One thing that renews my faith in the future of sailboat racing is seeing fleets emerge, or reinforce, organically. The sailors choose the boat and build fleets and the manufacturers come along for the ride. Think Star, Snipe, Thistle, 505, OK Dinghy, Opti. Cal 25s in Detroit. Catalina 27s on Chesapeake Bay. J/Boats has done a good job of letting its various one-designs govern themselves while offering support.
This is happening right now with Martin 242s in the San Juan Islands. And they’re going to celebrate it by having the Martin 242 North Americans at Orcas Island at the end of June. Here’s the regatta site. The Martin folk know how to race hard and enjoy themselves after racing. Twenty four boats are signed up.
Here are a few tidbits from Ken Machtley, Co-chair of the event:
•~280 Martins were built from the early 80s to early 90s in Vancouver, then 8 more were built in CA around 2005-7 by MG Marine, who still supports the fleet with parts. The builder is planning to attend with his boat “All In” and has won the NAs before.
•The fleet is growing most here on Orcas, but there are hints of interest in Seattle (one boat being chartered by a SEA crew, another Melges interested in buying one) and there’s one in Bellingham (and hopefully soon two).
•Betsy Wareham was the first to “discover” and buy one on Orcas, Chris White was right behind her. Chris is the biggest evangelist (he hooked me and several others).
•There’s discussion on doing Whidbey/Pt Roberts for the next three years. It’s CA’s turn to host NAs next year, but Chris is working to get that fleet and the Race Week folks talking. Almost certainly we will be there the following year and either there, OIYC, or Cow Bay the following.
We’ll have a race report right here on Sailish following the three day event.
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.
If you haven’t heard, we in the PNW get some claim on one of the world’s most exciting examples for women and the not-so-young, Jeanne Socrates. She’s 76, a grandma and circumnavigating the world nonstop singlehanded. Yes, you read right. And her Najad 372 Nereida just suffered a serious knockdown. She announced it on her blog (see below for a first-hand account. She’s okay.)
She’s already the oldest woman to circumnavigate. When she finishes this voyage she’ll be the oldest person to circumnavigate non-stop. Man, woman, whatever. She’ll be the oldest sailor to circumnavigate. Just imagine any 76-year-olds you know tackling a dragging jib in the Roaring 40s.
There are plenty of places to read about Socrates, and of course when she finishes her circumnavigation in (probably sometime in July) in Victoria, her starting and ending point, there will be many more. I wrote this article for the March issue of 48 North. I even talked with her via satphone while she was just south of South Africa. I’m honored she emailed me a few days ago to make sure I knew of her knockdown, saying “Can’t wait to leave the Southern Ocean and head N to warmer climes and the completion of my solo nonstop attempt – a mere two months longer than expected…! “
Nereida
I recommend not waiting for all those pieces to come out. She’s a great communicator, and her blog and Facebook page are telling the story as it happens. You can crawl to the foredeck with her in big seas and wrestle with the genoa, or put the interior back together after a knockdown. It must be a mess.
She’s also very observant about the environment. There’s always a mention of what kind of birds she sees.
Sure, she’s exceptional, but her achievements point to the fact age and gender don’t have to stop someone from doing what they want. She’s real, she’s committed and she’s tough.
I understand that a flotilla to accompany her is being planned for her arrival. I’ll post that information when I see it. Wouldn’t it be cool to accompany her back to Victoria?
In the meantime, those of you who need something to cheer about, reinvigorate your belief in the human spirit, or want a peek into Jeanne’s world, read Jeanne’s blog post following the knockdown :
Tuesday 6am LT (Mon 1900 GMT) Wind still just under 30kt from WNW with occasional lulls to 23kt. Seas big and conditions quite rough - being thrown around a lot. Adjusted course to keep well-furled genoa filled as wind has backed more towards W - will gybe onto starboard and get back on course.
9:30am Rain clouds are clearing away to give some blue sky but no sunshine yet. Seas still 6m or so and wind often 30kt - from WSW now - but frequently drops to 22-25 kt.
Changed over from genoa to staysail earlier, ready for expected stronger winds but might need to put out some genoa if wind drops much - would be nice to keep up a fair speed so as to round Stewart Island in daylight if at all possible.
