Author: Kurt Hoehne

Mount Baker Sailing Team Starts This Week, Regatta Next Weekend

Kurt Hoehne Dinghy Racing, Youth Sailing 0 Comment
Mount Baker Sailing Team Starts This Week, Regatta Next Weekend

Things are heating up at the Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center and with the Mount Baker Sailing Team. Classes are already starting up and an early season regatta is on tap. This is an up and coming program with a great facility just south of I90 on Lake Washington.

Here are upcoming classes.

Middle/ High School Sailing Team 

Sailing in FJ’s (two person boats). Open to beginner through advanced sailors in 7th/8th grade and high school – if younger may be able to join by invitation from coach Kaitlyn

Cost: $180

Tues & Thurs: 4:30-7:00pm

April 10th – May 17th

Please note: the dates for this course are incorrect in Seattle Parks’ online registration system. We are working on correcting this error.

 

Opti/Laser Race Team (Ages 8+ by invitation from coach Kaitlyn)

Please register through the office

Cost: $90

Saturday: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

April 14th – May 19th

Safety Note:

Please make sure your child has a wet suit, rain gear, and float test on file. For sailors new to Mount Baker, please schedule a day and time to meet with Coach Kaitlyn at mtbakersailingteam@gmail.com if you haven’t already.

And here’s the regatta…..

Mount Baker Open Regatta: April 15

We will be hosting our first event this Spring at Mount Baker and have over 100 sailors with 20+ FJ’s on the start line. It will be exciting and a great kick off to our season to sail the event we are hosting.

Cost: $10 per sailor entry fee (no coaching fees for this one)

Schedule:

8:30 am: Report time

9:15 am: Skippers Meeting

10:00 am: First Race

4:00 pm: Racing ends

Food will not be provided, so BYO lunch.

Parent volunteers are needed to help manage parking, dock traffic, setup and breakdown. We’ll have specific needs available next week.

 

Swap Meet Tomorrow

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Swap Meet Tomorrow
Not sure if this guy is going to be there, but the 48 North Magazine/Fisheries Supply swap meet is tomorrow at the Fisheries store. Get there early if you’re going.

 48° North & Fisheries Supply Swap Meet at Fisheries Supply

Mariner’s Square Parking Lot (across from, but not in, Gasworks Park)

1900 N. Northlake Way, Seattle WA 98103

7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. • (206) 632-3555

It’s time again to get that box of stuff out of the garage, empty the lazarette, and head to the 48° North Boater’s Swap Meet. Hundreds, even thousands, of your fellow boaters will be there selling those items that you’ve been yearning for but couldn’t find, and buying those items you’ve stored forever.
It’s a bargain hunter’s paradise.

And it’s FREE!

What a great event from our friends at 48 North and Fisheries!

Even More Southern Straits Photos

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Even More Southern Straits Photos

Doug Wardrop is a yacht broker and has been around the big boat racing game a while. For this event he got behind the lens and took a slew of pre-start and finish shots. Here’s a sampling, giving a pretty good idea of the light air at the start and finish. Click on any to enlarge.

Wet Wednesday – Dieter Wins at RS Feva Worlds

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Update: I just spoke to Dieter’s dad Nate and he reports it’s Dieter’s 11th Birthday and his finishes were 3,1,1. Go the Dieter. Go the Conrad.

 

Well, no surprise here, but Seattle’s Dieter Creitz leads off this promo video for the RS Feva Worlds, which are going on this week. And it seems (from the Facebook livecasts that I briefly glanced) that he won Race 2 and 3 – on his birthday no less! Yep, he’s got an energy about him that doesn’t waver, win or lose. Creitz and Conrad Miller are sailing in the event with sponsorship from West Coast Sailing. RS Sailing is doing a great job with this video of creating the fun atmosphere kids are looking for in a boat that looks to be a lot of fun.

They’re livecasting some of the action from Clearwater. A little patchy at times.

More Southern Straits Photos and a Stowaway Aboard Blue

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More Southern Straits Photos and a Stowaway Aboard Blue
The stowaway onboard Blue

A few more photos and a great juicy detail have come out from last weekend’s Southern Straits Race we already reported on. The juicy detail was that the PHRF overall long course winner Blue sailed the entire race with a clump of sorbent oil boom on the sail drive. While that surely slowed them down, it wasn’t enough of a handicap considering the outstanding crew they had on board. Joe Bersch provides a little insight:

Jonathan McKee and I joined the Blue crew, along with Kris Bundy and Dalton Bergan. We had a great race in spite of carrying the remains of some sorbent oil boom on the sail dive propeller. We ran it over while motoring to the start directly in the direction of the low rising sun. Thought we had it all off before the start but upon finishing the race had a difficult time motoring.

It was a fantastic race with the full moon so bright you didn’t need a torch for sail trim or deck work. A bit cold by the time we rounded Ballenas the second time, but generally solid breeze until that point. A tricky final run to the finish in light and patchy breeze made it super tactical and hard to leave the deck for any rest. Jonathan was so focused on the puzzle he only got below about an hour or two the whole race.

