The GHYC Islands Race Wraps up Southern Sound Series

By Tom Gray, Sail Chair Gig Harbor YC

The GHYC Islands Race on March 17^th, was a fitting end to the Southern Sound Series with all four races completed. The Islands Race weather was a welcome change from the Toliva Shoal Race’s gale and carnage. The Islands Race was run with no rain and generally steady 10 to 12 Kt. winds as predicted from the Southwest. At the Gig Harbor downwind start, light winds and a strong ebb current across the line created some challenges.

The Commodore- FS and Cruising NFS class was first to start and current dragged a few boats quickly over the line early that struggled to beat upwind against current back to the line. In the subsequent PHRF Class start, boats positioned well south of the line to avoid being early. Shortly after the start, the SW wind picked up making for a quick spinnaker run up Colvos passage to the turn mark set North of Blake Island. The first boat around the turn mark was the J-120 Felicita in the Commodore- FS Class. She covered the first 14.5 miles or about half the course in only in about 2 Hrs. 15 minutes. (Ed. Note: an earlier version of this story had String Theory as a member of the winning team – she wasn’t. Just second overall….)

These photos are by Jan Anderson. See the full gallery, with lots of smiling faces, here.

The turn mark was in the wind shadow of Blake Island where the wind dropped to a few knots. Challenged to maneuver around the mark, boats jammed up at this point and some played bumper cars. After clearing the Island mark and wind shadow, boats were able to make a fast beat back to Gig Harbor. The Islands race results are still provisional and can been seen on the series website at: http://www.ssssclub.com/ssseries/. On corrected time Mark Harang’s Evelyn 26 Nimbus was first overall, Bill Fox’s J/160 Jam was second overall and Christine Nelson’s J/29 Slick was third. Each of these boats also took first in their respective classes PHRF-8, PHRF-7 and PHRF-3. First over the line was Ralph Vendelend’s J/120 Felicita.

Sheila Schultz Mordue Pictures at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ghyc/albums/72157688896517510

Series Results: http://www.ssssclub.com/ssseries/17-18series.html

Series Team Results: http://www.ssssclub.com/ssseries/teamresults.html

Kurt Hoehne

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.