A wave just crashed onto our beam - makes quite a noise and we lurch sideways all of a sudden.
Feeling quite chilly at 15C/59F sea and air temperature - weaaring plenty of fleece layers ... and my warm hat.
10:40am Sun has got out nicely, although quite a lot of cloud around - but white, not rain clouds. Pressure has risen to 1004hPa.
Having problem posting yesterday's blog via the Iridium connection - so sending now via my reliable SSB/HF radio! System keeps not getting a connection, no matter how often I re-boot it...
1:30pm Sun has disappeared behind a big grey rain cloud. Wind has remained down since earlier this morning- around 23-27kt.
Looks as though wind will be very strong (35-40kt or more, and gusting higher) from tonight and through tomorrow - so I'm getting some sleep now to make sure I don't get overtired when those conditions arrive.
Hoping to arrive at Stewart Island in between two strong systems - would be better to be near land in lighter winds and seas.
4:20pm Had a good nap. Sun getting low and a lot of cloud now. Being thrown around a lot by the big sea and wind is around 30kt.
Prions are swoopng around and saw an albatross land in the water nearby earlier for a rest - they often do so.
7pm Wind over 30kt now - will shortly furl in the small amount of genoa that's presently flying. Wind is forecast to increase to 40kt overnight so no need for anything but the staysail and will furl that in a touch, also.
Later: Not only furled in the genoa completely, but also furled in quite a lot of the staysail. With 40kt winds, gusting higher, expected soon, don't need much sail, especially if speed is to be kept down, as I'd like.
10:20pm Finished radio sched on 7163 - we usually move, as we did tonight, to another frequency, to lose the data noise there - was nice to make contact with Yves in Noumea, capital of New Caledonia, to the North.
In very strong conditions now - wind 40kt, often higher... The seas are constantly throwing the boat around and we're often surfing for a very short while as the waves pass by and take us with them.
Wedesday 5:45am LT (Tues 2245 GMT) Running under small staysail in very rough conditions all through the night - winds around 40kt, often up to 47kt or more, and big seas at 7-8m, often surfing on a wave at around 12kt, as it overtakes us - for only a very short time, fortunately! Winds have backed to W now, from WNW overnight and are likely soon to be from WSW. Frequently hear a thump on the hull as a wave hits the boat.....
(Wed 7pm) ........at which point, I got very wet becaue we were knocked down by a wave crashing into and over the boat - violently.
Fortunately, I was completely unhurt , although soaking wet from head to feet. Couldn't figure that out at the time but in daylight, later, realised it was because the overhead dorade had been completely taken away by the water action, leaving quite a big hole above me, in the coach roof. The cabin was in wet chaos with a lot of papers, noteboooks etc joining lots of tubes of cream, etc from the head shelves and locker - one locker door had come off completely and the inside contents thrown across to the galley. I coudn't move for wet stuff littering the floor
What a disaster...!
I was relieved to see the autopilot was still working fine, as were the instruments - except for the wind display - gone completely again - damn! But there was a weird vibration in the boat I couldn't understand... and not long afterwards, the autopilot began to have a problem keeping us on course - in fact, it simply could not and we were now heading NE instead of SE, at 3kt or less, instead of our previous 5-6kt or more.
By now it was getting light so I was able to go up to see what damage there was on deck. Staysail intact, as was all rigging, but one solar panel was missimg (so solar power gone from that point on) and the wind generator was vibratng madly, making the steel stern arch do the same...
Even worse, the two bags holding the JSD (series drogue) were missing - I soon realised we were, in fact, lyig to the drogue ih big seas and wind still - so not such a bad thing except I wasn't sure it was all deployed properly. It had clearly gone out from between the arch port side supports and I worried it might take the arch with it.. I went aft and managed to get the line around the nearby cleat. I saw a line of cones in the water but no bridle in use - so at least some of it was out OK. The staysail needed to be furled in ... and the wheel centred. Seas and wind were impressively high.
I left the wind generator rotating, thinking it was giving power - but then realised that was not happening - so stopped it - and the awful vibrations stopped. Later, I saw that one of the blades was completely missing - vibrations explained...
