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.
Good luck to all the boats from the PacNW who competing in the 2021 TransPac. It’s going to be very interesting and very much fun to follow. The first group started on Tuesday and they had some slow sailing for the first day and a half. This group includes Andy Schwenk and his crew on the Express 37 Spindrift V. Today is the second start and that includes the J-121 Riva out of Portland YC skippered by Scott Campbell. Tomorrow the big guns get rolling and that group includes the TP-52 Sonic skippered by Marek Omilian and the RP-55 Zvi (ex-Crossfire) skippered by Alan Lubner. They all should have a great sail.
This could just about be a cut and paste forecast this weekend as not much has changed. We are very lucky to be in the PacNW with relatively mild temps however don’t let this fool you, it is still going to be a brutal summer. The snowpack is seriously depleted and there is no rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future. Our West Coast neighbors in Oregon and California are already experiencing extreme drought conditions and it is only going to get worse. This will mean more wildfires and it’s also entirely possible that we’ll have even more days of excessive heating,
July 16 500 MB
July 16 Surface Analysis
July 17 Surface Forecast
July 18 500 MB
July 18 Surface Forecast
July 19 Surface Forecast
July 20 500 MB
July 20 Surface Forecast
Our Pacific High has still not set up in what we would call a normal position nor is it at a normal shape or strength. This is going to keep our weather very much the same for the foreseeable future and make for a very interesting TransPac. Currently, the Pacific High is flattened along a line at about 40°N from about 140°W-170°W and is only at 1032MB where it would normally be round in shape, centered near 45°N and 145°W and be 1035 to 1040MB. The other feature of note today is the 500MB charts which show only a small piece of the jet stream because it is so far north. There is a small meander that shows up at the 48-hour forecast however that becomes an upper-level, cut-off low-pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska. The good news is that this will help keep the smoke from the Canadian fires headed to the east. The current haze we are seeing is upper-level smoke from wildfires in Siberia. Today’s Sat Pic shows the smoke from fires in California, Southern Oregon, and SW Washington all being pushed to the east.
The surface forecast charts for the 17th show the Pacific High starting to become round but also weakening, shifting to the west and the south. This is caused by a weak low-pressure system (1017MB) moving to the east at about 45°N. The other feature of note is off the chart to the south and that is the formation of a Cat 2 Hurricane Felicia which now has sustained winds of 100-knots and gusts to 120-knots. There is also potential for a second hurricane to form just in back of Felicia. The good news is that Felicia will stay on a due westerly course at about 15°N and will run into cooler water and weaken. The next storm could be larger and move on a more northerly path which could take it to Hawaii but probably only as a tropical storm.
It’s going to be another beautiful weekend to be on the water especially if you have a powerboat. With high pressure offshore and low pressure inland this will maintain an onshore flow at least well into next week. As usual, the most wind will be in the afternoons in the Central and Eastern Straits. A thermal northerly will fill down the Sound in the afternoons however the rest of the time it will be light. The timing for the northerly filling down will be dependent upon how soon the clouds burn off and the land can start heating.
Be safe, use tons of sunblock, and enjoy the weekend.
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)
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.
We in the PNW get to give a big cheer for Team Hamachi. They sailed a great Transpac race and appears to have won the ORR division overall. Thanks to Jason Andrews who has supplied videos and reports to sailish.com leading up to and during the race. Mahalo indeed.
We did it. But the last 24 hours were really intense.
We were struggling to cover both Bretwalda 3, which was focused on sailing as fast as possible to Oahu, and Velvet Hammer, who was playing a tactical game. The Hammer was heading for the right corner to establish leverage on us, while we sailed more of a rhumb line to keep our VMG high. Squalls were rolling across the race course creating challenging wind angles and large wind holes. We struggled very early Saturday morning and watched the separation increase with Bretwalda, and our advantage decrease with Velvet Hammer. Hamachi had been atop the ORR overall standings since Wednesday morning, but all of us felt that lead slipping away.
