Sail Sand Point remains an amazing community sailing center for kids and adults who don’t own a boat, but want to sail, or just get their feet wet. It also has become a mecca for kids looking to jump off the wharf! SUPs and kayaks are also available. I have sailed several Monday nights with my two boys on Flying Juniors and RS Quests. The boys like the small boats but no longer fit just behind the mast of a Laser. Please consider supporting Sail Sand Point. Here is Executive Director Seth Muir’s call for donations:
“From July 1st through Labor Day of 2021, Sail Sand Point are running their annual summer fundraising campaign and we’d encourage you to support this local gem. Sail Sand Point is Seattle’s non-profit Community Sailing and Small Boating Center located on Lake Washington whose mission is to share the joy of sailing with anyone, regardless of their age, background or ability. Each year countless numbers of youngsters and adults begin their sailing journey through their popular camps, classes and lessons. Their Open Boating rental program, Community Groups Programs, Youth Racing and hand-launch boat storage yard are a major asset to this community– and all their programs are subsidized with a generous scholarship pool raised each year. These efforts enable many who couldn’t otherwise sail to get onto the water enjoying the sport we love. This year SSP are fundraising for extra security personnel for the busy weekends at their public waterfront site, and for new safety gear like radios and pfds. Please consider supporting their non-profit by visiting https://www.sailsandpoint.org/donate/
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 doesn’t quite roll of the tongue like Laser North Americans, but the ILCA (née Laser) Class is coming out of Covid-cancelled activities with strength and numbers. In the PNW, the ILCA 7 (Standard rig) 6 (Radial) and 4 (4.7) fleets are being buoyed by a talented bunch of youngsters. One of them, Alex Zaputil, recently competed in the ILCA North Americans in San Francisco and has served up this report.
ILCA North Americans 2021
By Alex Zaputil
Alex working upwind.
I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to compete in the 2021, ILCA (Laser) 4.7 North American Championships in July at St. Francis YC in San Francisco. There were many nations represented over the classes including: USA, Canada, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Mexico, BVI, St. Thomas, and Chile. I car-topped my Laser down arriving to a temperature of 60 degrees: a little bit cooler than I was expecting, but with warmer water than Seattle, I quickly acclimated. I was lucky to join the Alamitos Bay YC Race Team (and friends from Opti days) with coach Paul Didham, for training and the regatta. I learned many tricks and tips for sailing in big breeze! Most days the racing strategy was pretty similar: short tack up the sea wall as it was a 20+ knot westerly and a building flood tide. However, by the last day, an ebb began earlier on with a slightly lighter westerly (12- 15 knots) which mixed things up a bit. This was a 4-day regatta, but I had 2 training days before to get all tuned up and gather local knowledge- thank you also, Andrew Holdsworth! The courses were much longer than around here, as it was a championship regatta, so my months of fitness training paid off! As there were so many boats there were two alternating groups: one from about 11-2:30 and the other from 1:30-5:00. My best race in the regatta was a 5th, with a few times 2nd around the first weather mark. I was happy with my finish of 10th overall in a very competitive fleet. I found San Francisco to be the coolest place to sail ever with Alcatraz on one side of the course and the Golden Gate Bridge on the other: I hope to go back again soon!
Thanks a bunch, Alex, for this report and heartfelt congratulations on the 10th/25! There were several other PNWers in the 75-boat 6s fleet, but apparently none in the 24-boat 7 fleet. Scuttlebutt ran a report on the event, and the results are 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.
The Beneteau First 40 Jazz, crewed primarily by a Pacific Northwest crew, is currently under power headed for safe haven More information as it becomes available. This year’s Fastnet has been a war of attrition, especially for the smaller boats, as they’ve fought headwinds since the start.
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 a roaring start to the Fastnet Race in England. Winds gusting into the high 20s, with wind against current producing some really angry chop. Our PNW team aboard the First 40 Jazz had a good start and apparently worked their way to weather out of the Solent. Their class, IRC 2, was the last to start and faced the most challenging winds and waves. The hard beat will go on for a while, but a large high pressure zone is moving north and may produce lighter winds in the days to come. A couple of notes – there are about 50 boats in Jazz’s class, including about 10 First 40s. Here is video of the IRC Class 2 start, beginning with about a minute to go before the gun goes off.