Soon after that, the second solar panel came free in the strong wind and began swinging around loose as it tried to leave ship - but was held by two securing lines I'd rigged. It was threatening to damage the radar and other equipment, so I had to go aft and release the lines so it could break free - another gift to Neptune.
In between all this, I was trying to clear up the wet mess in the cabin while wondering if i would be able to continue on or have to pull in somewhere for repairs. I contacted Taupo Maritime Radio with a 'Pan Pan' call to inform them of my situation and we agreed a regular radio 'sched' to keep them updated with my status. I had a radio sched with Peter, ZL1PWM, so told him and asked him to keep a sched on 7150 for me later on to let ham radio friends know what had happened.
Power will now be a problem - radio takes a lot, as does the autopilot, and I'll be dependent on the small generator alone for battery charging from now on. I'll be checking my diesel stored on board to see how much is left and calulate usage likely for the next two or more months.. I'll probsbly have to hand steer quite a bit now, in order to conserve fuel and radio use will need to be a lot less - maybe just brief emails with very little voice - i'll have to see how that works out.
As a result of Colin's help yesterday, I now know what to try to get the Aurora/Redport wi-fi terminal working when it goes down - so spent a time this afternoon trying to get it working (It had been disconnected, and so stopped, in the knockdown). I finally succeeded when I found a corroded terminal pin needing cleaninhg. Spoke to both MRCC New Zealand and Taupo Maritime Radio to confirm their telephone numbers, in case needed - and agreed a less time-consuming sched with Taupo Radio - by phone, as needing less power use than radio.
Got out a dry duvet and pillow from the aft cabin - the port bunk is sodden and unuseable but, luckily, the starboard bunk is relatively dry.
Checked the PC - not water-damaged, as feared, so useable -
****************************************************
While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.
It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!
***************************************************
1900GMT (= 6 a.m. LT) - end of Day 223. We made 115 n.ml. DMG, over the 24 hr period, measured in a straight line between the two 1900 GMT positions.
Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 223 (by daily DMGs):19,292 n.ml.
Distances (at 1900GMT): SW Cape, NZ: approx 150 n.ml ESE
Position & weather report for 1900 GMT just after knockdown, posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/05/14 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 46-43.00S LONGITUDE: 163-25.00E
COURSE: 106T SPEE WIND_SPEED: 44kt
WIND_DIR: WSW SWELL_DIR: W SWELL_HT: 8.0m CLOUDS: 100%
BARO: 998hPa TREND: -2 AIR_TEMP: 15.0C SEA_TEMP: 15.0C
COMMENT: Soon after knockdown, early on 15th May LT
And for those of you who’d like to see a video, This Old Boat provided one:
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.
There was a national championship in Seattle last weekend, the Mallory Cup. It was the doublehanded high school championship, and it was a big deal sailed from Sail Sand Point on Lake Washington. If we get more info or photos from the regatta, we’ll run ’em. In the meantime, here’s a scene setter and a brief recap courtesy of the Interscholastic Sailing Association.
We haven’t been able to locate any sailing photos yet, but this photo by Sandy Skeel of the mothership Maris Pearl tending to the fleet of 420s on Lake Washington.
Saturday, May 11:
The 2019 ISSA Fleet Race National
Championship (Mallory Trophy) was hosted out of Sail Sand Point in
Seattle, WA this weekend. Thank you to our PRO Jonathan McKee, regatta
chair Nino Johnson, and the many other volunteers who donated their time
to help run this regatta.
Saturday began with clear, sunny skies,
warm temperatures, and a shifty ESE breeze 5 knot that averaged around 5
knots. Courses were adjusted to variable winds. Around 3pm the wind
lightened considerably, causing a postponement of race 4B until a 8 knot
SW wind filled in. Course was moved to account for new wind, then moved
again for race 5B as the wind moved further south. Wind died around
5:45pm, at the end of race 5B, and the decision was made to postpone
further races and then eventually call racing for the day. 10 races
total were completed on Saturday, 5 in each division. Four protests were
heard, 3 resulting in DSQs and 1 being dismissed.
