What a way to start Center Sound Series! At least the models are pretty much in agreement, we’re going to have wind and rain mixed with snow. Much better than drifting in the rain and cold.
For the month, we are only about .2” below normal rainfall; for the year, we are .35” above normal. It appears that this trend will continue into the rest of the month and with the jet stream remaining well to the south, our snowpack should remain intact. Then there’s the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada which could gain 10’+ feet just this weekend. Plus, if you look at the sea surface temp anomaly chart you should note the very high anomaly off the West Coast of Africa which is where hurricanes are born. The temps in this area are much higher than normal and could indicate an early start to a very active hurricane season in the Atlantic. It should also be noted that the same is true of the area off the Pacific Coast of Panama and Central America where Pacific hurricanes are formed. The good news for Hawaii is that band of cooler than normal water just to the east of the Islands. This was in place last summer and served to break up approaching hurricanes. This is going to be a very interesting summer, but let’s not look too far ahead.
Our active winter is going to continue and that is going to make for a quick but cold Blakely Rock Race. We have a large trough of low-pressure over the area with four low-pressure systems just offshore roughly aimed our way. This will keep a southerly flow over the area all weekend, especially over the race course on Saturday. The day will start with 10-12knts of southerly that will build over the day and could reach 20-30 knots by mid-afternoon, especially in the north part of the race course and waters from Kingston north to the San Juan Islands. By late afternoon a stronger onshore flow will come down the Strait of JdF bringing gale force westerlies to the eastern part of the Straits.
NW Sat PicSST Anomoly Chart
Tidal current will not be much of an issue on Saturday and with the amount of rain we’ve had this week combined with a predominately southerly wind flow, expect a wind-driven surface current to be flowing to the north all day on Saturday, especially near West Point. Look for the muddy-colored water which will mark the outflow from the Duwamish as it bends around West Point. Current will be slightly stronger near West Point but ease as you go across the Sound.
Tactics should be fairly straightforward with the usual local geographic effects. The start/finish line will probably be slightly offshore from Shilshole to the south west from Meadow Point. You’d like a clear air start with a clear lane to hold starboard tack off the start line heading toward the breakwater. You should be headed as you get closer to the breakwater, just don’t sail out of the breeze. Once you tack to port there will be lifting puffs as you work towards West Point. If you get headed and find yourself in a strong ebb, tack back into the beach so that when you tack back to port you are close to West Point. Once you pass WP, hold port tack to get across the Sound. As you go across the Sound there should be a slight header as you get to the west side of the Sound. When you tack to starboard there should be lifting puffs on starboard as you work your way south to the Rock.
If there were starboard tack lifting puffs prepare for a port pole set at the Rock and carry that to just north of Winslow where you should get a slight lift that will allow you to gybe and probably be aimed pretty close to the top mark which remember is 1.5 miles to the east of the VTS Buoy. As you’re sailing north check the finish line to see if there’s a favored end.
Remember that the wind will probably build as you are running to the north and if you carried the #1 to the Rock you may want to consider a change to the #3 well in advance of rounding. Once you start on the wind it will pay to hold starboard and get close to the east side of the Sound before tacking as there should be port tack lifting puffs along that shore and you will be in smoother water.
The approach to the finish could be interesting if they position the finish well away from the shore. This could mean the line is in more of a SW breeze. Watch the boats ahead to see if there is a favored tack to the finish.
The TP-52s should be around the course in about 3.5 hours. The J-35s and J-105s should take about 4.5 hours with the J-30’s around in 4.9 hours.
Have a safe and great race and remember that the wind chill will be around freezing. Don’t let anyone get cold. Lifejackets on everyone and if there’s any question, clip into the jacklines.
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 will certainly be interesting. It is the first race of the Center Sound series so it will be good to just get back on the water. It won’t be warm but at least it won’t be snowing, just raining on the Sound. The Olympics and the Cascades will be another story. As far as rain goes, while it may only be the 3rd of March, we are already slightly behind for the month. For the year we are 4.2” behind, while the snowpack is way ahead for this time of the year. With the jet stream being where it is, the temps will tend to stay below normal for some time to come.
The short story for tomorrow is that NONE of the models are in agreement. Today’s surface analysis and the two surface forecast charts for tomorrow will give you a good indication as to why the models are having such a tough time coming into agreement. Today’s surface analysis chart simply shows a broad trough of low pressure off to the NW of Vancouver Island and the potential for a weak low-pressure system to form off the coast. Combine this with a jet stream (note the 500MB charts) that is coming ashore well south of us, and the surface forecast charts that show that this low-pressure system simply won’t be going anywhere. Instead, as it drifts around and bumps into the coastal buffer zone, it will just continue to weaken while sending in a weak occluded front sometime tomorrow morning that will weaken as it comes ashore. Not a very dynamic picture. If however, you are up in the Strait of JdF, there will be plenty of breeze from the ESE. Since the low will remain offshore this will keep a pressure gradient with very much an E to SE component over much of the Salish Sea. The problem will be in the Center Sound where because it’s a relatively weak gradient, the breeze could be very light.
How light? One model had the TP-52’s finishing just after 2000hrs and the J-35 finishing at 2235 hrs. Let’s not go with that. At least two of the models have the breeze staying out of the ESE for the entire day but never getting above 8 knots. The UW model has the breeze starting out from ESE at 12-18 knots before easing to 5-12 knots and then switching to SW 8-12 before it eases to 5 knots from the south by late afternoon before it switches to the ESE at 8-15 knots by early evening.
So we still have to sail with what we’ve got so start logging the breeze this evening at West Point(S-29knts now), Destruction Island(SE-18), the JA Buoy at the mouth of the Straits(SSE-18), and Race Rocks(ESE-7). Also log the barometric pressure, at the same places so you can see what gradient is developing. 1400hrs WP 1013.6 Falling, DI 1011.9 Falling, JA 1010.2 Falling, and RR 1011.9 Falling.
