As Bruce predicted, it was a pretty light day in the southernmost of South Sound races. For those who braved the cold, they got to enjoy a gentle breeze, shortened course and a chance to be merry (or get back north) afterward with friends.
Dave Knowlton, skipper of the non-flying sails class winner Koosah, says “It was a great race!! They thankfully shortened it at Toliva Shoal! Boats from up north just kept going and the Oly boats motored home!!
The Antrim 27 Redline skippered by Kyle Reese-Cassal won PHRF 5 and overall. The J/35s and Express 37s enjoyed some near level racing with 6 boats in Class 4. Results.
Photos as usual by Jan Anderson. Click here for more.
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.
Found with, and reprinted from, the sailish.com friends over at Pressure Drop.
Foiling has certainly changed the face the public sees of racing. While the jury is still out on whether or not it’s a good thing (in my opinion), there is absolutely no doubt it’s here to stay at some level. Here is the fascinating story of the Kiwis doing their R & D, their own way in their own country being very creative with the resources at hand. I love the video of the early trials of the towed foiling boat. -KH
Published on 02-14-2019 01:37 PM
Auckland, New Zealand – 15th February 2019
In late August 2012, a grainy photo of a boat emerged online.
Most hardened America’s Cup followers will clearly remember the image that was the talk of the sailing world for many weeks. A high angle shot, looking down on a giant 72 foot red and black Emirates Team New Zealand catamaran seemingly flying above the waters of the Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour.
Debate raged: “OMG photoshopped of course,”
“Can’t be foiling – anyone can see from that picture they’re simply launched off a wave.”
“On close inspection it is photoshop. You can see where the bow and stern were in the water. They have cut, lifted an pushed the boat forward 1/2 a boat length. Shame. That was cool for about 5 min”
An image that was so far outside the realms of the imagination of most people- but not those inside the base of Emirates Team New Zealand.
The cat was out of the bag, foiling had arrived. But there had been many months of secretive R&D meetings at Emirates Team New Zealand that went into developing a concept that would transform the world of America’s Cup racing forever.
Rewind to 2011, two years out from the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco. A time of any campaign where teams are thinking outside the square with weird and wonderful ideas having been studying the AC72 class rule, looking for loopholes and testing or attempting to validate some of the most innovative theories.
A crazy concept was continuing to circle within Emirates Team New Zealand.
“What if we could make the AC72 catamaran fly above the water?”
Was there a way to design a control system within the rules to move the dagger boards in the water to create enough lift to support the weight of five saloon cars on a surface area the size of a desk? In 2011, simulation was not at the required level of technology that it is today, so testing and ideas had to be validated on the water.
The challenge was how to keep such a crazy concept of foiling secret.
Auckland Harbour was a goldfish bowl to tens of thousands of eyeballs which would gawk at a vessel levitating above the water and sailing faster than most engine powered boats on the harbour, so a more discreet location was required.
And so, the first testing of the concept of foiling for America’s Cup all started on a remote and narrow lake in the middle of the Waikato region – Lake Arapuni – as a covert mission with a boat affectionately nicknamed, ‘The Waka’.
Things got off to a rocky start.
Early on in the ultra-covert project, while towing the Waka south, a small group of team members (who shall remain nameless) had to call the team CEO Grant Dalton to explain there was a slight curve ball in the operation. The top-secret test platform was now firmly the centre of public attention because they had neglected to tie it to the trailer appropriately and it had slipped off and was causing a multi-mile traffic jam on Auckland’s Southern Motorway.
The issue was swiftly resolved, and adversity overcome. The operation was back on track.
Glenn Ashby was relatively new to the team back then and quickly understood that foiling was not just a whacky fad but something that had to be kept under wraps.
“We made sure we were not in branded team kit. To anyone walking the dog around the lake, we probably just appeared like a few old battlers towing a beat-up old catamaran down the lake for fun.” Said Ashby
“We just had quite a few people with cameras and pelican cases in tow.”
It wasn’t an instant success, but it didn’t take long for the gigantic gains that foiling presented to emerge.
“After a couple of weeks of tuning and building new foils we got to the stage where we were able to tow the boat and pop out of the water and fly stably.
The Waka was a fantastic boat to learn all about foils, to understand what you could and couldn’t do, and potentially what the future could hold for us.”
“Some of those evenings where we would sit around the table, knowing we were pioneering absolutely new ground in the America’s Cup and in foiling multihulls and foiling boats was a pretty special feeling. Sitting there with the designers and the sailing team really knowing that you were part of such a special period of America’s Cup history in the making.” Recalled Ashby
The concept continued to grow legs and the operation eventually moved back up to Auckland and the backblocks of the Hauraki Gulf.