Around 3am a series of squalls came through that increased pressure and improved wind angles which allowed us to start making gains on the competition. Then just after sunrise we gybed right on a favorable shift to cover Velvet Hammer and rode that for many hours. Sailing was slow in 12-15 kts of wind, even though they were forecast to be 20kts. Around this time we came into contact with Bad Pak (Pac 52) and Peligroso (Kernan 70), top sleds that started the day after us. Seeing these boats less than 200 miles from the finish made us start to comprehend the magnitude of our accomplishments.
The crew included Shawn Dougherty, Jason Andrews, Frederic Laffitte, Lucas Laffitte, Matt Pistay and David Rogers.
Unfortunately, as we entered the 200nm “Live Zone” our YB tracker battery died. We contacted Race Committee, but they were already aware of the situation and in the process of contacting us. Apparently our tracker went crazy and started pinging the Iridium network constantly, which burned its battery out. They instructed us to give manual updates every four hours, which made for a very stressful day for all you tracker junkies. It was equally stressful for us on board! In actuality, at no time during the last day did we surrender the lead, it just looked that way on Yellow Brick.
Around noon the wind was forecast to go right, which would allow us to get headed up to Molokai on the opposite board. Instead, the wind continued to clock left and remained light (12-15 kts). While this improved our tactical advantage over Velvet Hammer, it made our odds of catching Bretwalda worse, and all we could do was watch them sail to the finish around 2pm in the afternoon (local Hawaii time).
Based on the differences in our ratings, Bretwalda owed us approximately 13.5 hours on corrected time. So once they crossed the line a clock started and we had to finish within that time allowance. Unfortunately, we spent most of the afternoon rolling slowly downwind through swells in light breeze, 150 nm from the finish. We felt good about our ability to finish in front of Velvet Hammer, who was 45nm north and directly upwind of us, but were not so optimistic about Bretwalda 3. The team kept pushing and around 4pm the wind increased to 15 kts, and then by 6 pm it was 17 kts. The wind angle was still terrible but we gybed back on to port and headed to Molokai. The boat kicked up on a plane (Hamachi’s boat speed is about 2 kts less than the wind speed) and we started trucking south. The wind continued to increase to 20kts and clock slowly right and the whole team was focused on burning down the miles to the finish. We approached Molokai on a tear at 17-19kts and gybed right towards the infamous Molokai channel. Luckily it was fairly tame that evening and the team threw down six perfect gybes to get around Molokai, across the channel and lined up for Diamond Head. We power reached across the line at 16 kts at 2:21 am Sunday morning to complete the 50th Transpac in 8 days 16 hours and 21 minutes, which gives us a corrected time of 8 day 0 hours and 52 minutes. This time has been, so far, sufficient to put us in first place overall.
It’s been a hell of an adventure and one that will not be repeated anytime soon. We were fortunate to start on the “right day” and the high pressure materialized in a manner that allowed us to power reach the whole way to Hawaii in winds that averaged between 15-20 kts. We never saw winds above 22 kts except for a few minutes, and always between midnight at 2 am to make it more exciting. We couldn’t have asked for a better crew and having one additional crew member became a clear advantage in the heavier wind versus the other J/125s. It’s going to take several days to catch up on sleep and begin to process the magnitude of this adventure and accomplishment. We have really appreciated all the support from our friends, family and Pacific Northwest sailing community.
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.
Just in from Hawaii – Hamachi did it! There were some tracker questions in the final miles that confounded watchers, but on the water apparently it was all clear. We’ll wait for Jason’s report to hear the details.Janet Lafitte, who has been the point person on putting out the Hamachi reports, says the following:
Aloha!
Team Hamachi slayed the field of J125’s, Division 3, and finished the First Boat Corrected Overall. WIN. WIN. WIN. The boys came into the dock around 03:00AM and the Mai Tais flowed. Hence, you will have to wait for Jason’s onboard report.
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.
Hamachi continues to charge toward the finish line in the Transpac, and continues to lead the ORR fleet (and the three other J/125s) on corrected time.
