Sometimes in a drifter of a race it’s best to just look around and say “What a great day to be on the water!”
Then sail into another wind hole, watch your fleet sail away and say again “What a great day to be on the water!”
This year’s Foul Weather Bluff Race was one of those. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, a reminder of why we love to live here. It was the winds that were fickle. Sometimes coming from here, sometimes from there, sometimes not at all. There were plenty of winners, and no doubt they all deserved their pickle dishes as it took a great deal of concentration and fortitude to keep focused until the finish line. A Melges 24 owned by Evan Walker and the 40′ Martin designed Gray Wolf, owned by Evgeniy Goussev were a very close first and second overall. Results here.
The most excitement came, as is often the case, at the Scatchet Head Buoy. A flooding tide made getting to the buoy and around it a bit excruciating. It’s just sooooo easy to leave a bit of gelcoat behind in that situation. On approach to the turn, the boats that played the Whidbey shore escaped the worst of the current and got some puffs, while those that stayed further south were swept back when the wind died completely at times. But no worries, there were several restarts later in the race.
Photos by Jan Anderson. Click to enlarge. See (and purchase) the others here:
Even the mighty Crossfire couldn’t generate her own wind in some of holes. Nigel Barron took a trip up the rig (with a camera) and got the following shot of Nefarious. In return, Genevieve Livingston got a shot of Nigel hanging near the hounds. For good measure, Rick Donahue supplied Crossfire’s track. According to Barron, Crossfire “led the fleet into at least three holes.”
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.