Straits at it’s finest. West Van YC hospitality is always top notch. Blue is a great all around design, not just a downwind rocket waiting for the Pac Cup.

And now for the photos. Credits in captions.

The Sailing Foundation’s Lifesling Clinic, CYC Presentation and STYC Blakely Rock Benefit

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The Sailing Foundation is one of the Northwest’s amazing sailing organizations. Andrew Nelson continues to do great work with the community sailing programs and youth in the area. Three TSF (The Sailing Foundation) events are coming up this weekend of note.

Friday April 6, 7-9pm CYC Seattle

Andrew Nelson will be giving a presentation at CYC Seattle on youth sailing in the region, how it’s changed in the past decade, what opportunities kids have, and where there’s still work to be done.

Saturday April 7, 7am-12pm Seattle Yacht Club

There will be a free Lifesling clinic at Seattle Yacht Club from 9-12. Learning how to use the Lifesling is just as important as having one attached to your stern pulpit. Call (206) 789-1919 to reserve a spot.

Saturday April 7, Blakely Rock Benefit Regatta

Sloop Tavern Yacht Club’s Carol Pearl Blakely Rock Benefit Race is one of this area’s best events as it’s fun, competitive and serves a good (different) cause every year. This year’s beneficiary is The Sailing Foundation. And don’t forget, Bruce Hedrick will be doing a weather brief here on sailish.com on Friday to get you ready!

South Straits Finish

Kurt Hoehne Racing 2 Comments
South Straits Finish

We don’t have the full Southern Straits story, but here’s what we know about Southern Straits 2018. On the long course, the TP 52 The Shadow II (ex Kinetic) Was first to finish, followed shortly by Blue, the Bieker 41. Blue also won the PHRF long course on corrected time, followed by Longboard and Poke and Destroy. Jam won the ORC division on corrected time followed by The Shadow II and Ha a’ Koa (ex Flash). There were 13 finishers on the long course.

The Medium course had a healthy entry list of 42 boats, but 10 retirements. First to finish was Ross MacDonald’s X41 Daia, which also won PHRF-2 followed by a trio of J/109s. The Schock 35 Excalibur won PHRF 3 (and medium course overall) and the J/92 Zaff took PHRF 4.

In the short course the CY 8.0 Incisor took a 6 minute victory over the Dufour 365 Flyaway.

Results.

We don’t have lot of details on the race. In the videos, the start was delayed and looked painfully light. But then the wind picked up for a rigorous beat. It’s clear that The Shadow II finished in some light air.

You’ll want to check out the Facebook page Straits Race and the West Vancouver YC web site.

More later. In the meantime, this report from Ultraman II skipper Jason Saunderson tells his boat’s story:

Vestas 11th Hour Racing Dismasted

Kurt Hoehne Racing 1 Comment
Vestas 11th Hour Racing Dismasted

 

Here’s Vestas 11th Hour Racing planting her bow in a wave earlier in the leg.

 

(Only a press release at this point. I’ll deliver more as it becomes available.)

Vestas 11th Hour Racing has dismasted while racing in Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The team is safe and reports there is no immediate danger to the crew.

The team reported that the mast broke at 15:59 UTC and Race Control was informed of the situation at 16:15 UTC on Friday afternoon.

The crew was forced to cut away the broken mast to avoid damage to the hull.

The boat is approximately 100 miles southeast of the Falkland Islands and as of 19:00 UTC was motoring under its own power towards the islands.

At the time of the dismasting, Vestas 11th Hour Racing was sailing in a 25 to 30 knot northerly wind with 3 metre waves.

Other boats in the fleet are in the area and have been informed of the situation in order to render assistance if needed.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre has been advised of the situation, but the team anticipates no outside assistance will be needed to make landfall at the Falkland Islands.

Timms Takes Second at Laser Midwinters, Northwest Sailors Rock in Big Wind and Waves

Kurt Hoehne Laser Sailing, PNW sailors around the world, Racing , 0 Comment
Timms Takes Second at Laser Midwinters, Northwest Sailors Rock in Big Wind and Waves

Owen Timms of Seattle has been steadily moving up through the Laser ranks and finished a very impressive second in Laser Midwinters West in Santa Barbara last weekend. He also graciously provided his impressions from the regatta. Here they are:

Owen Timms. Tom Walker Photo.

