Borrowed this from the Live Sail Die website. Oh to have this happen when sailing a dinghy! After pushing your heart back down out of your throat you’d have a tale to tell! Is it just me or is that dolphin checking out the sail trim on that Opti? They caption it:
You don’t get this on the golf course! Or the rugby field, or the cricket pitch! That’s right, dolphins are only found jumping around in the water, and usually where sailing is taking place. Check out this amazing capture by Gauthier Thomas – GT Sailing, who was out coaching Optimist sailors when all of a sudden, a dolphin wanted in on the action!
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.
Last time we checked in on Joy Ride, they were winning the Vic Maui corrected time honors over Firefly. It had been a good battle across the Pacific in some abnormal conditions. At the time, we learned Joy Ride wasn’t coming back to the Northwest, at least for a while. Instead, the boat was delivered (on her own bottom!) to Sydney, Australia for the start of the Sydney Hobart Race on Boxing Day.
Joy Ride made it to Sydney and will be ready to go for one of the world’s great distance races. Owner John Murkowski reports that the Aussie reception has been eye-opening. “It looks like we’re the only US boat this year, and they have a ton of respect that we delivered the boat on her own bottom. They’ve been super accommodating – they said ‘we’ll kick someone out of a slip so you have a place as long as you need.'”
Ed. Note: Alert readers (and a helluva rigger) Chris Tutmark pointed out there’s another US entry. Click here. They don’t say much about it, except check out the crew list. Charlie Enright of Volvo Ocean Race fame is onboard. We’ll watch them too!
Click any photo to enlarge.
The on-her-own-bottom delivery, skippered by Murkowski’s college roommate Bron Miller, wasn’t without challenges. Joy Ride finished Vic-Maui without a backstay adjustor or workable boom vang. Those, and some other repairs, required a 3-week stay in Hawaii. A few more fixes were required in Fiji. Along the way the rudder bearings were replaced and, once in Sydney, the sails repaired under way received proper sailmaker repairs.
Murkowski has been undertaking this task with a lot of intention. He had the J/122E built in the J/Boats French factory to his own specifications after comparing hundreds of boats in a spreadsheet. All his crew have safety at sea certifications and he’s got a long range plan for attending races in various parts of the world.
Joy Ride won’t be sailing with any local knowledge aboard, however sailish.com weather guru Bruce Hedrick will be looking into his crystal ball for them ahead of the race. “For the last few years I’ve always looked at Bruce’s Briefs. I’m glad to be able to do it for Sydney-Hobart as well!”
So, while many of us are digesting our Christmas dinners on Boxing Day, and very likely looking at some dreary December Puget Sound skies, we can all do a vicarious Hobart Race. I’ll check in with the team before and after the race to see if the race brought the team any “joy.” (sorry)
As for post-Hobart, there are big things afoot. First of all, Murkowski needs to hightail it back to the US to be home for the birth of his twins. Then Joy Ride may be headed to Europe for some of those iconic races.
If you want to check in directly with the team, you can check out the boat’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/joyridesailing. The Sydney Hobart profile is here.
Murkowski also put together these live stream options:
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.
For those of you, like me, who get a hankering to see more of Neil Rabinowitz’ photography, here’s a quick taste. It’s a powerboat, and one well suited for those who can appreciate going truly fast on the water.
You don’t see many powerboats on sailish.com, not because we harbor some silly prejudice against them, but there’s just simply so much sailing to cover around here. Take a look at this Tactical 40 and sense your hand automatically seeking a joy stick or throttle.
Enjoy these photos from the one and only Neil Rabinowitz. Click any to enlarge.
Tactical 40
Tactical 40
Tactical 40
Tactical 40
I asked the folks at Tactical Marine in Richmond BC to explain why sailors might like the 40. Project Manager Dylan Hildebrand came up with the following.
“This boat is the opposite of most of the dockside drink-aboards, that permeate the recreational powerboat market.