After racing,
sailors, coaches, and volunteers were treated to a banquet dinner and
raffle that couldn’t be beat. Thanks to Seth Muir and Erin Timms for
putting on the dinner, and to guest speaker Helena Scutt for providing
an inspirational talk geared towards these top young athletes.
Sunday, May 12:
Sunday
was the beginning of a new weather pattern, with overcast skies and
cooler temperature. The wind was decidedly southerly, and at 8:30am the
decision was made to have the course south, around Sand Point, and into
better breeze. Coaches and substitute sailors were loaded onto the Maris
Pearl, a tugboat that served as a rotation dock, and moved to the day’s
new course location. Races were sailed in an 8-10 knot S breeze until
around 1pm when the clouds began to lift and the wind died down. The
course was moved back to the location of the previous day to take
advantage of a shifting 5-7 knot ESE breeze. Around 3:40pm the wind
lightened considerably and moved south, causing an abandonment of race
15A and the postponement of 15B. As per the SIs, no races were to be
started after 4pm, so Sunday ended with a total of 18 completed races, 9
in each division. One redress hearing was heard, but was dismissed.
After
a total of 28 races, 14 in A division and 14 in B division, Point Loma
High School took home first place, followed by Severn School in second
place, and Christchurch School in third. Congratulations to those
sailors and to all of the sailors that made it to the 2019 ISSA Fleet
Race National Championships! Thank you to our PRO, regatta chair, race
committee, and judges, as well as all of the parents, coaches, sailors
and volunteers who helped make this a great regatta!
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.
Our friends from Hamachi got some drone footage from their SF-Los Angeles delivery. Looks like great practice for the upcoming Transpac. We’ll be running their videos as we get them so that those of us in the PNW can at least fantasize we’re doing double digits en route to Hawaii!
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.
It was one of those Puget Sound Races where everybody gets to win, but the last one to win is declared the real winner. A wandering convergence zone meant the Seattle Yacht Club Vashon race last Saturday was one of those races that kept everybody engaged. We have a few reports a few found photos to tell the story.
First off, we have Megan Kogut “from the narrow stern of Elixir.”
Two weeks ago, Elixir was in the PSSR race report solely by virtue of being the only boat in our class among nine PHRF boats total at the line. There was some associated worrying about PHRF boats, one by one, hanging up their spinnaker sheets for good.
So I hope it is with some cheering, or at least some coffee spilling, that we are in the report this time for our first place overall in the short course at the Vashon Island Race.
Elixir battling with a pair of J/105s
But, it must be understood that that win was handed to us by three rolling shutdowns of the wind on the return trip, thanks to the convergence zone going north with us. It was almost as the winds wanted to make a point about the back of the fleet. We just happened to be deeper into the southerly by virtue of being slower, and the leaders were working its northern edge. We came rather close to the leaders at Three Tree Point, where they must have waited for wind for a couple of hours. We bunched up again at Alki and at West Point. And so all we had to do was take what was on the plate, greatly helped by crew members Andy Cross and Jenna Swalin. We had a fabulous view from the back row of what everyone was doing, like a menu of what to do and what not to do. Jarred and I have been making the best of this view for years, learning a lot even though last year was our first first full season of racing. But it was great being in the mix with J/105s and boats in our class at the end of the race in a variety of conditions, and across the finish line in variable winds and strong current.
I want to take this opportunity to encourage other PHRF-NW boats, old and new, to get out there. It’s not fun getting dropped off the back, but if you are, you’re still so far ahead of getting off the dock. And, again, that back seat view is unbeatable for learning. Lastly, you never know what’s going to happen out there. Yesterday was tricky at first, but then it was a total treat. Megan Kogut
Then we have a report from Otto Helm sailing somewhere in the cruiser racer class. It should be noted that there were nine finishers in the cruiser/racer class, the most of any class. Here’s Otto:
1) Race was started after a postponement awaiting wind to fill from the NNW – resulting in a downwind start in light winds.
2) For the cruiser/racers that headed to Blakely Rock, winds were variable with no clear ‘best path’ – those who stayed on the center seemed to do a bit better.