Luckily tidal currents should be minimal:
Current at West Point
0712 Slack
1154 Max Fld .39 knts
1436 Slack
1606 Max Ebb .24 knts
1800 Slack
With the wind we are currently having and the rain we’ve had, this will tend to start the ebb sooner and extend the ebb. It will also decrease the velocity of the flood.
March 4 MM5
The usual topographic effects will be in play so you will want to get a clear air start at the favored end of the line and hold starboard until you can lay West Point. It’s possible this could be a one-tack beat to Blakely Rock. The other problem will be that with the reverse start finding and keeping a clear air lane is going to be tough. If after West Point you find yourself stuck, don’t hesitate to take a short clearing tack to starboard to get back into clear air. You will also want to be watching the boats ahead of you to see if the ESE breeze holds or is there a knock as you sail across the Sound.
The next question will be if the breeze is from the ESE, is the crew good enough to do a port pole set at Blakely Rock and then gybe immediately when you can safely clear the west end of the Rock? If the breeze is from the S to SW then just do the port pole set when you are squared away. Hold the port gybe until you can gybe and be aimed at the leeward mark. Generally, it pays to stay slightly to the west of the rhumbline.
March 3 Satellite ImageMarch 3 Doppler
At the bottom mark, get on the wind and try to find that lane of clear air for the long beat to the finish. If it is starting to go light, don’t let too many people accumulate in the cockpit. Shift the weight forward and to leeward to keep the stern out of the water and slightly heeled. Again, keep watching the boats ahead of you for some indication about what wind direction you’ll be dealing with at the finish. If the breeze is out of the south hold starboard tack in towards the beach because once again it will tend to be SE along the east side of the Sound. Then you will need to start figuring out which end of the line is favored so you sail the shortest possible course. If the breeze is out of the ESE don’t sail so far into the beach that you overstand the finish.
The more optimistic model has the TP-52’s finishing around 1443. The J-105’s in at 1611, the C&C 115’s and J-109’s in at 1558, the J-35 in at 1606, Terremoto in at 1455, and the J-30 in at 1708. Let’s hope!
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)
Saturday’s Blakely Rock Race is most assuredly for the books. Conditions were about as close to perfect as you can get. True, they didn’t match any of the models but that’s why we sail the race.
If you take the data from West Point from 1000hrs to 1600hrs you get a picture that is almost unheard of with remarkably stable conditions which turned this into a true boat speed race and even if the fleets split there was almost no wrong way to go. Wind speed varied from a high of 14 knots to a low of 9 knots, which was very close to what we recorded on the boat. Even more interesting was the wind direction which only varied from 010° to 020° again from 1000hrs to 1600hrs. On the boat, we recorded the wind going from 040° to 350°. Interesting just because the wind stayed so far to the East of North.
Then there was all that sunshine, NICE!.
Wind speed at West Point
In a general analysis of the race, it seemed that if you managed to get a clear air start on starboard off the line, you just held starboard until you could almost lay the top mark. Every once and a while there would be a hint of a port tack lift but it never really materialized. It also seemed that if you tacked to port too early and came in really low of the top mark, the wind got lighter and you lost to the boats who stayed out in the Sound.
The run to Blakely Rock had the fleet spread all across the Sound with some boats going to the west and then a single gybe to take them into the Rock. The boats that went east, like the sprit boats that had to sail wider angles and the boats with poles that could sail deeper all seemed to be in the same relative position at Blakely Rock, no big gains or losses from going one way or the other.
Perhaps the most interesting leg was the one from Blakely Rock to the finish. That route is pretty much cast in concrete, in that you sail to Magnolia and tack at FourMile Rock beat to West Point and then tack when you can lay the entrance to the Ship Canal. It was just so strange to see boats on port tack aimed into Elliott Bay low of Elliott Bay Marina, while some boats that tacked to starboard just after the Rock were sailing right up the Sound. When the West group converged with the Elliott Bay group, they were pretty much in the same places. For a while, the west group appeared to have gotten into a bit of a lefty as the wind went back to 350°and were lifted almost to the finish while on port tack. The problem was that the finish line was still in a NNE and with the flood finally starting to show up, the West group having gained for a while got pushed down to the Elliott Bay group.
Wind direction at West Point
The results show just how even things were on the course With the top four boats overall all within 2.4 minutes. And they weren’t all from one class with the top four boats being the J-122 Grace(Class 7), 2nd boat the J-125 Hamachi (Class 8), 3rd boat Pell Mell (Class 2), and the TP 52 Smoke (Class 9).
The J-105 Fleet was also remarkably close with the top eight boats being within 5.18 minutes. Class 6 the top four boats were within 4.37 minutes.
How close was the crystal ball? Not very when it came to the big boats but not surprising considering that we had just over half the wind we were expecting. Zvi was 33 minutes slower, Glory was 25 minutes slower, and Jam was 26 minutes slower.
In the middle fleets it got closer, The J-111’s were within 7 minutes, The J-109 was within 6 minutes, the J-35 was within 12 minutes, and the J-105’s were within 10 minutes. The Sierra 26 just didn’t have enough wind to break loose on the downwind leg so they 11 minutes slower.
All in all a great day to be out on the water.
Photos by Jan Anderson, check ’em all out here. Results here.
Bruce was aboard the Mighty TahlequahKelly’s never forgottenThe J/105 start
Ed. Note: Have some fun with the name “Bruce’s Debriefs.”
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)
Corinthian Yacht Club’s Blakely Rock Race, the first race in the Center Sound Series, is certainly not the first race of the year. However, it always seems to force racers, and race committees, to officially shake out the cobwebs for the coming year. Saturday’s race was no exception.
The day started out breezier than expected, in the high teens and low 20s. It was certainly a wakeup call, and left a few skippers more comfortable knowing they’d gone over the rig prior to leaving the dock. A fleet of nearly 70 boats had signed up, and most were on hand at the designated start time of 10 am. Alas, the race committee was not. The venerable, much loved and sometimes repaired, red YC 5 had serious steering issues.