Most sailboats are designed where form follows function and the sailing function is held high; hull shape, ergonomics underway, and general underway systems are given priority. This is also the case with the T-40. Production powerboats are designed on how many passengers and wine coolers can be held. On the T-40 this was not the case. Seakeeping, ride comfort, visibility, redundancy, and reliability were the design drivers.
It’s not a sailboat, but it’s a sailor’s high-speed powerboat.”
And for those who want to see some of Neil’s current sailing photography, here’s a taste. Click to enlarge. Wow, now that’s some sailing at the St. Barts Bucket 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.
Bruce Hedrick, center, with NMTA President George Harris at left and Craig Perry, Chairman of the Board.
At Friday’s annual Northwest Marine Trade Association (NMTA) meeting, our own Bruce Hedrick received the Jerry C. Bryant award for “the most outstanding contribution to the marine industry from someone within the marine industry.”
For those who know Bruce, this is certainly no surprise. But for those who may know Bruce only from his Briefs here on Sailish.com, let’s just say he’s the Northwest guy who’s done everything in the boating industry including owning stores, running a sail loft, editing a magazine and selling boats.
Most importantly, in addition to making a living in the marine industry, he’s always given back and is a tireless promoter of the boating lifestyle. He has served on the NMTA board and frequently makes himself available for helping promote events and clubs throughout the region.
And, by the way, he’s a helluva sailboat racer. And a keen cook. Above all, he’s a good friend willing to step in at a moment’s notice.
And you get to read his weather briefs here! (Start counting your lucky stars now.)
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.
Sometimes, Winter Vashon is a fast glorious circuit of the island back to warm drinks in Tacoma. Sometimes, it’s an excruciatingly slow process in dreary, cuttingly cold conditions. And sometimes, like last Saturday, it’s not so much a race as it is a great way to spend a day enjoying the bright sun while we still have it.
As Bruce Hedrick predicted last Friday, the early indications that this year’s Winter Vashon would be a fast race evaporated, leaving clear signs that it would be a slow Vashon. The Tacoma Yacht Club race committee made the obvious decision to shorten the course. The fleet sailed on a kind of southerly all day in blazing sunshine, connecting zephyrs wherever possible. Even the mighty Crossfire with her massive rig couldn’t find much air up high. They did find enough to win the race overall.
Photos by Jan Anderson. Click here to see the rest of her gallery. Click any photo to enlarge.
Slow-mo start
Crossfire gybing
Chasch Mer
Ben and Jen Glass’s Ocelot
Emma Lee sailing in the non-flying sails class
Bob King’s String Theory won her class
It was also a fine day for fishing.
Throughout the fleet, light air skills bubbled up to take home the trophies. Second overall was the speedy little Antrim 27 Redline with third going to Mark Brink on the Peterson OD 34 Tonic. Results at https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=17719. We’ll be getting weather and tactical outlooks out the day before racing for the remaining South Sound Series races.
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.
Wow! It was a fantastic day for fall sailing in the Sound as Gig Harbor Yacht Club hosted its annual LeMans Race on November 17th. Boats started at anchor in Gig Harbor with sails down and the crew below decks. When the start gun went off, crews’ raced on deck to pull up anchor and set sails. The 14-mile race course this year started in the harbor and ran up Colvos passage to Olalla and back to a finish line in the Harbor. Often run in light air or cold and rain, this year’s race enjoyed a trifecta of relatively warm air, cloudless skies and a strong steady northerly breeze. Winds in the Harbor were 8-10 kts. and in Colvos Passage the breeze was steady from the north at 12-16+ kts.
Twenty three boats raced in two classes in a reverse order start 10 minutes apart. With a good breeze the smaller boats were quickly off their anchorages in the north end of the harbor, many just on a spinnaker. They were well down the harbor by the time the class one boats pulled anchor. Just outside the entrance on the harbor in a wind shadow, velocity dropped to 4-5 knots and the fleet bunched up momentarily. Leaders took a port tack away from Gig Harbor to towards Vashon Island to catch the strong breeze coming down Colvos Passage. Others quickly followed. In fresh air, it was now a beat north to Ollala in strengthening wind and chop. Many boats elected to reef or change headsails to handle the wind conditions.