“Eventually we put all that technology and testing into use on our SL33 catamaran and, ultimately, we built our AC72 catamaran with fully foiling in mind. We knew we could do it, and we knew we had to push hard and push big because absolutely we could see that foiling was the future.”
Ultimately the innovative foiling golden bullet from New Zealand didn’t win the 34th America’s Cup for Emirates Team New Zealand, but it did change the face of top-level yacht racing forever. And it did install the belief in the team that being different and pushing the boundaries, throwing the ball as far as we could in innovation was the secret to success which eventually came in Bermuda in 2017.
“I think back fondly of those times in 2012 and how foiling was really born on a lake in the middle of the Waikato in little old New Zealand.”
Now, two years out from AC36 in 2021, as quiet as it seems from all America’s Cup teams, you can be rest assured there are plenty of innovative ideas being tested within design offices around the world, that could be the next quantum leap forward in technology on or off the water.
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.
And another interesting week it has been for weather in the Pacific NW. At least we weren’t trying to race Toliva Shoal last weekend. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, we are between systems and out of the path of the jet stream. The front that passed through yesterday has moved on and left us with a weak low-pressure system just off of Astoria that will continue to dissipate as it moves inland tonight and tomorrow. The Sunday (Feb 17) Chart shows another fairly strong high-pressure system (1044MB) developing over the BC interior which will bring another blast of cold air down the Fraser River Valley and into the northern part of the Washington. This will likely result in Small Craft Advisories for the Strait of JdF and the San Juan Islands on Sunday.
February 15 500MB
February 15 Surface Analysis
February 16 Surface Forecast
February 17 Surface Forecast
February 18 500MB
February 18 Surface Forecast
February 19 Surface Forecast
This does not bode well for finishing the Long Course on the Toliva Shoal Race. Plus the combination of light air and the tide being against the fleet until about 1400 hours, making for a long, cold day on the water. Luckily, the race committee has a history of reading the tea leaves pretty well and has usually shortened the course when necessary without hesitation.
Tidal Currents Dana Passage
0906 Slack
1106 1.2 knt
Flood
1400 Slack
1736 2.49 knt
Ebb
2130 Slack
Tidal Currents Narrows
0900 Slack
1124 1.8 knt Flood
1418 Slack
1748 3.56 knt Ebb
2124 Slack
The charts show that weak
low-pressure system staying almost centered over the top of us. This will mean
light (5 knots or less) southerly to southwesterly breeze over the race area
for most of the day with the possibility of slightly more wind (5-8 knots) late
in the afternoon. As usual, the hospitality at the Yacht Club will be
outstanding so just make sure you’ve got enough fuel to power back if they do
shorten the course.
Bruce has raced and cruised the Pacific Northwest his entire life. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Washington in Biological Oceanography and learned meteorology “to keep from getting kicked around on the race course.” Bruce spent nearly two decades as Associate Publisher for Northwest Yachting Magazine, retiring in mid-2015, and was the chairman of the board of trustees for the Northwest Marine Trade Association in 2014. (photo of Bruce driving Playstation is a bit dated, but cool)
This trio of half-hulls shows the evolution of Ragtime’s foils.
This year’s Transpac is promising to be epic. I’d like to gather a list of PNW entries to keep an eye on here at sailish.com. If you’re going, please let me know.
In a record year of interest, it’s perhaps fitting that the 100th
entry to the 50th edition of the Transpacific Yacht Club’s biennial
2225-mile Transpac race from LA to Honolulu is at 55 years old one of
the oldest in the race yet also one of the most innovative in the last
half-century of yacht design.
Chris Welsh’s Spencer 65 Ragtime will be making her 17th race to Hawaii
in July, more than any other yacht in the history of this race. Welsh
has been an owner of RAGTIME since 2004, and since then has raced three
Transpacs (2005, ’07, ’09), one race to Tahiti (2008) and the
Sydney-Hobart Race (2008). “It’s been ten years since we last sailed to
Hawaii,” said Welsh, “so we’re looking forward to having some fun
again.”
From its very beginning, this long, narrow, low-freeboard and
lightweight black beauty with the reverse shearline and hard chines has
been a recognizable Pacific ocean racing classic. Designed and built by
John Spencer in New Zealand in 1963 as Infidel for first owner and race
car driver Tom Clark, she was meant to be simply the fastest boat boat
of the era, something proven years later by her second owners who were
from Long Beach and beat the legendary Windward Passage across the
finish by only 4 minutes and 31 seconds to set a new course record in
the 1973 Transpac. And to prove this was no fluke, she won the Barn Door
Trophy again in 1975. Ragtime’s long narrow light weight design helped
inspire the next generation of ULDB (Ultra Light Displacement Boat)
designs that were to dominate this and so many other Pacific ocean races
for the next 25 years.