Here’s what I gleaned from CYC Fleet Race Captain Matt Wood’s comments on a Facebook thread:
“The hydraulic steering connector on YC5 sheered in half as the boat was leaving its temporary slip on K dock. We had our Whalers tow us to the dinghy dock to affect repairs. Many thanks to the team that came to our aid. After pulling the engine framing apart we recognized that we could not safely conduct a race on YC5. We continuously communicated on VHF 69 the status of the RC, flew AP and sounds as per RRS, and advised the fleet on VHF our intentions. Plan B was developed and implemented by using the Bullfrog, and our Whaler, to set up a start line using Meadow Point Buoy and a start pin. Starts were combined to facilitate speedy starts.
“First start was at 11.20 AM, 1 hour and 20 minutes after scheduled start time. Race course was amended, as per SI and RRS, to Blakely Rock and return, using S line as F Iine, as per SI and RRS.
“We have a plan to affect repairs with the intent to have YC5 in service for next Saturday. Failing that, there are alternative RC boat plans already in place.”
The following photos are just a sample of some great shots by Jan Anderson. See the rest here.
Cherokee waiting for the start
One Life crossing astern of Straight, no chaser
Where’s the rail meat? Draining out the side.
Hooligan heading for shore
Rounding the Rock
Different Drummer
Daffodils for Kelly. Lest we never forget.
Glory on her way to another win
The amended course was shortened to Blakely Rock and return, which was just about enough distance for the TP 52s to stretch their legs in the big breeze. Planing boats ruled on the return from the Rock, The J/105s clearly enjoyed the big breeze, taking six of the top eight places with Creative winning fleet honors. Hooligan, a new J/111, was second overall and the J/125 Hamichi strutted her well-known downwind stuff to third overall. There is also a shorthanded class – though the boats are scored against their regular class and also against the other shorthanded boats. Jonathan McKee’s Dark Star won the shorthanded class while also placing third in Class 8. Results here.
Screenshot from the Kwindoo app.
Fittingly in the Age of Apps, Kwindoo is being used, and it gives an interesting and instructive replay of the race of those who’ve implemented it on their smart phone. On this day, like so many others app or no app, it paid to play West Point, take that port tack all the way across to the Bainbridge side and work your way to the Rocks. To access this replay, go to kwindoo.com, register and search for Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle.
With the Center Sound Series well and truly under way, the cobwebs cleared out, it seems already like this will be a season to remember.
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.
Ed. Note – Bruce is going to give a chalk talk on the weather outlook for tomorrow’s Blakely Rock Race for CYC Seattle. See below for details.
As we said in November, it was going to be a wetter and cooler than normal winter and it has pretty much worked out that way. As of today, we are almost four inches of rainfall above average and even though last year was way above normal we are still .06 inches ahead of where we were a year ago. I bring this up because while we may have had some beautiful days this last week with above normal temps which got a lot of plants and trees starting to bloom, don’t expect more of the same this coming week.
March 5 500 MB
March 5
March 6 Surface Forecast
March 7 500 MB
March 7 Surface Forecast
March 8 Surface Forecast
March 9 500 MB
March 9 Surface Forecast
Today’s satellite pic certainly tells the story and when you combine this with the Surface Analysis chart and 500Mb chart you can see why we are going to have a very interesting weekend. The satellite pic shows the low-pressure system with the attached cold front off of our coast as well as the next frontal system. It’s the area behind the cold front (the comma-shaped solid white clouds) with all those irregularly shaped, puffy white clouds that will make tomorrow interesting for Blakely Rock racers. This marks an area of cooler, unstable air which will keep the post-frontal conditions unsettled. Think of it as pulses of breeze that will be coming through the Chehalis Gap and up the Sound. In the morning, since the breeze offshore will be very southerly this will keep the breeze in the Central Sound southerly. As the breeze offshore becomes more southwesterly, this will bring more of a southwesterly component to the breeze in the Central Sound. While this may seem straightforward, the problem will be that there can be areas of lighter air as these pulses of breeze move up the Sound.
As we get towards the late afternoon/early evening tomorrow, the breeze offshore will become more of a pre-frontal southeasterly in anticipation of the arrival of the next front (visible in the sat pic). This will have the effect of easing the breeze in the Central Sound until early Sunday. It will be the coast that will experience the higher winds and seas. This is where it also becomes useful to compare the surface analysis chart to the 500Mb chart. The surface chart shows three low-pressure systems moving in an almost circular pattern in the Gulf of Alaska down to our coast. The 500MB chart shows two upper-level lows off of BC with the jet stream coming ashore just north of San Francisco. Over the next four days, these two upper-level lows will consolidate into one and not move however this will have the effect of driving the jet stream further south which will keep us in a wet and cool pattern for the week.
As far as Blakely Rock goes, this should be a great race. Challenging but fairly consistent wind conditions and not much tide, however, as always, the geography of the Sound will have a profound effect on the breeze since we have to sail back and forth across the Sound.
Tidal Current at West Point
0948 Slack
1136 Max Ebb .3 knots
1324 Slack
2000 Max Flood .79 knots
The keys for the Race will be to get a clean start and sail into breakwater or Magnolia Bluff avoiding the outfall from the Ship Canal. Current radar has bands of rain moving across the area which will have the effect of slightly increasing the velocity of the outfall as well as increasing the ebb in the area of West Point because of the outfall from the Duwamish. The combination of rain plus a steady southerly will extend the ebb by about 20-30 minutes at West Point. There will be a slight SE shift from Shilshole to West Point inside of a line from Meadow Point to the Lighthouse. Just be careful not to get in too close to the beach as there may be a significant drop in windspeed. You will probably get to West Point on port tack and you’ll just want to hold port and sail across the Sound. As you cross, you’ll be slowly knocked. Watch your windspeed as you get closer to Bainbridge and while you may get a significant knock you may also lose wind speed. You’ll want to work up to Blakely Rock favoring long starboard tacks and short port tacks. As always, be careful working south along Wing Point, it sticks out further than you may think. Plan your approach to Blakely Rock as it may be difficult to keep your air clear as the fleet will tend to compress at the rock. Watch the boats ahead to see what kind of sets they are doing.
