Glory got through Race Rocks first, but the reality of Bruce’s forecast settled in on the Swiftsure fleet early and mercilessly. Congratulations to Rage for being the lone finisher on the long course, Panic for winning the monohull fleet in the Flattery course, Big Broderna for winning the multihull Flattery fleet and Gladiator for winning the Juan de Fuca fleet. And a tip of the hat (and glass) to the other die-hards who stuck it out. By my count that was 16 total.
Jan Anderson took lots of photos like the ones above, but don’t expect to see yourself on a screaming plane doing high-fives.
Speaking of Bruce Hedrick, he has this to say about the race: “Yes we dropped at 1059, first on the Cape Flattery course. We asked the team on the boat for a vote and I excused myself being the tactician and Wx guy and it was unanimous, let’s end this. In the morning when we met on the boat I said the our elapsed time had gone from 46 to 41 hours, the other J-35 finished in 39.5 hrs. Either way there are other ways to spend your Memorial Day weekend if it’s going to be a hair bag race, which it clearly was, let’s do family and friends things. The folks that stuck it out are clearly to be congratulated. Then there is always next year, which for me will be number 49. Will I miss the next race? Hell no! It’s always so great to see everyone from the years past as well as remember the ones who aren’t there, like Tom Rutten, Kelly O’Neil Henson, and Willy O’Neil. It’s a great tradition and as always so we’ll run by RVYC.
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.