A couple more notes – If you want to track the race, the link is https://www.rolexfastnetrace.com/en/2021-tracking-player. My friends at 48 North have a nice piece on the Jazz team. There are lots of battles on the course, with several multihull classes going at it, IMOCA foiling 60s and Class 40s. Around one quarter of the fleet is sailing doublehanded. This is the first time the race will finish in Cherbourg, France, and apparently there is no small amount of trickiness right until the end.
If any of you have further insights, please send them to me. I’ll be covering my friend Brad Baker and the Jazz team closely.
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.
So it wasn’t an overall victory by a PNW boat this time around, but safe fun was had! Here are a couple of videos, the first by the Pac 50 Callisto gang, and the second by the Zvi gang. The Callisto video, below, was submitted to the TransPac committee for consideration for the 2021 Burla Media Trophy. Thanks, Jason, for the video.
Zvi may have been waterlined by the three longer boats in her class, but a safe finish is always cause for celebration. Thanks, Nigel, for the video and all the work you put in to make this happen.
Pssst . . . Hawaii races are a big, fun deal. Start thinking and preparing now for Pacific Cup, Vic-Maui and yes, the TransPac in a couple of years.
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.
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.
So as Bruce Hedrick noted, the TransPac is now officially in the finishing stages with Pyewacket winning the Barn Door as expected. Turns out those Volvo 70s are monsters in just about any race. Especially when they’re “turboed.”
Zvi, Sonic, Riva and our PNW adopted Spindrift all look to be finishing shortly.
Callisto
I’ll add to that list in the form of Callisto, the TP 52 that is second in Division 3 behind Warrior Won. Callisto is crewed by many PNW sailors including Jason Andrews and Shawn Dougherty. Remember that Hamachi team from 2019 – well, they shot up more of a rooster tail this time. The skipper, Jim Murray, is a Seattle Yacht Club member. They sailed a strong race, finishing second on the water (3rd on corrected time) in the TP52 class. She finished ahead of the entire Division 2, even the Kernan 68 Peligroso.
Callisto Crew
Andrews shared some updates from along the course:
Mon 6:36 PM New update-soft sails are up as of 3pm. 1650 nm to Hawaii
Tue 10:23 PM Update from Callisto: made our first gybes – stepped south for more pressure. Fast boat with all ten crew driving. Done w frozen food – freeze dried here to the finish. Fix ed our water-maker issue but now have a head issue. Just crossed Compadres stern by 1/4 mile in open ocean.
Wed 1:19 PM New update: We are more than half way!! 1055 nm to go. working south and west through light patches and then strong breeze. Had many close crossings with other boa ts and a freighter overnight. Top boat speed: Jason Andrews and Steve Orlebeck are tied at 24.9 kts. Top wind speed was north of 27 kts. Boat is very wet inside and out and really starting to smell. Head is permanently non operational.
Update received at 12:38: just about 500 nm to finish. been crazy busy w gybes and sail chan ges- some planned and others unplanned. we are four on and four of f but get woken mid off watch for these events so haven’t slept mor e than 90 min in two or three days. in trades now w 18-25 kts and occasional big seas. stuffed bow several times and exploded kites and ripped front pulpi ts off. lots of excitement… sending it home to Hawaii!
Friday, July 23 2021, 11:05 AM Update: as promised sent it overnight from the right hand corner of the course. beautiful run under full moon in 15-25 with gusts to near 30. we lost our only A2.5 and our new A2 yesterday so are ripping along w A4 (all we have left is old A2 and A1.5). under 300 miles to go and should hit the finish line tomo rrow morning. the boat is a 100 degree sauna and we bail about five gallons of water out of it ever two squally conditions will make for another exciting day squally conditions will make for another exciting day incredibly wet w water constantly over the boat
The Early Wrap
There are certainly many tales to be told from this TransPac, as usual. But the most dramatic were at the start and finish of the race. Twelve (12!) minutes into the race, Denali‘s mast broke. It was a compression break, a the mast stayed up, but that was the end of their race. And just 30 miles from the finish, the J/V 72 Lucky broke her rudder. She was unable to continue, dropped out of the race and arranged for a tow to Hawaii. As far as our local heroes go, Zvi found that waterline still matters and the bigger boats in her section legged away. Mark Omilian’s TP Sonic is still finishing, 6th in the TP class. The J/125 Riva from Portland appears to be second in division 7. Andy Schwenk’s Express 37 Spindrift V is also still on the water but looks very good for second in Division 8. The Division 8 Farr 57 Ho’okolohe flew down the course after a multi-day head start and finished second on the water to Pyewacket.
