Race Week Pacific Northwest

Race Week Anacortes

Kurt Hoehne Racing 0 Comment
Race Week Anacortes

The big winner for the second-ever Race Week Anacortes was without a doubt Ben Braden’s Moore 24 More Uffda. After throwing out one second place finish, More Uffda had straight firsts. John Hoag’s Shrek was also dominant in PHRF 1. The J/111s Recon and 65 Red Roses traded firsts and seconds all week with Recon coming out on top. Spyhop and JamJam finished one point apart in PHRF 4. The four boats in the cruising class ended up with totals of 10,11, 12 and 13 points, with the Catalina 30 Papillon on top. The breeze took one and a half days off, but the regatta had excellent conditions the rest of the week. .

The other winners were the Anacortes economy (hungry and thirsty crews from 61 boats) and Schelleen Rathkopf, whose efforts keep this event going along.

We don’t have a hands-on report, but to catch up on the week check out the results here. If folks have something to add to this report, please send it my way. Following is Jan Anderson’s thoughts on the race plus some of her photos. Check out the rest of the photos here.

Jan Anderson’s Observations from the Photo Boat

Well, this year’s event sure provided clarity regarding the wide range of application for the weather term “LIGHT AND VARIABLE”! One never knew what each day would present, sometimes even after the day was done! We all got schooled on lighthearted laughter, variable outcomes on the race course, rapid mood shifts when grazing a mark (or a competitor!), a variety of interpretations of which course / which flag / for which class(es) / when, in light of the complexified combination(s) of variable designs assigned to each, current events which kept sailors guessing the optimal side of the course to sail, sail choices for the light, air and tactical decisions trans-windshift! It was terrific all around to see old friends (still getting older), familiar and well loved boats getting ‘er done, and for yet another Race Week to march into history! Enjoy these photos!

Safety First at Race Week

Kurt Hoehne Racing, safety 1 Comment
Safety First at Race Week

It’s great to see Schelleen Rathkopf and the team at Race Week Anacortes responding directly to last year’s tragedy by emphasizing safety for this year’s Race Week – Anacortes.

Last year, in an otherwise stellar debut for Race Week – Anacortes, Greg Miller died after falling overboard during a race. While the lessons are still being parsed out, basic safety practices are being emphasized in Race Week’s most recent email. There are links to videos on man overboard procedures, and of course Sailish readers know to turn to The Sailing Foundation for more information. And while it is the skippers’ responsibility to brief his or her crew on safety protocols, don’t hesitate as crew to ask for (expect, demand) a safety review before the series that includes practicing man overboard maneuvers. We are blessed with a safe sport. Vigilance is how we keep it that way.

The email mentioned above includes information on the cruising class, reservations of Cap Sante’s entire C-dock and a campground reserved solely for Race Week participants. Sounds like a well organized good time, and if the conditions hold up as they did last year, there’s going to be good racing.

Photo by Jan Anderson