They’ve sailed a tremendous race, and there’s only 188 miles to go. Here’s the latest from Hamachi. Tune into the tracker (4 hour delay)
Been a wild 36 hours. Things got tactical starting Wednesday and we went south to cover Velvet Hammer and Snoopy, who were heading south for more wind. We split the difference between them and Bretwalda and spent most of the day sailing in 20-22 kts. That evening the full moon was blocked by low clouds and we rocketed through the night at ludicrous speed in pitch black. The boat was barely in control launching off the tops of big waves and accelerating down troughs and up the other side. The speedo was often out of the water so boat speed was indeterminate but we saw at least 23 kts of SOG the next day. This subsided after a few hours and it was a relatively “calm” night with winds 17-20 kts.
Winds were down Thursday morning and Fred towed his Mahi Mahi lure behind the boat for an hour. Didn’t catch anything – too fast. Thursday was lighter in the morning (12-15 kts) with big seas. Then the squalls started and the wind picked back up, along with even bigger seas. The boat was back to rocketing along at 18-20 kts in 20-24 kts of wind.
We set our A2.5 spinnaker back on Sunday morning around 5am and it has been up ever since. It carried us 1500 miles across the Pacific through some wild conditions but at 10pm PDT last night it suffered one too many indignities at the hands of its crew and blew apart. We quickly pulled it out of the water and launched the A4, which we’d packed knowing we were pushing its limits.
It’s been inshore match racing for the past 500 miles, and will continue to the finish. We gybe on the shifts and have seen some crazy wind angles. Right now the GFS says the wind should be at 58mag but we are sailing 95mag directly at the finish. Aloha! We had the A4, then switched to the backup (older) A2.5. Navigating more squals and just trying to keep the boat and gear together while we sail fast! Winds have been lightening some so expected finish is around midnight Sat (PDT).
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.
With about 750 miles to go, Hamachi is in the running (actually leading) the race for overall ORR honors in the 2019 Transpac. PNW racing fans will want to be checking the tracker often for the remainder of the race.
I won’t be surprised if Jason Andrews and the gang are going to be too busy to send out updates. They’re well aware of their position and what’s at stake. But here’s their latest report. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for a strong PNW finish!
Latest (last?) post:
Transpac
is a race within a race within a race. There are four J/125s, an above
average collection, who are competing with each other to be the fastest
J/125 on the west coast. Each boat has donated to a prize for the
first across the line. This was our main focus going into Transpac, as
it’s been a friendly rivalry and a great chance to meet other J/125
owners. All four J/125’s are racing within Division 3, which is highly
competitive and comprised of 13 boats. It’s a great honor to win your
class at Transpac, especially in a class this competitive. Finally,
there is an overall winner based on corrected time for all 92 boats.
For
Team Hamachi, we have been tracking the other J/125’s from the start.
After day 2 we started tracking other boats in our Division and were
both surprised and excited to see Hamachi climb our Division ladder.
Then on Tuesday Hamachi started trending towards the top of the overall
standings and now we’ve held the #1 in ORR (fastest boat overall) title
for 24 hours. The crew is ecstatic but a little uneasy.We like being a
pursuit boat, quietly seeking to pass the leader. We are not used to
being the boat everyone is watching and trying to take down.
So
needless to say the dance parties have stopped, along with the drone
flying. We spend every moment pushing the boat to go as fast as
possible. Living below is like driving your VW camper van down a black
diamond mogul run. We constantly pull weather and position reports, we
are gybing to find the best wind and wind angles. We are 920 miles from
the finish and SENDING IT. Our current 24 hours record is 336nm. Top
boat speed is 21.8kts (David Rogers).
Summary: This may be the last at sea update as time is now very short:
eat, sleep, sail fast, repeat…
If
you haven’t done so already, follow us on the tracker. Also, there is
usually a Transpac Race Summary on YouTube by Seahorse Magazine – Google
or look on the Transpac website. Thank you for your thoughts and
encouragement!
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 full story has yet to be told, but the bottom line early in this year’s Transpac Race is that the crew of the SC 70 OEX was rescued by Roy Disney and company aboard Pyewacket. All are safely back on shore, and OEX is apparently still afloat. Rudder post damage was the culprit.