3) At the Blakely Rock mark, the course was to Duwamish Head – those who could carry their asymmetrical spinnakers (or even symmetricals with pole on forestay) on a reach were cooking across Elliott Bay – until close to the mark when there a drop in wind and a ferry that cut in front of some competitors resulting in loss of headway – the back-end of the fleet had difficulty in getting around the mark and the gains that some had made with their spinnaker reaching vanished into the light air. Some competitors overstood the mark which turned out to not be a bad thing as the wind died just inside the mark.
The “start.”
4) Heading back to Shilshole for the finish line, those who stayed in the center seemed to do better than those who stayed on the Magnolia side. After West Point, the wind got very light inside and those who had stayed out were rewarded.
View from the cruiser/racer class.
Overall, the Cruiser/Racer class was competitive with – a lot of fun with some great boat on boat battles that went back and forth. It would be great to get even more cruiser/racers out for the Blake Island Tri-Island Race on June 1 (Cruiser/Racer course is around Blakely Rock, round a temporary mark near West Point and finish line in front of Elliott Bay Marina)
In the big boat ORC class, the TP 52s and Crossfire all took turns at the front and the back of the fleet. If you want a glimpse of the big boat ORC class, check out Marek Omilian’s blog post. Here’s a shot onboard Crossfire from Malcolm MacNeil’s Facebook page and a shot from the deck of Sonic:
Ed. Note: Some people may tear their hair out at these kinds of “crapshoots,” but I have to say I think races like these are just fine. You learn a lot, especially focus. The trick is to not take the results too seriously. KH
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.
The weekend’s Sloop Tavern YC Race to the Straits was yet another not-to-be missed event. Saturday’s leg to Port Townsend was a light wind, current-plagued challenge with a lot of did not finishes. Sunday’s leg back was with plenty of breeze from the north, spinnakers flying and smiles all around.
Of all the great aspects of this race, my favorite is that it draws a whole lot of boats that “don’t” race out to race. There are couples, dogs (go Dakota!), kids, cruisers and sails of every imaginable and unimaginable condition. Win or lose, it always appears to be a good time. And with the staggered start (figuring handicaps into the start time) seems to make the whole thing results thing more palatable. It’s what’s racing should be. On Saturday it was a day for concentration and a lot of tacks. Ryan Helling estimated he did 60 tacks with Velella. On Sunday the boats with big spinnakers and long waterlines reveled. On Sunday the Westsail 32 Hula was so far ahead it seemed like she was in a different race. Results here.
We’ve got a lot of pictures to show, but no on the water reports (if you want to chime in, I’ll happily add your thoughts to this post!) First of all, there are Jan Anderson’s wonderful shots. There are many good closeups of happy sailors at her site. As always, I’d recommend going to her site and buying some to commemorate the weekend.
Sean Trew has a number of amazing shots, including one of the Schock 40 with her canard/keel/rudder configuration. Here are some:
Finally, Jay Leon was out as well, and has a number of great shots, especially of boats working the light air on Saturday along the bluffs. Here are some. The rest here.
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.
Sailish.com is totally proud and very grateful that West Coast Sailing has signed on as a sponsor. I know West Coast Sailing as a customer, sailor and supporter of Laser and all small-boat sailing in the region. And believe me, supporting Lasers is no small task these days. Their boundless energy and focus have put more butts in boats than can be counted. They know that what’s good for sailing is good for business. West Coast Sailing works closely with community sailing centers in the area to get kids (and adults) on the water.
You’ll see the West Coast Sailing logo proudly displayed on sailish.com, and that will of course be linked to their site. If you don’t know already, WCS deals in RS Sailing boats, Laser (or is it ILCA??) Hobie, Weta and others. They’re also experts in parts, clothing and assorted gear. Check them out.
This is good incentive for sailish to make sure we get the small boat scene covered properly. Any of you small boat sailors who want to contribute, please do! Racing, sailing, programs. Whatever will further our sport and make it accessible to more people.
With that said, alert reader Nate Creitz pointed out this video on the RS Feva (his son Dieter and crew Conrad Miller gave the British kids a good run for their money a couple years ago at Worlds). Alert reader Mike Johnson pointed out that the video creator was note cited – so we’ll take care of it. It’s Charles Dasher and his website is https://www.dasherfilms.com/.