It usually pays to do a port pole set at the mark as the breeze should be from the SW. This will hold until you are near Tyee Shoal where you maybe lifted so gybe out and sail your angles as you run north. Generally speaking, you will want to stay near the rhumbline or slightly to the west of rhumb and, of course, keep your air clear and anticipate overtaking situations. Give the slower boats a break and pass well to windward or way to leeward.
As you pass West Point, start planning your rounding at the top mark, which will hopefully be in the correct location. As you pass the start/finish line, check to see if one end is favored. You’d like to be the inside boat at the mark however that may mean a port gybe approach as the wind will probably be around to the SSW by then.
Once you round the top mark, it will be a long starboard tack back to the finish. Again keeping your air clear but working to the east. You’ll also want to watch the boats behind you in case a big shift comes in from the west. If the boats astern are being significantly lifted out over you, bite the bullet and tack back out to the west to get into the new wind. Just don’t go so far that you overstand the finish.
If the boats astern aren’t lifted, check the boats ahead to see if there’s a SE shift on the beach going up to Meadow Point, then plan your approach to the finish.
Today’s models have the TP 52’s around the course in just about four hours. The J-35’s are around in about 5.5 hours.
Tonight CYC Shilshole is hosting a chalk talk where I’ll discuss the race as well as what the models from late this afternoon are showing. ( Ed. Note, sign up here!)
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)
CYC’s Blakely Rock Race is the unofficial start to the year’s racing season. Sure, there are frostbites the South Sound Series, but those seem to be winter. As such, if you’re looking for an omen for the year to come, it’s going to be an interesting one, and a good one. After all, it’s not every race you have to restart and a (successful) man overboard recovery, but such was the case last Saturday in Puget Sound.
The day started out as Bruce predicted, bright and breezy. PRO Charley Rathkopf set the weather mark to the north and started sending off the classes. He soon was informed the mark was headed for Spring Beach and made the decision to restart and use a shorter course.
All photos by Jan Anderson. Click here to see and buy them. Click on any image to enlarge.
J/105 start
PHRF 3
Crossfire
The J/40 Semper Quaerens
J/80s
The new-to-NW Sonic
Bat Out Of Hell going just like that
Jonathan McKee’s Dark Star
The reverse (small boats first) start made for a compacted fleet as they headed downwind. The planing boats planed and the cruiser racers just went fast, giving everybody a memorable start to the season.
Rescue by Committee
The biggest event of the race wasn’t the winner’s circle, it was the rescue of Anarchy crew Lindsey Lind. I haven’t yet been able to talk to the Anarchy crew or the crew of the TBird Selchie, the boat that ultimately picked Lind out of the drink. But here’s what I do know.
On the downwind leg, relatively close to the Blakely Rock, Lind fell overboard from the FT 10 Anarchy. Somewhere in there Anarchy broached. There were some chaotic radio transmissions from Anarchy to the Coast Guard, and then several boats in the fleet responded. Marek Omilian, the skipper of a the new-to-town TP 52 Sonic, saw Lind in the water about 500 yards ahead but wasn’t sure it was a person until they were 100-150 yards from her. By then the crew was already preparing the M.O.M. module and deployed it close enough that Lindsey was able to grab it. It turns out Omilian is a veteran of the Clipper Around the World Race and his crew was well prepared for a man overboard situation.
In the meantime Charlie Macaulay’s Absolutely also saw what was going on, dropped their chute and motored toward the victim. Macaulay recalled, “When we still about 10 boatlengths away, Selchie executed a perfect kite douse and circled the MOB, turning up to leeward of her. They quickly pulled her onboard as we approached within a couple of boatlengths.” Absolutely was awarded 4 minutes redress for standing by.
Not everything was quite as seamless aboard Selchie as it appeared from the outside. Crew member Gail Tsai reported on Facebook: “The kite came down before I could release it from the pole; our green line went under and hooked to the keel while the halyard got caught with spin halfway up. It fell into water, got wet, and started pulling me off the boat. It had wrapped itself around my right leg. I was just clinging to everything for dear life trying not to cause another rescue. Never been so close to falling in the drink before.’
All’s well that ends well, and this one ended well. Lind was warm, dry and in good health in the CYC clubhouse after the race.
There has already been some discussion about the incident, and what lessons are to be learned. It seems to me that the racers can take pride in the rescue. The fleet responded immediately and skillfully. I understand there was a J/105 that also stood by in addition to the boats already mentioned. It’s interesting that one of the fastest rated boats (Sonic) and the slowest rated boat (Selchie) were both instrumental in the rescue. This might be a good argument for having a reverse start – keeping the fleet together longer on the racecourse.
New to Town with a bit of Irony
You might wonder how this TP 52 Sonic came to be here in the PNW, on Blakely Rock, and with a crew ready to play a vital role in the rescue. After all, it’s not as if the owner Marek Omilian is isn’t a household Seattle racing name like John Buchan (Glory), Steve Travis (Smoke) and Steve Johnson (Mist). I was wondering.
It turns out Marek Omilian may not be a household name yet, but it would be difficult to imagine a more prepared offshore racer owner. He recently completed the Clipper Round the World race on Visit Seattle, sailing all the legs. In fact, five people onboard Sonic on Saturday have done part or all of that race or are going to do it. Part of the Clipper preparations is “safety procedures ad nauseum.” So much of the crew was ready when they saw the person in the water.
The tossing of the tulips in honor of the never forgotten Kelly O’Neil
Freja around the Rock.
A great day for a big crew. Tahlequah.
Wind Dancer
Madame Pele et.al. after rounding the Rock
Sachem
Cherokee
The lone tri Freda Mae
Bravo Zulu after rounding
Omilian, originally from Poland, says he’s developing an onboard culture based on safety, respect, teamwork and commitment. He’s also pursuing an interesting facet to the Sonic campaign; he’s looking to use the boat as a fundraising tool for good causes. Omilian has identified potential groups such as the Ocean Foundation and is approaching local corporations to see if a sponsorship program can be developed.