By Owen Timms

What a great weekend of sailing in Santa Barbara for the Northwest Laser sailors! The majority of us showed up on Thursday, in driving rain and dark clouds, but the forecast showed great weather on the way for the weekend. Friday was light to moderate, with the wind slowly building. Ending the day with a third, I was sitting in second place. Saturday was supposed to be more breeze, but the first race was sailed in under five knots. Then it turned on, and boy did it turn on!! 6 foot swell with breaking waves and 20+ knots of breeze is no joke. I think the biggest takeaway for everyone on Saturday was fitness is key, and dressing warmly (even while in sunny Southern California) is even more important. I got in on Saturday with numb feet, and shaking from the cold and I know everyone felt the same. On Saturday I scored a 3, drop of 13th, and a 4 to end the day. I was still in second place, and with the first place boat (Ed. note: Isabella Bertold) not sailing on Sunday, it was anyone’s regatta to take. Sunday was forecast to be about the same, with just a little bit less breeze. My goal was to stay consistent, play it pretty conservative and keep top three overall for the regatta. In the first two races of the day I managed a 3 and a 4, just what I wanted. After the second race, the wind switched about 110 degrees, blowing directly off the land. The Race Committee hustled, and we got the last start in with just minutes to spare. I never have sailed in a sea-state like that, swell pushing you upwind, wind chop against you. Steering through swell on the downwind is definitely an experience! Getting a tenth in that race, it secured my second place finish, with my buddy Marcus Huttunen from San Diego taking the win. 

Isabella Bertold. Tom Walker photo.

Of course Timms wasn’t the only Northwest Laser sailor to attend. I count 13 Radials from the Pacific Northwest and at least three more in the standard rigs. There was a significant Northwest presence. Victoria’s Isabella Bertold had a dominating performance of 5,1,1,9,2,2 to start with, sailing knowing she’d miss the last day’s racing because of work commitments. “All good though,” she said. “because it was just a tune-up for the Europeans in May.”

Results.

And, lucky fans get to live vicariously through photography. Here are some from Sharon Green that should get a few people to pull their Laser out from the back of the garage and get out racing! To see the rest of her shots, click here. (It’s worth it!) For the shots in the gallery below, click to enlarge. Also check out the great photography by Tom Walker by clicking on either of his photo credits.

John Fisher Knocked off Scallywag by Mainsheet during Accidental Gybe

Kurt Hoehne Racing, Seamanship , 0 Comment
John Fisher Knocked off Scallywag by Mainsheet during Accidental Gybe
John Fisher, who was swept overboard during an accidental gybe and subsequently lost at sea during the the Volvo Ocean Race.

Here’s how John Fisher was lost overboard in the Volvo Ocean Race, according to a press release by Team Scallywag. Kudos to the team for putting out the information so quickly.

 

The following story has been issued on behalf of Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag

On Monday 26 March, Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag lost John Fisher overboard in the Southern Ocean, approximately 1,400 nautical miles west of Cape Horn.

Despite conducting an exhaustive search in gale force conditions, he has not been recovered.

“This is the worst situation you can imagine happening to your team,” said SHK/Scallywag Team Manager Tim Newton, who has spoken with skipper David Witt and navigator Libby Greenhalgh about what happened on Monday.

“We are absolutely heart-broken for John’s family and friends. I know for David, he has lost his best friend. It’s devastating.”

Newton says he asked the crew to put together a timeline of events to ensure accurate reporting on the incident and it follows here:

  • On Monday, 26 March, SHK/Scallywag was racing in Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajai, Brazil, approximately 1,400 nautical miles west of Cape Horn
  • Weather conditions were 35-45 knots with 4 to 5 metre seas with showers reducing visibility. It was 15 minutes before sunrise
  • The team was sailing with a single reef in the mainsail and the J2 jib. The Fractional 0 (FR0) sail was hoisted but furled
  • At roughly 1300 UTC SHK/Scallywag surfed down a large wave leading to an accidental crash gybe
  • John Fisher was on deck, in the cockpit. At the time, he was moving forward to tidy up the FR0 sheet and had therefore unclipped his tether
  • As the mainsail swung across the boat in the gybe, the mainsheet system caught John and knocked him off the boat. The crew on board believe John was unconscious from the blow before he hit the water
  • He was wearing a survival suit with a wetsuit hood and gloves and a lifejacket
  • The JON buoy and the horseshoe buoy were thrown off the back of the boat to mark the position
  • It took some time to get the boat under control and motor sail back to a position near where the man overboard occurred
  • At 1342 (UTC), the team informed Race Control, by email, that there was a man overboard and they were returning to the MOB position to start a search pattern
  • With input from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and Race Control in Alicante, a search and rescue operation was carried out for several hours but there was no sign of John, the horseshoe buoy, or the JON buoy
  • With weather conditions deteriorating, a difficult decision was taken to abandon the search and preserve the safety of the remaining crew

Newton says the team is distraught but has a clear focus on getting the crew and boat back to shore.

“This situation isn’t over yet for our team,” Newton said. “The conditions are extremely challenging, with strong winds and a forecast for a building sea state over the next couple of days. Our sole focus, with the assistance of Race Control in Alicante is to get the team into port safely.

“Once we have achieved that, we have time to de-brief more fully and ensure that any lessons that can be learned from what happened to John are incorporated by the rest of the fleet going forward.

“That would be a tremendous legacy for John, who spent so much of his time passing the learnings from his lifetime of experience at sea onto the younger sailors on our team.”