Photos by Jan Anderson. Click to enlarge. Gallery here.
In Class 1, zero rated J-160, Jam skippered by Bill Fox, took an early lead. Jam was first around the turn mark at Olalla. Less than two minutes behind them was a J-133, Constellation skippered by Ron Holbrook. In close pursuit was the John Leitzinger’s Aerodyne 38, Kahuna and Jon Knudson’s J/N 42, Korina Korina. Beating neck and neck towards the mark was a J120, Felicita and a J-35, Grace-E. Four minutes behind them a Choate 37, Asylum and IMX 38, Gardyloo played dance partners around the mark.
Jammin, a J-80, skippered by Tom Mitchell, was the first class 2 boat around the turn mark. He was closely followed by Jamie Storkman’s newly refurbished Thunderbird Fandango. Rounding the turn mark boats eased sails, pushed sprits out and popped their chutes for a sleigh ride back to Gig Harbor in a 15 kt. breeze.
Back through the harbor entrance boats headed to the finish line requiring a short beat up Gig Harbor. The first boats to cross the line were Jam in Class 1 and Jammin in Class 2. On corrected time placement honors for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place go respectively in Class 1 to Korina, Kahuna and Constellation and in Class 2 to Fandango, Jammin and Chuck Queen’s Tartan 30 Gypsy Queen. –Tom Gray
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 sailing gods must have had a meeting and decided that this year’s CYC-Seattle Turkey Bowl, sailed this past weekend, was going to be spectacular. I can hear them having a chuckle: “Let’s see if we can send everyone home really sore and tired. And while we’re at it, let’s see if they wore warm enough clothes.”
Those gods succeeded. With winds in the high teens on Saturday and into the low teens on Sunday, the race committee could run race after race. And they did. Seven class raced, and eleven races were sailed, except in the Tasar class which only participated on Saturday. The physical nature of each of these boats, and the hiking demands of boats like the Laser and Aero, meant some very sore bodies. The temperatures weren’t all that bad, reaching into the 50s, and the sun was spectacular, but the wind chill tested everyone’s gear and more that a few of us came back to the dock not even in the neighborhood of toasty.
It’s easy to forget what we can have here in the Pacific Northwest. The weekend’s snowcapped mountains, sparkly blue waters, fresh northerly and a contingent of organizers, volunteers and parents made this an event to remember for a long time to come, and a poster-event for future Seattle dinghy events. It’s not always like this, but it can be!
The event also served as the Laser 22 Districts. Thanks to a coordinated effort between kids, coaches and parents the Laser Radial fleet saw 24 entries and the Laser 4.7 class saw three boats. The 4.7 is following the European lead and becoming a popular alternative in the U.S. for kids transitioning out of Optis. There was also a healthy and competitive fleet of a dozen Standard rigs. In the Standard fleet Matthew Stranaghan of Canada overcame the early lead of Brian Ledbetter to win comfortably. Amongst the Radials, Kit Stoll and Owen Timms picked up their rivalry with Stoll coming out on top this time. In the 4.7s, the brothers Cruz and Chase Custodinho were one and two with Delfino Li coming in third.
For me, the quote of the day came from one youngster to another – “Bye – See you at Frigid Digit!” referring to the Seattle Laser Fleet’s big January regatta to be held on the same waters.
In the very competitive RS Aero class, Dan Falk won a hard fought battle over Dalton Bergan and Carl Buchan, ahead of Bergan by a single point. Finishes were very close and the fleet often very tightly packed.
Matts Elf and Brent Campbell won the 505 class, Jacob Posner dominated the Opti class with straight bullets and Jonathon and Libby McKee won Saturday in the Tasars. Jonathan came out on Sunday and sailed in the RS Aero fleet.
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.