Now for the irony. Man overboard (or crew overboard – COB – as I’ve just learned I’m supposed to say) safety issues are much on the mind of racers these days. A thorough report was just released on the death of Jon Santorelli who drowned after falling off the TP 52 Imedi shortly after the Chicago-Mac start last year. Sonic is Imedi, and so it seems fitting that the boat, with a safety-focused crew and skipper, helped in this successful rescue.
The Racing
As far as the racing goes, the consistent breeze emphasized boatspeed and boat handling. There were nine classes, including a 1-boat multihull class. Results here.
Brad Butler’s very well-sailed Sierra 26 Dos planed to another victory, correcting easily on her class and by over a minute overall. The six second ding to her rating, pronounced in the January PHRF meeting, wasn’t nearly enough for Saturday’s conditions. When the Sierra gets on a plane, the boat is pretty much a gun in a knife fight.
Winning the Boats with Cabins division was Bill Buchan’s Sachem demonstrating how it’s done. The Peterson 43 charged along in the heavy upwind conditions and held her own downwind, correcting by nearly eight minutes ahead of the rest of her class and only a 1:24 behind Dos.
Within the classes, there were a few interesting results. The 9-boat J/105 class was won by Racers formally known as Here & Now. The J/29 Boat of the Year bunch have apparently moved on to One Design. Also, the level 72 (PHRF rating) class has made a reappearance, and it was won by the C&C 115 Elusive with the J/35 Tahlequah second and the Schock 35 Darkside third. It will be interesting to see if this class can stay together as a group and, hopefully, build.
Perhaps the most competitive of the classes was class 8. Burzicki/Shorett’s Farr 395 Ace corrected to first, with Absolutely second and Andy Mack’s J/122 Grace third. The three finished within 11 seconds on corrected time and finished fourth, fifth and sixth overall. In the proverbial race-within-a-race, the J/122 Grace and the Farr 395 Ace, had a few close crosses before Ace ultimately finished overlapped.
Mike Johnson, crew aboard Ace, recounted: “We had a good day sparring with Grace, a boat with many good sailors and friends. They had a great start and first beat to begin the run with a 100-yd lead. We were able to reel them in after a few big puffs filled in from the north and rounded Blakely Rock just ahead. Upwind, we stayed on port while they took a tack toward Wing Point and then held a higher port tack lane across the Sound. There was a slight left shift, but not enough for them to pass. From the tack at Discovery Park we were always close and ended up overlapped at the finish. One advantage of having another equally rated and well-sailed boat is the opportunity to learn new things, which is what keeps us coming back.
Don’t you just love rivalries? All rivalries will resume in the next two Center Sound races. Bruce Hedrick will be providing his weather magic the day before each race, so check in then.
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.
Few Puget Sound boats have been sailed so consistently well over the past few seasons as Different Drummer. The nearly 17K pound Wauquiez C40S is pretty much the prototypical modern cruiser-racer. Comfortable, solidly built and well behaved, she sails to her 81 PHRF rating and is one of the few boats in that rating band to regularly give fits to the 1000 lb. Sierra 26s Uno and Dos. Race post-mortems are a great idea, and skipper Charles Hill has allowed us to reprint his review of the first two races of Center Sound, in which they’re now tied with Uno going into the last race.
By Charles Hill (borrowed with permission from the Different Drummer Facebook page)
I have been meaning to write up a race report for Blakely Rocks but never found the time, and now I have two race reports to write up and still not much time, so I’ll make this quick. After two of the three races in the Center Sound Series we are tied for first in our class (out of 12) with Dos (a not unfamiliar position). We are also standing 8th overall (out of 70 something boats). How did we get there?
Different Drummer shortly after the Blakely Rocks start, with her bigger cousin Red Sky ahead to leeward. Photos by the Awesome Jan Anderson.
Blakely Rock: We started really well in a decent north breeze. We were first around the upwind mark, closely followed by Dos, Elusive and Red Sky (a Wauquiez C45s, which is basically a scaled-up version of Drummer). After setting the spinnaker, we sailed toward the center of the Sound. Most of our class, and indeed most of the fleet, gybed and headed towards the eastern side of the Sound. I’m not sure why they did that, because we could see building breeze coming up behind us and it certainly seemed softer off to the left. It soon became clear that we were in better pressure and it sure looked as if we were opening up a lead over our class. For reference, we had Firefly in front of us, and Sachem behind us. For the first 2/3rds of the run to the Rocks it seemed that we would round well ahead of our class, then we made the mistake of drifting too far to the right and found ourselves in softer pressure. We should have gybed early, but we were pinned by one of the smaller boats we were passing, and we made the mistake of trying to tough it out and get ahead of them to leeward, which took way too long. In the event, this allowed Dos, Elusive and Red Sky to haul us in as they crossed over the Sound into better breeze. Dos must have been on the plane in what was now a solid 15 knots of breeze, because they rounded the rocks some distance ahead of us. Elusive and Red Sky rounded with us.
On the beat back to West Point Elusive pulled slowly ahead of us, Red Sky fell back a little, and we were hauling Dos in, but not fast enough. Once we past West Point we tacked in towards the breakwater. Elusive did not, and they fell back. I was really surprised at how quickly we opened a significant lead over them on the water. Interesting how the right tactical call can make such a big difference. In the end we passed Dos, but not by enough to save our time and they won, we were second, Red Sky third, and Elusive dropped to fourth.
Focus on Different Drummer in the Scatchet Head Race. Click to enlarge.
Scatchet Head: With soft breeze in the forecast, the race committee elected to run two laps on a 12 mile windward/leeward course. We had to pass through the finish line at the end of the first lap so that they could shorten the race if the wind dropped as per the forecast. The wind didn’t drop. Instead we had two laps in a solid 8-12 knots of breeze with beautiful sunshine and stunning views of snowclad peaks. This was a way more interesting and fun race than the annual slog up to Scatchet Head and back. Note to the race committee: please throw one of these into the mix every year.