Here’s Zvi‘s video from the start:
There are many more tales to tell, and photos to show. I’ll get them to you when I get 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.
It’s been tempting to follow all of the preparation of Zvi for this year’s Transpac. The race from LA to Honolulu is already underway for several classes, and on Saturday the “really” fast boat in divisions 1-4 are starting.
If you want to follow this race, the Transpac website is great as is the tracking (though it’s delayed 4 hours)
Many on Puget Sound will recognize the Reichel Pugh 55, it spent years here as Crossfire. Earlier this year, Alan Lubner bought the boat with the purpose in mind of doing the Hawaii races. Some crew carried over from the Crossfire days, including Nigel Barron. Nigel, sales and marketing manager for CSR Marine, managed an extensive refit and tuneup to make Zvi (gazelle in Hebrew) competitive in the ultra competitive fleet.
And Nigel’s famous:
Preparation in included a 230 mile offshore passage out the Strait of Juan de Fuca and back to qualify for the race. Turns out their choice of time gave them an all-night beat with a J4 jib and reefed main. Quite a way to clear the cobwebs.
One of my fellow brokers at Swiftsure Yachts, Ken Monaghan, was not only involved in the sale of the boat, but helped deliver it down the coast for this race. And he had the honor of recording the high speed – 26 knots – as Zvi flew down the coast under jib and small delivery main. See here:
So, while SOME of us WISH we were flying downwind to Hawaii, we CAN follow along. Zvi is the lowest rated boat in Class 2. Check out the Transpac page. It will be interesting to watch how she fares against the other three boats in her class, all significantly longer.
Of course Zvi isn’t the only PNW boat in the race. There’s Mark Omilian’s TP 52 Sonic, which will also be starting on Saturday. And while Andy Schwenk no longer calls the PNW home, we’ll be rooting for him in the Express 37 Spindrift V. They’ve started and he’s doing very well, thank you very much.
Please let me know of boats or sailors I’m missing as I try to cover things over the next week and a half.
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.
When George Yioulos set his teeth into the Pacific Northwest one-design scene in 2005 with West Coast Sailing, it quickly became apparent he “got it.” In the small-boat corner of the marine business world that many had abandoned, he saw opportunity. He knew what sailors wanted even more than simply saving money. They wanted to work people who cared about the sport. They responded, wanting to support a company that supported them. George instituted an uncompromising policy of serving sailors and surrounded himself with people who saw the light. West Coast Sailing jumped in with support at the local level – the Seattle Laser Fleet being just one. They sponsored PNW sailors as they competed out of the area and internationally. They carefully chose boats that would fit in all areas of the spectrum from high performance to beginner.
So it’s with great pleasure I can report that they’ve stepped into the void left by pandemic casualties. Their new rigging services complement a much bigger and broader inventory. When Annapolis Performance Sailing (APS) had to shut its doors, West Coast Sailing stepped in acquiring inventory and adding services. So, if you relied on APS for some parts (as I did), you can now look to West Coast Sailing.
Bill at work
Tapered sheets
Jake in an ILCA (FKA Laser) )
Phil and Chris all smiles
Jared
Lots of line, among other things
The Warehouse
The example of West Coast Sailing’s service that is closest to my heart is how WCS introduced the RS Aero while supporting the Laser. It was the right business move as the fleet took hold in Seattle and internationally. As the International Laser Class Association and Laser Performance threw stones at each other in the press and the courts, and even as Aeros started to sell, WCS did not abandon Laser sailors. They still found parts for us when nobody else could, and still supported the class.
