It’s great to see Schelleen Rathkopf and the team at Race Week Anacortes responding directly to last year’s tragedy by emphasizing safety for this year’s Race Week – Anacortes.
Last year, in an otherwise stellar debut for Race Week – Anacortes, Greg Miller died after falling overboard during a race. While the lessons are still being parsed out, basic safety practices are being emphasized in Race Week’s most recent email. There are links to videos on man overboard procedures, and of course Sailish readers know to turn to The Sailing Foundation for more information. And while it is the skippers’ responsibility to brief his or her crew on safety protocols, don’t hesitate as crew to ask for (expect, demand) a safety review before the series that includes practicing man overboard maneuvers. We are blessed with a safe sport. Vigilance is how we keep it that way.
The email mentioned above includes information on the cruising class, reservations of Cap Sante’s entire C-dock and a campground reserved solely for Race Week participants. Sounds like a well organized good time, and if the conditions hold up as they did last year, there’s going to be good racing.
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.
Thank you Kurt for sharing Race Week with your readers. We are all looking forward to a great week in Anacortes, and are definitely implementing new safety measures at Race Week following the MOB incident last summer. It was a good reminder that MOB recovery can’t be taken for granted, and skippers and crews owe it to themselves and each other to practice MOB drills, and discuss safety plans prior to leaving the docks (wherever they may be). Thank you again for your continued support of Race Week!