The only mistake we made on this race was the start, where I was a little too slow and let Helios and Red Sky get to windward and blanket Drummer with dirty air. They actually had an excellent start, we did not. We tacked onto port as soon as we could to get clear air, and after that it was off to the races. I think we had clear air for the rest of the race. After the first lap my guess is that we were in third place, close behind Dos and Elusive. The rest of our class had already dropped back. However, we had an excellent remainder of the race, driving the boat as fast as we ever have in those conditions. We slowly hauled Elusive in, while putting distance between ourselves and Dos. I suspect that Dos was very close to us on corrected time at the last turn mark, but we stretch-out our lead on the final beat to the finish and crossed 55 seconds ahead on corrected time. Elusive was third some 1 min and 25 seconds behind Dos on corrected time. We were also 6th overall, which was the 2nd highest fleet position we have achieved in a Center Sound Series race. Good times.
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 Blakely Rock Race is almost always something. It’s seems to be either a wake-up gear-buster or a very chilly reminder that we get to race when a lot of the continent doesn’t, as long as we can bear the cold. And it usually points out pretty clearly who has a jump on the fleet – the perpetual winners or someone new on the scene. While the results on Saturday indicated that Firefly had won overall, it turns it was sailing with the wrong rating, and it has retired from the race. See below. This makes Ballistic the overall winner and Sachem the class 7 winner. And Crossfire, which led on the water the whole way around the course, also retired. Again, see below.
And this year, it was something really nice. Bright sunshine, plenty (but not too much) wind and an excellent gauge on boatspeed and crew work. Non sailors texted me, “There were a lot of boats out there. Looked great. What was going on? Was it a race?” I love it when non-sailors feel they’re missing out.
The perpetuals were still atop their classes. Glory won the ORC fleet. Cherokee, Here & Now, Last Tango, Dos, Sachem, Selchie and Freda Mae won their respective classes. Brad Cole’s Ballistic had an impressive showing winning Class 7 and overall. The growing (now 4-boat) casual class was won by the Beneteau Oceanis 45 Le Reve. Results.
Following are four tales from nearly every part of the fleet, from the very front to the very back. It’s a little different than the “usual” race report, and I think a much fuller look at the race. Thanks to all who contributed. If anyone wants to chime in for other CS or other races, please do!
First a word from photographer Jan Anderson, who pays tribute to Kelly O’Neil, friend to many of us and one who captured many a Blakely Rock Race before digital cameras! Tossing daffodils while rounding the Rock is a ritual that should never end. Jan took all the photos except for the one of Firefly.
Jan Anderson – Celebrating Kelly
At long last, it was a GORGEOUS day for sailing, and the action on the water reflected that. But great weather alone doesn’t come close to describing what this sport is really about … it’s more about the people with whom we share our experiences, and the relationships we’ll cherish for all time. Each year, this day, this race, this moment rounding Blakely Rock, is about celebrating the life of Kelly O’Neil, the photographer that impacted all of PNW sailing, forever. Neither I nor my Boat Boy Skip had ever met Kelly, but fate would have it that Skip and I met the same year she passed. To this day, literally this day, Skip and I are both deeply moved with the fleet’s expression of love for Kelly, by casting daffodils into the water. Above all others, this is a day where everyone wins. From the bottoms of our hearts, we thank you, Kelly.
Kelly is missed and never forgotten.
Iconic Blakely Rocks shot 1.
Iconic Blakely Rocks shot 2.
Iconic Blakely Rocks shot 3!
The Thunderbird Selchie working to weather.
Glory and the Olympics.
Ocelot.
Melissa Davies, Miss Mayhem – Third to the Bar
Miss Mayhem
This is the viewpoint from the smallest/slowest/least experienced skipper in the fleet. Miss Mayhem is a San Juan 24 and is starting her sophomore year in racing. I have been sailing/racing for a little over 18 months – having jumped in with both feet. (Ed. Note – she’s also the event coordinator for CYC)
I was relieved to arrive at the club to find the weatherI ordered had arrived as requested. (Sometimes being the weather witch doesn’t always get you great sailing weather). Sunny skies and 6-12 knots of wind from the north, forecasting to increase throughout the day.
We started the race with our #1 and after watching all the other boats (we had the very last start) we decided not to fly our spinnaker due to being short crew. There were 4 boats in our class (casual) ranging from a Beneteau 45 to us. The start was favored at the pin and we were in the right place at the perfect time to cross the line first and get away from the class into good wind. Headed west to keep the wind and utilize the current (70% of the fleet did the same thing). We had a couple of tacks to get better air but mostly were able to point right at the mark. As we rounded the N mark we headed back west (again about 60% of the fleet did the same thing) in 2nd place in our class. We hit 8.1 knots on the way back to West Point with just our #1 and main, unfortunately, that didn’t work as well for us as we hoped the other two boats in our class took a more inside track and caught up to us (might have also been they had 12 feet of water line on us). We rounded the mark just as the BIG BIG Boats were coming in from Blakely rock (Glory, Crossfire, etc) – it was a straight beat back to the finish line. although we did have some wind shadow challenges, that caused us to take the boat end of the finish line (good news is they were able to get to great picture of us). Miss Mayhem corrected out in 2nd place in our class and was the 3rd boat back at the bar.
The highlight of the race was being in the back seeing all spinnakers flying and heading to Blakely Rock. Sometimes its good to be the smallest/slowest boat. The second best part was getting to cross the finish line with/before boats like Ballistic, Bravo Zulu, the other Top 25 race boats.