From the Hamachi drone……
It seems a breezy race so far, judging from the updates from the PNW’s own Hamachi crew. Here’s the latest “Half Way” report:
Well, we don’t know if its EXACTLY half way but we have 1250nm to go and it seemed like a good excuse for a party (not that Team Hamachi ever needs an excuse to party). We gathered on the back patio to contemplate the race so far and pass our flask, which quickly devolved into a YMCA dance party with the drone circling the boat, all while doing 15-16 kts. Our objectives going into the race were: 1) be safe, 2) have fun, and 3) win. So far we are doing well in all three categories. Taking stock half way, here are some thoughts:
– Best Moment(s): Sailing away from our closest competition
– Crew Lowlight(s): Too many body fluids and damp socks in a small cramped cabin
Things We Have Plenty Of: – Food: The weight Nazis will cringe knowing we went to sea with four days of frozen food and enough snacks for 12 days. There was a calculus of carrying more weight on the reach to keep the crew happy and sailing fast versus taking every last ounce our of the boat. Despite this extra weight we’ve had amazing boat speed. – Dude Wipes: Great marketing on someone’s part. We can sail fast confident that our “dude parts” will stay clean to the finish. – Boat Speed: Of the four J/125’s, we are the only one with six crew. Despite this extra weight, and all of our frozen food, we seem to have great boat speed. In the last 24 hours Hamachi has covered 294nm.
Things We Need More Of: – Purell: clearly we should have thought this one through. We left with a small half empty container. Definitely need more of that. – Hot Cocoa: The key to a fast boat is a well-fueled crew. We have plenty of Starbucks Via but need more cocoa for our mochas. – Ventilation: use your imagination – Boat Speed: While we’ve got a lot, you can always have more…
– Kudos: 1) David Rogers has been crushing it as our Lieutenant Ohura. It was rough going (literally and figuratively) in the first 24 hours as he was making up for a sick crew member and doing all of the boat data collection and navigating. Over the past few days he’s stepped up the game and built tools to track the fleet, our performance and answer everyone’s questions. 2) The Cooks: We are four days in and still eating frozen gourmet food. Thank you Janet, Marian (and Jason) for doing all the cooking!
Are We There Yet? The days are blowing by and we are a little shocked its already half way. Normally its a 10-11 day race for a J/125 but this year we are on track to finish in around 8 days.
Up Next: Sleep. Eat. Sail Fast. Repeat.
Hamachi is currently leading Division 3 and they covered 313 miles in the last 24 hours. Oh my.
Comanche, the gun in a knife-fight. She only sailed 448 miles in the last 24 hours. Photo by Sharon Green.
We’re also keeping track of Peter Salusbury’s Longboard. They are not, repeat NOT humming along. Oh, they’re going fast enough, covering 281 miles in the last 24 hours, just not “humming.” Here’s the story. Designer Paul Bieker helped deliver the boat to California and was extremely bothered by a hum/howl noise that emanated from the keel when Longboard was going fast. Bieker reports “I couldn’t stand the idea of them doing Transpac with that so I rented two tanks when we hit the dock and spent ~2 ½ hours rasping/sanding the keel trailing edge. It was a pretty funny scene that no one could see – a lot of it was spent straddling the bulb as I worked – like Slim Pickens in Dr Strangelove. My shoulders were sore for a week after the effort. I didn’t give it a big chance of working 100% but I thought it was likely to help some.
And here’s skipper Peter Salusbury’s note to Paul from the Pacific as Longboard hit her stride:
Hey Paul – it’s amazing! NO KEEL HUM AT ALL!!!!!!!
We are proposing to the Prime Minister to make you an Honorary Canadian and be awarded the Order of Canada.
We are going real fast today – the boat is lit up and we are confident we will reel in some boats by the end of the week. Slow start as our small waterline length was a real issue against all the huge waterlines in our division. But it’s Longboard time now so we are making the best of it!
Thanks for all your hard work fixing the keel – can’t believe we didn’t do that sooner.
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.