Ragtime finishing many years ago wing-and-wing. The Transpacific YC site has an amazing collection of historical photos. If you’re into racing history, it’s definitely worth a look.
Since then there has been several owners, with each making tweaks to
this double-ply plywood yacht: upgrades of new rigs, sails, keels,
rudders, bulbs, deck hardware, etc. have all been in her history. And
with the new innovations came new structures to accommodate the higher
and higher loads that came with pushing her faster and faster. Welsh
reckons there are few if any other monohulls in the world who are
performing 25% higher than when they were first built.
Right now Ragtime is getting a new engine that will not only be more
reliable but a few hundred pounds lighter, and some new winches that
will decrease the total number on board but also increase crew work
efficiency in the small cockpit space available in the design. Welsh
plans to race not only offshore but occasionally around the cans too,
and after Transpac has his sights set on an East Coast tour in 2020.
For this tour there will be another upgrade: a new carbon mast that will
be higher and lighter than the current one, which he would have used in
Transpac this year except there is no time to oversee the additional
structural work needed to secure this rig properly to the hull and deck.
Nonetheless, Welsh expects to be fast and have a shot at the King
Kalakaua Trophy awarded to the race’s overall winner in corrected time.
“Its fantastic that Transpac 50 has inspired so many boats of so many
ages, sizes and types to come out to race,” said TPYC Commodore Tom
Hogan. “And with the classics like Kialoa II, Ragtime, the Cal 40’s and
others still competing into their fifth decade, this shows the great
passion everyone has for ocean racing here in the Pacific. Transpac 50
is shaping up to be an epic race.”
For more information on the 50th Transpac, visit the event website at 2019.transpacyc.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.
In this era of #metoo it’s essential, especially in sailing, to pay homage to the women who broke ground without the support of social media and an international conscience. Tracy Edwards was a giant in this regard while racing Maiden in the 1986 Whitbread Round the World Race, and remains so today as she sails the restored racer (now The Maiden Factor) around the world putting focus on empowering and educating girls worldwide.
As for this movie, it should be captivating as an adventure story, not just a women’s story. The equipment, boats and training just weren’t what they are today! The sailors onboard Maiden accomplished something amazing.
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.
Correction: An earlier version of this story cited Neil Bennett’s comments as the meeting “minutes.” Neil’s comments below are actually “an overview to the membership that recounts the summary of the outcome decisions.” Sailish regrets the error.
It’s January, and time for the PHRF handicappers and officers to gather and ponder ratings and such. This past Sunday the event was held downstairs at CYC-Seattle. Just outside the marina, a very well attended Frigid Digit regatta was in full swing and on full display. It’s January in Seattle and we’re all thinking about racing…. Neil Bennett shared the meeting summary with me, and I was glad to hear he was “counting” on sailish to publish it. Here we go:
The Annual General Meeting of the PHRF-NW Handicapper’s Council was held on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle. This meeting serves as a means to communicate with interested members and review rating appeals that had been properly filed.
Once upon a time the PHRF burgee.
The Council spent considerable time discussing the status of sailboat racing in the greater Puget Sound area. All clubs are persevering in the development of their racing programs through the introduction of “cruising class ratings’ for local or regional club regattas. Generally speaking, all clubs ask that Cruising Class boats join PHRF-NW for an official Performance Rating, then receive an adjusted ‘local rating’ to take into account each individual club’s and boat’s situations. These ratings are valid only in the local club races and are not ‘trailerable’ to out of a boat’s area regattas.
We introduced a new process to our deliberation; that of Fleet Reviews with recommendations for Council action, if appropriate. I will report on the specific outcome of this review process in the next paragraph. We canvassed the approximately 12 – 15 audience attendees who unanimously agreed that the pro-active approach of the Council, with due diligence in research and adherence to due process and PHRF – NW bylaws was appreciated and one which they wished to see continue.
The first review included two well-sailed boats, the Sierra 26’s Uno and Dos. The end result is that there was a recommendation and motion made to adjust each boats ratings by 6 seconds faster, making Uno move from 81 to 75 and Dos from 78 to 71. Owner/Skipper Brad Butler was present for this action and his Corinthian Spirit of cooperation was commendable.
Five other boats, the Moore 24, J 29, J 33, Melges 32 and TP 52 were discussed with no resulting action.