Doug Frazer, Oxomoxo – Man Down
Oxomoxo
I can report from the DFL position. We had a blast with a short handed crew, four souls on board and my son Bob sleeping down below in the master’s cabin under a down comforter. After a slow start in about 11 kts, just rounding the committee boat we had a great ride up to the windward mark using our 135 and full main, at this pace we were able to maintain our position in the fleet. After a successful rounding somewhere in the middle of our fleet we started to successfully take up our usual position at the back of the fleet with our trademark pink and gray spinnaker full and proud. What a great spinnaker run to Blakely Rock with three perfectly timed gybes and only one spin sheet temporarily stuck under the boat. Bob woke up in time to be the squirrel down below for the douse which we orchestrated using our newbie (Amy, former professional water polo player from Spain). By the time we turned at Blakely Rock the wind had piped up to the low teens and we realized we were doomed to be overpowered and unable to make much forward motion upwind. Making our way to West Point we were on our ear the whole time. By this time Bob had moved from the down comforter in the master’s cabin to the warm cozy folds of the pink and gray spin in the main cabin. To keep from sliding off the bunk when we were tacking, he moved to the floor and wedged himself between the dinette and the base of the settee. It was difficult to make it across the finish line as the wind direction required us to finish right at the committee boat and the resulting lay line was nearly parallel to the direction of the port tack. When we tied up at the slip, Bob woke up and we made a cameo at the yacht club and then headed home where an exhausted Bob had a big dinner and headed off to bed early.
Ed. Note: Hopefully Bob’s on deck for Scatchet Head!
Nigel Barron, Crossfire – Hatch Down, Retired
Crossfire
First, kudos to Bruce Hedrick. Nailed the forecast. What a lovely day of sailing! On Crossfire, we started on a J2, and a had a great sail to the weather mark. We favored the middle/left side of the course, and that seemed to work for us. Smoke and Mist went inside, while Glory mostly stayed outside with us. The fun part of the reverse start is seeing your friends as you sail through the fleet on the fast boats. The timing worked out nicely for us, as we had a relatively clean weather mark rounding with not a lot of traffic. It was a fantastic sail down to Blakely Rock. Glory and Smoke were right behind most of the way down. We, along with Glory favored the middle most of the way, while Smoke went across to the west shore. We had changed headsails to the J3 on the sail down, as it looked like more pressure for the trip to the finish. Unfortunately, while sailing back towards 4 mile rock, the jib inhauler got under the sliding companionway. As we went to point mode, with the clew being cut higher on the J3, it popped the hatch off. We of course had to go back and get it; it made a nice MOB drill. Hatch was retrieved and we set off to the finish and continued racing.
As we were approaching the finish it became apparent that the Race Committee hadn’t reconciled the Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions, as finish pin was on the wrong side of the boat according to the NOR!
Regardless, a beautiful day on the water.
Ed. Note: The race committee queried Crossfire by phone if they were going to retire – it seems that in the process of retrieving the hatchcover the engine was started – in reverse – and ran for a few seconds that way. It didn’t occur to anybody onboard that it would indicate retirement, as it represented no forward progress on the course. But skipper Lou Bianco decided it best to withdraw regardless, hence a RET (retired) in the results. As Paul Evlstrom said, “You haven’t won the race, if in winning the race you have lost the respect of your competitors.”
Nigel Barron is the Sales and Marketing Manager at CSR Marine.
Brad Baker: Firefly – Wolf in a Sheep’s Rating
Firefly
(Note: Firefly has retired from the race when Baker realized a completely unintentional gross error in the PHRF rating. The proper rating would have put them in another class entirely. It does not, however, take away from the story of a well-sailed race.)
Firefly is a Chuck Paine designed Morris 45 performance cruiser. It is lighter than your typical Morris and has a carbon rig.
I signed on with owner Bob Strong to do this year’s Vic-Maui Race. The boat is currently definitely in full preparation mode with that final goal in mind. Bob has done quite a lot already including a new inventory of North 3DI upwind sails and a suite of downwind sails in preparation for the race. We have been out on three practices with Andrew Kerr who is a world class sailor and sailing coach. The practice sessions definitely showed in our performance.
Saturday exceeded my wildest expectations. That said, the conditions were perfect for that boat. The wind speed was just in to the #3, and we were able to use waterline. How we managed such a good finish really had to do with, as it often does, luck. We had a front row start and stayed in clear air, we duked it out with the J-120 with Grace and Beneteau 40.7 Bravo Zulu, managed to round just in first place with Bravo Zulu not far behind, we bore away and set the spinnaker on starboard. BZ did a jibe relatively soon after the mark rounding. We waited a bit, but were getting ready for a covering jibe as well when we noticed significant pressure making its way toward us more out in the middle so, instead of jibing, we held. Bottom line is we sailed in more pressure and a header while the majority if not all, of our fleet made a jibe to the east side initially. This turned out to be the reason we did so well. We sailed low and fast pretty much at the mark, caught a lift at about ½ through the run, jibed and again pointed more or less at the mark in very good pressure. Wind speeds stayed in the mid to high teens. It looked to me that the rest of our fleet and many of the entire fleet as a whole, sailed in lighter wind with some extra distance. I’m the first to point out that this was a bit of a flyer, not covering the fleet well, and more often than not flyers don’t work out. Like I said we got a bit lucky, both tactically and having conditions that were very well suited for the boat. The beat home was straightforward. We had clear air and, sailing on port, one tacked it all the way to the bluff. Went to starboard up under West Point then a long port tack to the layline for the finish. We sailed the entire race in clear air. The crew did a great job getting the sails up and down and side to side, the drivers (we changed between 4 of us) did a good job. I’m sure the next race we will have to eat humble pie, but it was nice to get this win, and on such a beautiful/comfortable boat!
Ed. Note: Thanks, Brad. I’d like to point out that Brad’s idea of playing the PHRF game is not to gain an unfair advantage, but have a fair rating. If everyone did that, PHRF would be a different game altogether. Bringing a wolf in sheep’s clothing is fine, as long as you call it a wolf. And sorry, but it’s not luck when you put that kind of effort and practices in, no matter what the rating. Brad is an owner at Swiftsure Yachts.