Many of you pick up on Sean Trew’s great still photo and video work via his Facebook feed. But those of you who don’t “do” Facebook shouldn’t be deprived of the great pleasure it is to see that work. And besides, who doesn’t want to see drone footage of a racecourse? With his permission, here are some of Sean’s videos from RTC:
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’s very exciting to welcome CSR Marine as a Sailish.com sponsor. Over the last couple of years I’ve come to rely on their insights into the racing, new boat and marine industry scenes. The quality of their work is top notch, and their commitment to the sport unwavering as evidenced by their sponsorship of this site. Click on their logo anytime to visit csrmarine.com. If your company would like to sponsor sailish.com, or you want to contribute as an individual sailor, please click here to visit the Patreon site. If you have any questions or concerns about the process, please click here to email me.
In the meantime, I’m happy to share a promo video from the CSR web site:
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.
For many of us, Round the County (RTC) race in the San Juans is the best of times and the worst of times, with one day having breeze and the next, none. Or, doing well one day and not the next. This year, the wind gods (Bruce Hedrick among them) decided on a relatively light two-day northerly for the race this past weekend.
The finish at Lydia Shoal, photo by Bob Brunius.
It was a clockwise year, and the fleet had good breeze heading south after the start. After Davidson Rock things became challenging, with the boats that headed inshore seemingly doing the best. Of course short-tacking the shore to the finish kept crews busy. On day two, the boats that kept close to shore after Turn Point found some good breeze and were able to escape quicker than those who kept off shore. A freighter forced that decision on a few, and in fact keeping clear of commercial traffic this year was one of the points of emphasis from the organizers.
The finish turned out to a parkup off Lydia Shoal, where much of the race was won or lost. The results show Hamachi winning the ORC division just ahead of Dark Star with the TP 52s, for once, back in the pack. Class winners in PHRF included Recon, 65 Red Roses, Vitesse, Sir Isaac, Here and Now and Saltheart Foamfollower.
Sir Isaac
One of the great things about Round the County is the variety of boats that compete – and win! Remember the schooner Martha? This year there’s another schooner to talk about, Sir Isaac, John and Ann Bailey’s Chuck Burns designed 49-footer which won Division 3.
The first thing to know about Sir Isaac is that she spent 10 years in a major rebuild. John and Ann sailed the boat for a few years before deciding to do the extensive work that would be needed to make her the cruising machine they wanted. From 2006-2016 Sir Isaac lived in one end of a building and the Bailey’s in another. They wanted to be close, after all they were doing all the work themselves! It would be no small job on the 1984 cold-molded boat.
The work including cutting the deck off (with a Sawzall, no less), replacing the deck, cabin and cockpit, glassing the cockpit, gutting and rebuilding the interior and re-glassing the hull. There was extensive vacuum bagging involved, and John Bailey credits “mentor” Russell Brown with advising throughout the process. The Baileys have plans to do some serious sailing in the years to come, including considering a race to Hawaii in 2020. So they built in additional tankage.
The second thing to know about the Baileys and Sir Isaac is that they “LOVE” their boat and the Salish sailing scene. “Everybody treats us nicely,” John reports. If the name John Bailey, associated with PNW sailing, sounds familiar, it is. John’s mother, Jo Bailey, co-authored the wonderfulGunkholing in the San Juansbook that goes cruising with me every time I head north. Sadly, Jo Bailey died about a year ago.
While a schooner rig is fairly daunting for a racing crew, the way it breaks up sail area makes a good choice for shorthanded cruising. The Baileys find it an easy rig to handle. The boat certainly has strong and weak points. This year’s light air reaching was very good for Sir Isaac, thought the beat up the west side of San Juan Island was not. The crew kept all those sails (including that marvelous “fisherman” hanging between the masts) going up and down and the the boat pointed away from the holes while John Bailey focused on boat speed. At the finish line parking lot, Bailey picked what was probably the best route – outside the Peapods, but not getting too wide before riding a wind line to the finish.
Photos by Jan Anderson, except where noted. Click any to enlarge.
The Bieker designed Blue is back in the Northwest.
Jim Roser on Chinook staying out of harm’s way.
The Sunday start.
Anybody who’s caught kelp on the race can appreciate the pain.
Hamichi won the ORC class.
Russell Brown and Simon Miles’ winning G-32 catamaran Incognito.
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.
