We’ve already had a few videos this week, courtesy of the Toliva Shoals Race. See Monday’s post and the sailish.com Facebook Page (and lots of other places). If you have videos from Toliva Shoal (or other events) keep sending them in. We can make it a Wet Thursday and Wet Friday.
Onboard Kenelm Russell’s Freya 39 Rushwind, his daughter managed to get some footage of a relatively cockpit in a relatively frenetic race. You can get an idea of how much wind there was toward the end of the second video, when there’s but a postage stamp’s worth of headsail out, the main’s furled, and they’re charging to weather. Here are the vids:
And from Alert Reader Allison Garnette from onboard Folie ‘a Deux:
Toliva Shoal 2018
I have been sailing on and off my entire life and never have I sailed in conditions like we had in the South Puget Sound on February the 17th, 2018. I crew on Folie ‘a Deux, a 35′ Beneteau skippered by Jeff and Joy Johnson. With a crew of seven we did not expect to place very high, we just hoped to finish in one piece. As the day progressed, we focused on staying aboard, not breaking anything and not drowning the cockpit. We only succeeded in staying aboard. By the end, we had lost two battens from the jib, fully flooded the cockpit and buried the bow a few too many times. When we started we never would have thought that we’d be the only boat in our class to finish, taking first by default.
My absolute favorite memory of the day is from when I was working the leeward jib sheet as we hardened up just south of the shoal mark. We were heeled over at a good 30-40 degrees, there were at least 3′ swells with impressive white caps and then we got hit with a gust of who knows how many knots. Needless to say, we had lifelines in the water, waves coming over the windward rail and water pouring into the cockpit. I ended up thigh-deep in the Sound bracing against the water crashing into my chest as it sheeted across the deck and over the rails. It was fantastic!
Throughout the race we learned about the capabilities of both our crew and our trusty vessel. Most importantly, we found that we can keep calm and still have fun when faced with such exciting conditions. I have to commend each and every sailor who came out for the race and made 2018’s Toliva Shoal the most memorable yet.
Alison Garnett, Folie ‘a Deux
Ed. Note: Thanks, Allison. It sounds like an exciting, but not too exciting, race for you guys.
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.
Had the Race Committee considered shortening the course at Toliva Shoals, there would have been a LOT more finishers. AND half the boats could’ve continued northward to their homeport. Crazy to have the stalwarts beat back into that frenzy of a blow.
I’d suggest the RC made a big mistake not canceling the race, given the forecast. Too much to risk, not a race of skill but rather of survival, and for what? Bragging rights for having the biggest ego?
Bravo Alison. You are a talented writer who captures well the thrill of sailing in high winds. Thanks for sharing and a big congratulations on your well deserved win.
The Race Committee had a choice, and had it been strictly a SSSS event may have considered cancelling the race, or shortening the course. But, It was the biggest event of the year for SSSS as all the big hot talent from up North would be coming down to take part. You may remember how much people howled a few years back over the shortening of a Duamish Head Race. So a tough decision for the RC, and more importantly for the captain of each individual boat who’s ultimate responsibility it is to decide whether to start, drop out or finish.
The pre race weather forecast was plain and simple. Gale force winds from the South with rain.
From the starting gun to the moment of rounding the Toliva Shoal mark it was a wild adrenaline pumping ride with alternating pangs of intense excitement and terror. You saw all around you how the effort to set a spinnaker rapidly became an an act of punished arrogance. It became a classroom full of lessons on how to sail in survival conditions.
Upon arrival at the Toliva Shoal mark decisions had to be made. Some chose to drop out and continue on home. Some chose to sail the course as that what they had come to do. Others continued on as they had no other way to get home.
It will stand out as a race not primarily about what sail to have up at a given time and the finesse of tactics, but a test of seamanship, and the decisions of captains who were first and foremost forced to make decisions only they could make concerning the safety of their boats and all those aboard.
Congratulations are deserved to all in participating in an event that will be remembered and talked about for years to come. Everyone was a winner. See you next year.