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 the first week of March so it must be time for CYC’s Center Sound Series, one of our favorites. True, it’s not like the days of having 500 boats out there but with around 80 there will still be some great racing. Earlier this week it was looking a bit grim as in Crossfire taking 12 hours to complete the course. As they do in the Pacific Northwest, things change. Now it appears things might not be so bad. Some forecasts are calling for 15-18 from the NNW while others are saying 5-10 from the NNW. We’ll just see who shows up.
One thing we do know is that the tides will for sure be in play however even they won’t be too bad. There will be varying amounts of ebb from 0630 until slack at noon. I’ve included a chart to explain this oddity.
Odd Ebbs
Tidal Current at West Point
0630 Ebb .32 knts
0912 Ebb .10 knts
1054 Ebb .15 knts
1206 Slack
1448 Flood .93 knts
1718 Slack
1900 Ebb .46 the knts
Looking at the charts, you’ll see a 996 MB low off the Oregon coast which will remain nearly stationary as it slowly weakens becoming a 1006MB by tomorrow morning. This low will dissipate late Sunday. Meanwhile, high pressure (1040MB) over British Columbia will drift slowly SSE resulting in weak offshore flow over the area through Saturday. This flow will become nearly flat on Sunday. How fast this moves our way will determine just how much wind we’ll have over the course. The best way to check this is to note barometric pressure at Bellingham(currently 1006.7), Portland(1006.6), and Astoria (1004.4). Then check the gradient tomorrow morning on VHF when you get to the boat and see how much this has changed. Generally speaking, if you take the difference in MB’s and between Bellingham and Portland and multiply times 5 that will give you the windspeed in knots. This is more accurate when the pressure is higher in the south. When it’s higher in the north it is less so.
March 2 500MB
March 2 Surface Analysis
March 3 500MB
March 3 Surface Forecast
March 4 500MB
March 4 Surface Forecast
March 6 Surface Forecast
Assuming it’s a northerly, the key to success tomorrow will be getting a clean start off the line and then watch your COG and SOG to make sure you are in the strongest ebb. You’ll hold starboard off the line staying in clear air, there should be slightly more wind in the center Sound. You’ll want to tack when you can lay the mark however you may want to tack early as there may be a lift on port as you work up the Sound. Tacking early will also give you time once you tack back to starboard to get the pole and gear setup which ideally you would have done at the dock. It should be a starboard tack set.
You’ll want to hold the starboard tack on the run. As you get over near the Bainbridge shore you’ll watch the true wind speed, when it starts to drop, that’s the time to gybe. You are better off to come into the Rock on starboard, just know where all the rocks are! You’ll have to do the drop and gybe immediately, then get set-up to drop the daffodils for Kelly.
On the beat back to West Point, it will be hold port tack from the Rock to Four Mile Rock under Magnolia. The flood may have started however there may still be some ebb along the shore from Four Mile to West Point, just don’t get into too close. At least in the flood, you shouldn’t be on for long.
From West Point to the finish, you’ll want to hold starboard off of West Point until you can tack and make the entrance buoys. Really pay attention to where the finish line is and don’t tack too many times but really maintain a clear air lane to the finish.
Good luck, be safe and have a great time.
Ed. Note: Thanks again, Bruce, for the insights. There are going to be some interesting tales to tell, from this, and all the other, Center Sound races. I’ll be looking for details from every part of the fleet – if you send me your insights I’ll work them into the race wrap. I’ll also be looking for video to include on the Wet Wednesday post. I’m not looking for the crew to drop the halyard to get some footage, but if you have some video, share it with me and I’ll share it with the sailish.com readers (even those not on Facebook….) Have a great time tomorrow!
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)
Saturday’s Blakely Rock Race, which kicked off CYC’s Center Sound Series, started off great but ended up with a lot of drifting and a shortened course course for the PHRFers (ORC boats managed the full course). Class winners needed two things, light air skills and persistence, with probably the greater emphasis on the latter.
As Bruce Hedrick predicted here on sailish.com, conditions were OK at the start (in fact better than the models suggested) with winds dropping the remainder of the day. The possibility of snow never materialized and much of the race was sailed in bright sunshine. (If you want to receive notification of this week’s Bruce’s Brief (and future weather posts), click here.
Kelly O’Neil’s former boat reQuest, was loaded with daffodils for the Blakely Rock rounding.
As the fleet rounded the Rock, daffodils were in ample supply as photographer and oh-so-loved sailing figure Kelly O’Neil was honored 13 years after her death.
A large percentage of the boats that started, finished. Class 1 (one cruising boat) Class 2 had no finishers, but every other class had at least three finishers. Results here. The biggest anomalies were Crossfire’s utter destruction of the ORC class (size matters when it comes to rig height on Puget Sound) and the corrected-time tie between Absolutely and Hamachi in Class 8.
The boat with the longest elapsed time for the day, Al Johnson’s Quest 30Charlotte, is worth a mention. About 15 months ago Johnson brought the boat in from Victoria, where she sailed as Koru. She replaced Johnson’s well loved Soverel 33 Pegasus with an eye toward an easier handled boat (hence safer) for he and his wife Jane. “I just retired and was 63 years old, and the Quest was a boat I could see sailing comfortably for the next 20 years.” In addition to an easier handled rig, the Quest has a more comfortable interior than the Soverel with headroom and a massive aft berth.
Al Johnson’s Quest 30 Charlotte was, like all other Quests, modfied from a twin to single-rudder configuration.
Johnson clearly loves his new boat and his retirement. And the Blakely Rock race was going well up until the Rock. “The Soverel was a light air rocket. Charlotte seems to go well in all condition.” Johnson’s been spending some time around Sail Sand Point helping initiate kids in the the ways of E Scow sailing, among other things, and is much appreciated around there.
Enjoy these photos from Jan Anderson. The rest of them can be seen and purchased here.
The big boats of the ORC division charged the line.
Daffodils in mid-flight.
The unmistakable Selchie chased by Ryan Helling’s Velella
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.