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.
The report on the Battle of Four put on by World Sailing to choose a singlehander for the 2024 Olympics is in. Read it here.
Lasers in Seattle
The decision apparently still hasn’t been made on which boat to choose for the Games, but the evaluation panel came up with the conclusion that the RS Aero and Laser are the ones to consider.
I’m going to sit down with a beer to read the report in full to see their procedures and specific conclusions. Good to know that our active fleets in the Northwest are the frontrunners.
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.
You probably get tired of hearing me say it, but youth and high school sailing in the Pacific Northwest is where it’s happening folks. Leave it to “kids these days” and their very supportive parents to remind us what a great sport we have.
Last weeked at Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island there was a highly competitive and full fleet of high school kids whipping their boats around, working as a three boat team and doing things with their boats most big boat sailors can’t even imagine.
Andrew Nelson, the NW Youth Sailing Director with The Sailing Director, reported the following: “Scores and a regatta summary can be found at the link below… https://scores.hssailing.org/s19/2019-nwisa-team-race-championships/ It was a 3 on 3 team racing regatta, so any combo of 10 or less points wins. Olympia was a slight favorite going into the regatta, and after day one there was pretty much a four way tie between Olympia, Gig Harbor, Bainbridge, and Orcas.”
NOTE: I would love to have some dinghy boots on the ground reporting from youth events – so any of you young sailor-writers, coaches or parents who want to send something after big events, please email them to me and I’ll do my best to get them posted.
Photos by Jan Anderson. If you want to get excited about kids sailing, here’s the rest of them.
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.
The start belied what would be a rough weather race. Photo by Catie Plourde
What started out as seemingly a light air race last Saturday turned into a barn burner, one that sent most of the SYC’s Protection Long Course racers home, humbled. Long course boats started dropping out while they approached Point Wilson when winds topped 30. Short course boats never saw those extreme conditions, but still had plenty of wind.
First to finish on the long course, and the only finisher in the big boat “0” class was Marek Omilian’s TP 52 Sonic. Maybe it has something to do with Omilan’s Clipper Race experience (around the world), because he not only had reef points in his main, but had reefing lines ready to go. His account of the race is worth reading.
A reefed TP 52 main. Photo by Patrick Doran.
This race puts issue of rough weather sailing comes front and center. There’s no doubt the sailors have the skills to deal with the heavy conditions. There is a question of whether the boats are up to the task. Some boats, even with huge mains, don’t have reef points. In a quest for that extra 1/100th of a knot of speed, there are no reef points or the reef lines are left out even in the face of a coming blow. And the boats themselves are so powerful, and so fast, that pounding into a seaway can tear a boat apart.
Alan Johnson points out that there’s another question regarding the big boats – who wants too risk blowing out a $25K sail?
And there were very big seas. “Some of the biggest waves I’ve seen,” said Nigel Barron aboard Crossfire, that was one of the last to pull out.
One ultra light, powered up boat that handled the conditions was Jonathan McKee’s Dark Star. Of course McKee is one of the more experienced sailors around and worked with Paul Bieker to come up with a boat fully capable of rough water sailing. Estimating the worst of the waves to be about 11′ and the waves “really vertical,” he agrees the conditions were about as bad as they get on Puget Sound, but you could see them coming and they didn’t stay that way too long. Without judging anyone’s decision to pull out of the race, he noted that the big boats dropping out “sends a message to the whole community” that big weather is something to avoid. Dark Star was the lone finisher in class “1,” coming in about an hour after Sonic.
For Hamachi, it made sense to pull out because it would have made no sense to break the boat just before it was to be shipped south for the start of the Transpac later this year. Instead of pounding upwind, they did some downwind training:
And then there were the fun rides home. Here’s Malcolm MacNeil’s video from Crossfire’s return home.
On the shorter course, they had a great, fast race. Erik Kristen won overall with the J 105 More Jubilee after a close dual with sistership Panic. A healthy fleet of six starters sailed the cruiser-racer course.
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.