Predictably, as the RS Aero class grew in Seattle, there were some pains. Boat availability, parts changes and all the other associated things that go with a new class. Through it all, WCS exerted the effort to make the class a success. And the Laser class, aka the ILCA Dinghy, remains active and supported, especially for the burgeoning youth scene. These days, most of the time at large regattas there are 4.7 rigs for smaller sailors, Radials and Standard Rigs that between them cover sailors from about 100 or so pounds to over 200.
I am happy to see WCS become one of the nation’s go-to companies for sailing parts and gear. And I’m pleased to count them as one of sailish.com’s main sponsors.
Following West Coast Sailing’s report on current developments:
From West Coast Sailing
Supporting one design sailors with solutions to help them make the most of their time on the water is a core part of our business and has been since day one. These days there are only a few businesses like ours that remain focused on this mission. In 2019, a long standing and well known east coast store shuttered its sailing parts business, and in 2020 closed for good. In our industry, it is sad to see a well respected competitor go, and we understood there would be a huge hole in the market with many sailors looking for a new source for products. In the height of the pandemic, we were approached with the opportunity to acquire the designs, knowledge, and tools to carry on the legacy of their rigging department, which had long been known as the go to place for standing and running rigging for nearly two dozen one design dinghy and keelboat classes, and a great resource for custom rigging needs. Despite the uncertainty, making this acquisition was an easy choice for West Coast Sailing and 100% in line with our core mission.
This winter, our team built out a full rigging bench, worked with our vendors (Marlow, NewEngland Ropes, Samson, Alpha Ropes, Harken, Wichard, etc) to increase our stock of line and hardware, and hired a full time rigger. We now have proven specs and the capability to build running and standing rigging for a variety of boats – Laser/ILCA, Sunfish, Opti, Thistle, Flying Scot, Lightning, J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, Melges 24, etc – and the in-house tools to offer and build custom halyards, sheets, control lines, and other rigging for any sailboat up to 35 feet. In short, if you can dream it, we can build it for you! This new business unit has allowed us to expand our offering of products and solutions for sailors in classes we have supported for many years, and is also opening doors to supporting sailors in other dinghy and keelboat classes. We are also developing new rigging solutions for other classes such as the RS Aero, Tasar, and Hobie 16, as well as standing rigging and lifelines.
West Coast Sailing is North America’s leading source for small sailboats, sailboat parts, and sailing apparel, founded in June 2005 with the vision to be the leading resource for products, services, and information for the sailing industry. In the past 15 years we’ve worked with tens of thousands of sailors around the world and remain committed as ever to supporting a passion for sailing among those who love being on the water.
We remain fully independent and represent the very best sailing brands and builders, sponsor events, and serve all aspects of the sailing community. We have a team of 15 dedicated and passionate sailors who work hard day in and day out to answer your questions, help you find the right replacement part or new sailboat, manage our ever growing product catalog, and fulfill your orders. We sell over 600 sailboats and kayaks a year and fulfill our customer’s needs by shipping boats and product around the world from our office and warehouse in Portland, shipping hundreds of packages each week. We continue to invest in our business and continue to invest in the sailing community that got us here, all with the same mission guiding and motivating us.
Despite the uncertainty of the Covid-19 Pandemic that impacted everyone in so many ways, West Coast Sailing managed to remain open and operational to support the countless sailors looking to enjoy time on the water. It was a season of highs and lows, as demand for sailing products exceeded our ability to fulfill them at the level we expected. In addition to taking on the new rig shop business unit, this off season we invested in and deployed a brand new back office ERP system for running all aspects of our business. This system is linked directly to our industry-leading e-commerce site and will allow us to be more accurate with inventory availability, decrease the time it takes to launch new products, and improve the transparency of order statuses and tracking information. We take our commitment to offering the best service/support you’ll find anywhere seriously!
Whether you have shopped with us for years or looking for your new go to sailing store, hardcore dinghy racer or casual cruiser, up and coming junior sailor or parent of one, scholastic sailor, coach, program director, supporter, or simply someone who loves being on the water, we look forward to the opportunity to earn your business and your trust. We’re committed to being here for the long term and a vital part of the community and sport we all love.
