus (SC 27) went big to take Div. II where finishing was the major accomplishment. Only half of the entire fleet finished, and sadly, two rigs were sacrificed to the wind gods.
Results here: https://oiyc.org/oiyc_club_racing_results.php?record=371&year=2018
By Justin Wolfe (Ed. Note: Thanks Justin for coming up with this – it helps so much!)
Some Breakdowns Happen When You’re Headed Home
We’re not quite done yet. My friend Mike Powell recently bought the J/33 Keet with partner Brian Lawrence. I’ll let him tell you the story:
We had finished the Shaw Island race in 30+ kts for most of the race and were on a great run home with the kite up, running deep out of Obstruction Pass and heading across Rosario Strait. Wind had died a bit compared to the race and was in the 25+kts range. The boat broached to weather and spun around the pole when it dipped in the water. That set up a forced gybe and the rig broke like it was a plastic straw right at the lower spreader then again below that, not sure which went first. It’s hard to describe exactly what happened.
No one was hurt or even acted shaken much after the dis-masting (it had been such a roller coaster on the race that this didn’t feel that much different) and we had plenty of water around us to take a moment and consider our next move. The plan was to secure the rig to the starboard side of Keet and get all lines controlled or out of the water so we could use the motor. We cut the head off the spinnaker as we couldn’t reach the mast head or get the halyards to move. We then cut the head off the mainsail and cut it along the bolt rope to remove windage, we were still moving at 6kts. More mooring lines lashed the mast in place and secured the still in-tacked shrouds and forestay.
Once we were squared away we motored home and still made it before sunset after the race. Fortunately another Bellingham boat Intuition with the Johannessens’ and crew onboard stood by while we secured everything and escorted us home.
Ed. Note: Mike’s gutted, and I’m gutted for him.
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.