Appeals heard included a self appeal of a base rating for the Aphrodite 101 was not supported by the Council. An appeal of the base rating of the Melges 24 was filed by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, with a resulting change of the base and ODR rating changing to the faster from 99 to 90.
PHRF-NW remains committed to promoting fair and equitable sailboat racing throughout the Puget Sound Region. We look forward to seeing you all on the water.
On behalf of the entire PHRF-NW Handicapper’s Council, and in memory of Pat Nelson,
Neil Bennett, Chief Handicapper, Bellingham Yacht Club
Ed. Note: Thanks, Neil. I’m glad to hear of the attention being paid to the cruising classes. They’re growing and a great opportunity to build the sport with existing sailors who don’t have the interest in full-on race prep, for cruising boat owners and newcomers to the sport. It’ll be interesting to see if the rating changes to the Melges and the Sierras. With the hardware those boats accumulate, I don’t anticipate too many objections.
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 were lucky enough to read Bruce’s weather brief for the Duwamish Head race, you weren’t caught by surprise by Saturday’s drifter. Like the Seahawks’ playoff game later that day, it was a bit of a disappointment.
Jan Anderson’s pictures below tell the story of the start in very light wind. The pace continued along the Des Moines and West Seattle shores, with the light air enthusiasts (there are those) definitely enjoying the day.
The course was shortened with the finish at Duwamish Head. And there were plenty of finishers and definitely some close corrected times. Crossfire, Dark Star and Ocelot got away from the fleet and took the top spots in PHRF 2 and overall. Results here
Nigel Barron of Crossfire and CSR was lucky enough to be sailing under the tallest rig. His take: “There was enough to keep us moving (having a really tall mast doesn’t hurt). If you read Bruce’s Brief, you would have found it alarmingly and disappointingly accurate. We started in a light southerly on the A1.5, and around Brace Point went to a jib in a 4-6 kt northerly. We carried that until Alki, where we went back to the A1.5 to get to Duwamish Head, where mercifully and wisely the race committee has opted to shorten course. With our elapsed time around 4 hours, we were home in time for the game, and before the rain!
Jan Anderson was on hand to get the following photos. (click to enlarge) Check out her Duwamish photo album to see the rest – and order!
Mark Harang’s Nimbus ghosting to victory.
Sidewinder showing the Olson 30 light air prowess.
The fleet.
Painted ships upon a painted ocean.
Jonathan McKee’s Dark Star.
Ocelot leading the charge.
Sean Trew’s drone photography and video work definitely provide another perspective on sailing in our waters. Here are a couple of his videos, one of a start and one of Dark Star, with the Bieker design gliding along in nearly flat water.
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.
As they will be saying on the docks before Three Tree Point’s Duwamish Head Race at Des Moines tomorrow morning, “You should have been here yesterday.” Plenty of breeze this morning, however, the front has passed, the post-frontal onshore flow has set in and as the gradient eases this afternoon, the breeze will begin to drop. By tomorrow morning we should start to see a weak offshore flow develop which will bring light air to the central Sound. This will bring a mix-master of different winds as we wait for the next front to come onshore Sunday. The problem will once again be that as these fronts hit the coastal buffer zone, they can slow which may allow the onshore flow to stay longer. Maybe even leaving us with a weak northerly in the morning.
Luckily the tides won’t
be much of a factor.
Tidal Current at Alki:
0942 Max Ebb .3 knts
1230 Slack
1354 Max Flood .16 knts
1606 Slack
2112 Max Ebb .64 knts
Tactics for this race
will be tough so always go back to basics.
Know the rhumbline, watch COG and SOG,
don’t get too far off the rhumbline and watch
the smart guys in the fleet. There will be plenty holes to fall into, so watch
what is happening around you so be aggressive trimming and shifting gears. When
it gets really light, don’t let too much weight accumulate in the cockpit and
don’t hesitate to put the dogs in the house. Just keep them happy, well-informed,
well-fed and well-hydrated….
January 4 Surface Analysis
January 5 500MB
January 5 Surface Forecast 2019
January 6 Surface Forecast
January 7 500MB
January 7 Surface Forecast
January 8 Surface Forecast
The
other thing to remember is to not be lulled into complacency by the light air.
Sometime Saturday evening this front will come onshore and bring plenty of
breeze with it. By late Saturday night and into early Sunday we could have
35-40 knots of southerly. This will ease to 25 knots by early Sunday morning
The
surface charts for this weekend show a very interesting pattern, especially the
one for tomorrow morning which shows a compact low-pressure system (982MB)off
the California coast headed almost due north along the coast. Plenty of tightly
wound isobars which usually means plenty of wind. Again, that all depends on
the timing of the arrival and how much the coastal buffer zone will degrade the
front.