Beyond our role as a retail shop in the sailing industry, West Coast Sailing is an avid supporter of the sailing community and we make it a priority to give back as much as possible. It is written in our vision and mission statement and has been since day one. We sponsor fleets, class districts, regattas (large and small), and offer special pricing to scholastic sailors and those involved with coaching/managing sailing programs. Running a small business is challenging and we don’t have an infinite budget, but we make a conscious effort to say yes to as many requests as possible. We’re proud to be part of a community of sailors, fleets, clubs, programs, and retailers that help enable access to sailing and enjoyment on the water.
Our new rig shop / rigging department is a further extension of this support. By offering proven solutions that make it easier to rig and sail your boat, we hope that sailors can spend less time worrying and more time sailing, be it racing, cruising, or just casually sailing with friends. By offering more solutions for more classes, we hope to build new relationships with sailors in classes we have not supported previously. With the decline in the number of retail shops and businesses dedicated to supporting sailors, we remain committed to supporting the community that in turn supports us. It is a two way street.
Our website is built on a state of the art ecommerce platform and the best resource for the wide range of products, services, and information we offer. We work hard to make products easy to find, with great photos and descriptions, so you can be confident in what you are buying. Our rig shop products are no exception. Each class we support in a one design capacity has a unique category page on our site (example, J/24), and the various line and rigging products we offer can be found there. We also have a dedicated rigging page that provides an overview of our capabilities, and a master category page with all products produced by our rigging department. One design rig shop items can be ordered just like any other product on our site – select the desired color (where available) and add to cart. These products are built to order and have a turn around time of 4-7 days. Our new collection of reference photos are also available to demonstrate common ways the various boats are rigged. If you have a custom rigging need or would like to order a modified version of an existing rigging product, sailors can contact our team via email and our rigger will assist you with options and send a quote for your approval.
We hope to add the ability to order custom rigging to our website later this year, further reducing the time it takes to order and receive the rigging you need. It is a work in progress to fully integrate this new business unit and we continue to make improvements every day!
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.
So much for the old adage that summer doesn’t start in Seattle until the 5 of July. If however, you like heat, the next two weeks are for you with this coming Monday possibly being the highest temperature ever recorded in Seattle since records were kept. Some models are showing the high on Monday being 107°F, with Portland baking at 114°F on Sunday and 113°F on Monday. The high temp for Seattle isn’t predicted to be below 80°F until the 9th of July. Darn, if only I had ordered AC last winter.
June 25 500 MB
June 25 Surface Analysis
June 26 Surface Forecast
June 27 500 MB
June 27 Surface Forecast
June 28 Surface Forecast
June 29 500 MB
June 29 Surface Forecast
Today’s surface analysis chart, satellite pic, and tomorrow’s surface forecast chart show the reason for this unusual (or maybe the new norm) weather. We have a very elongated and relatively weak high-pressure system off the coast with a weak high in northern BC and two highs over central Oregon and central California. The weak (1013MB) low-pressure off of our coast isn’t moving and isn’t strong enough to push the high around. In combination with the fact that we are just a week past the Solstice, the sun is spending a lot of time heating the ground and with a lot of green foliage around to absorb this energy the air is just going to get warmer and thermal throughs will develop inland creating an offshore breeze Saturday through Monday. The offshore breeze combined with downslope compressional heating is what will create the record highs Sunday and Monday. Note also the surface forecast chart for the 26th and the 27th which show no less than six thermal low troughs over the West Coast and one that has been pushed offshore. It is going to be HOT!
As we have mentioned previously, as long as the jet stream stays south, our temperatures will remain cool. Now that the jet stream is now coming ashore near Yakutat, AK and an upper-level high-pressure system is sitting over us, temps will remain warm and these systems won’t move very much.
This will be pretty good weather for boating especially if you are a powerboater. Winds will be light except in the Eastern Straits and Central Sound on Saturday afternoon when we’ll have a westerly in the Straits and a northwesterly in the Sound. Since this is a thermally generated breeze, it will ease as the sun goes down. Sunday, the breeze will stay light in the Straits while another thermal breeze develops in the Central Sound which will bring Mother Natures’ air condioning into the areas next to the water. Areas away from the water will remain hot.
Break out the sunblock early and don’t forget that while the air is very hot, the Sound is still very cool and hypothermia can still be a killer.
Be safe and have a great weekend.
Ed. note: Our intrepid meteorologist did this report in challenging circumstances on the road. Thanks, Bruce!
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.