Click to enlarge wind speed vs. pressure at West Point
As has
been the case this winner, the 72 and 96-hour charts are very interesting
showing the formation of yet another deep low (974MB) off the coast with that
note Developing Hurricane Force. Right now it is headed right at us and could
be a factor late next week.
Notice
also the 72-hour 500MB chart which shows a flattening out of the jet stream
which will continue to bring warm and wet conditions to the Pacific Northwest.
Those of you watching Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly charts will also recognize
that these two features are indicative of an El Niño so don’t be surprised if
the NWS declares one this week. Oh wait a minute, the NWS is closed. Oh well,
weather just isn’t that important to some folks. Kurt is kicking me under the
table and telling me to get back to the weather.
Bruce has raced and cruised the Pacific Northwest his entire life. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Washington in Biological Oceanography and learned meteorology “to keep from getting kicked around on the race course.” Bruce spent nearly two decades as Associate Publisher for Northwest Yachting Magazine, retiring in mid-2015, and was the chairman of the board of trustees for the Northwest Marine Trade Association in 2014. (photo of Bruce driving Playstation is a bit dated, but cool)
You gotta love any kind of love the clothing industry gives sailing. And when they give it to as unique and epic a race as the Van Isle 360, all the better. I’m not sure of how all the details are going to pan out, but this sounds intriguing. Getting partnered at random with a couple other boats as a team – that could make things interesting and keep everybody engaged on the water. And who knows, the winners might get something cozier than a plaque. Anyways, here is the release from our friends at Van Isle, Jeffrey and Sylvia Motley.
The 2015 start in Nanaimo.
Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race and Helly Hansen announce the Team Challenge for the 2019 VI360 race.
The Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race and Helly Hansen are pleased to announce a team challenge for yachts competing in the 2019 race.
“Since the race moved to nine legs from ten in 2015, the inside legs have become very busy with long days on the water and little time to socialize amongst boats” said Sylvia Motley, “The intent of team challenge is to create the opportunity for immediate social interaction amongst the crews, and create a fun atmosphere for inter boat camaraderie during the race”
Enter the Helly Hansen Team event. Teams will be chosen from all yacht divisions by random draw at the opening reception in Nanaimo. Teams will consist boats from every division, and the team with the lowest total corrected time will win the leg. A running total will be kept so that an overall team winner will be announced at the closing ceremonies in Nanaimo on June 15th.
“Helly Hansen is very pleased to partner with the Van Isle 360, one of the Pacific Northwest’s most demanding yacht races. Our Helly Hansen apparel has been developed specifically for the world’s harshest weather, something we experience and know a thing or two about living in the PNW. Our sailors and outdoor enthusiasts require the highest quality gear and we’re proud to offer them just that.” said Damien Etchaubard, Marketing Director for Helly Hansen Canada. “Helly Hansen is looking forward to offering this new twist on the classic yacht race and the Team Challenge in 2019 will encourage social engagement and an added layer of fun. See you on the water”.
About Helly Hansen
Founded in Norway in 1877, Helly Hansen continues to develop professional-grade apparel that helps people stay and feel alive. Through insights drawn from living and working in the world’s harshest environments, the company has developed a long list of first-to-market innovations, including the first supple waterproof fabrics more than 140 years ago. Other breakthroughs include the first fleece fabrics in the 1960s, the first technical base layers in the 1970s, made with Lifa® Stay Dry Technology, and today’s award winning and patented H2Flow™ temperature regulating system.
Helly Hansen is a leader in technical sailing and performance ski apparel, as well as premium workwear. Its ski uniforms are worn and trusted by more than 55,000 professionals and can be found on Olympians, National Teams, and at more than 200 ski resorts and mountain guiding operations around the world.
Helly Hansen’s outerwear, base layers, sportswear and footwear are sold in more than 40 countries and trusted by outdoor professionals and enthusiasts around the world. To learn more about Helly Hansen’s latest collections, visit www.hellyhansen.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.
You’re late. Well, not really and even then not by much. Registration opened yesterday for this year’s Whidbey Island Race Week.
WIRW’s Schelleen Rathkopf continues to adjust the Race Week recipe to make the “adult summer camp” appealing. And, much to her credit, instead of dolling out yeah, we know what sailors really want, she asks them.
If you’re an area racer, Schelleen wants to hear from you!
It’s a short survey, and will help shape what WIRW looks like moving forward. In particular, I would love to see all the out-of-the-box ideas you come up with in the comments section.
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.
