July Offshore Sailing Classics

(Newport, RI)- It seems July in the "odd years" has more classic offshore yacht races than anyone could imagine and is an armchair sailors dream (most now have tracking).  The really cool part about this year's races is that you can sail nearly all of July on a J somewhere around the world in some of the best offshore races imaginable.

In the Northern Atlantic on July 10th, a Canadian-American classic that has attracted a nearly "cult" following is the Marblehead to Halifax Race.  Never the fastest, never the coolest, but an incredibly challenging event that keeps those hardy New Englanders (e.g. "Colonialists") answering that oft-called desire to hear the "call of the running tide, a wild call, a clear call that cannot be denied"!  And, boy is that call of the running tide loud and clear, hundreds of sailors make an annual pilgrimage, to weather fog, ferries, 40 foot tidal changes, massive current and the breathless views of that spectacular "village" called Halifax (this is truly a race to the party as the Nova Scotians are notoriously fabulous hosts).  Amongst the J's sailing in IRC Class are  Reginald Gooday's J/44 AKUBRA from Royal Nova Scotia Sailing Squadron and George Shaw's J/122 TUMBLEWEED from Boston YC.   For more Marblehead-Halifax Race sailing information.

The next weekend sees a "head-to-head" battle for the "classic" or the "longest" Great Lakes race in the great American Midwest.  On Saturday, July 16th, two huge events start.  The "grand dame" and perhaps the most prestigious is the Chicago to Mackinac Race- a 289 nm classic that basically pits the best-of-the-best offshore sailors from the western Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie).  Much farther to the east is the "first Great Lake", Lake Ontario, the last lake to empty down the grand St. Lawrence Seaway into a yet slightly larger body of water, the North Atlantic Ocean.  The Lake Ontario 300 starts and finishes in Mississauga, Ontario on a great tour of a very difficult lake to race.  Following these two big Lakes races is the Port Huron-Mackinac starting on July 23rd.  The longest consecutively running freshwater long-distance race since 1925. More previews to follow on these three events in coming weeks!

  

J/122 ANAM CARA Completes Tough Van-Isle Race

(Victoria, BC, Canada)- No matter how many times teams have sailed the Around Vancouver Isle race, they know they can expect at least one or two epic passages on one of the nine legs and most of the time that would be on the desolate western coast offshore into the Pacific.  This year's Leg Eight-  from Winter Harbour to Ucluelet - is a 138 miler that can make or break the entire event for some boats. It can best be summed up as epic.  It was a very hard leg.  One sailor stated, "it was the toughest race I have ever been in."   Seasickness was rampant in the fleet leaving many crews shorthanded to deal with the tough conditions.  With wind in the high 20's and square confused waves, the consensus was it was the waves and not the wind that made the leg so miserable.   All but the first few boats made an immediate transition from SE to NW winds as they got down the course and most finished under spinnaker.  Nevertheless, after surviving the leg, the awards ceremony held at the new community center in Ucluelet was a huge success.  The fleet raised over $8500.00 for the Coast Guard Aux. Unit 38, who stood by all day and night to escort the boats into Ucluelets' inner harbour.  A salmon BBQ was enjoyed as the stories from this leg grew and the waves got bigger!

J/109- Team Mojo account of this epic leg:  "The west coast of Vancouver Island is a graveyard to boats and beside the other boats competing in this race, a very lonely place. There is nothing else out there but whales and big rocks until the end of this leg.  By 2300, we were thirty miles offshore, beating into a gale.  We were fully powered up with a double reefed main, traveller down and a small no.3 jib. Seas were 2-3 meters.  Going out, we would hit the waves and slam very hard from time to time.  Every wave you smash into sends a wall of water and spray at the guys on the rail and over the boat and slows you down.  At times you think the boat will break in half.  At 1800 I decided to go down and start to get dinner ready to feed the guys.  I lashed myself to the stove in order not to get sent flying across the cabin, boiled water and poured it into those adventure meal packs.  I managed to do all seven meals without injury and without getting sea sick. Being down below for an hour in those conditions is tough.  I am quite happy to say we managed to do the race without anybody getting sick.  Many boats were not so lucky and some had most of the crew incapacitated."

"We accelerated with each wave and it felt like we were flying.  It was dark so visibility was poor since it was raining, but we were going like hell. The next 5 hours were just insane.  I would rotate two guys to rest and warm up down below.  Per and I have developed a little system for driving Mojo hard in breeze so we stayed together till morning, keeping Mojo upright and watching the speedo hit 9 knots as we seemingly launched off the waves in the dark.  From time to time, I would doze off to be awakened by the lurching motion as we launched yet again off another ramp.  So that's what we did until sunrise.  It was a cold, wet, and difficult night.  I just wanted to go to sleep so bad, but had to keep fighting to stay awake and warm. It's not natural! You have to stay awake, you cannot leave and go hide in a warm spot. Just 4 more hours...just two more...the sun will come up in one hour... And then it's light and your body chemistry comes back to normal.  You are tired, but the struggle is over.  That is the nature of night racing."

"The front had also passed in the night and all of a sudden we went from sailing upwind to sailing downwind. The guys were tired but after a terrible attempt to put up our spinnaker, which ended up in the water, we finally got it up and managed to sail down wind the next 65 miles. The sea state was very confused for the first two hours because of the change in wind direction 180 degrees but we finally got Mojo going and racing to the finish.  What a leg to be remembered."

For the final Leg Nine headed back to Victoria, the long awaited westerly breeze finally showed up, in spades.  A solid 20 knots and big swells on the start line at Amphitrite point made for perfect surfing conditions as the 38 boats remaining in the race headed for home.

For Division 1, the J/122 ANAM CARA hung into their top five position overall.  For more Vancouver Isle 360 sailing results

  

J/122 ANAM CARA Enjoying Vancouver Isle Race

(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)- Forty-one boats enjoyed crystal-clear conditions and 15 knots out of the northwest this past Saturday for the start for the 580-mile Telus Van Isle 360.  The race begins and ends just off the picturesque town of Nanaimo, situated on Vancouver Island's southeast shore. From here, the fleet will race in 10 different stage races, ranging from 22 to 138 nautical miles in length, working their way clockwise around the entire island. While some of the passages are a bit headier than others, bad weather can become a constant companion at any point. The race gets its reputation as a serious adventure race primarily due to the sporty offshore legs that negotiate Vancouver's wild western coastline, but the inside legs challenge sailors with impressive currents and tides while simultaneously rewarding with an abundance of sea life and some of the prettiest country anywhere on planet earth...when it's not raining.

Leg 1 started with a 12 knot westerly breeze making for a downwind start out of Nanaimo's beautiful harbour.  Once rounding Gallows Point the wind picked up to 18 - 20 knots on the nose which gradually eased to 12 knots at the finish.  A bright sunny day with perfect visibility and Mount Baker clearly visible to the south.  At 22 nm this is the shortest leg of the race and is commonly referred to as the bunny hill, but the sailors are happy to be into it and are thinking ahead to the challenging legs to come.

On Leg 3 that started in Comox, the RC's PRO injected a little humor when they hoisted a blue Canucks jersey in place of the 'P' flag.  It didn't help the Vancouver Canucks ice-hockey team, though (they're competing in the Stanley Cup ice hockey finals against the Boston Bruins)!  A long start line made for a civilized but busy start with all boats getting away clear in 10-12 knots of westerly breeze.  Once clear of Cape Lazo the fleet sailed into a solid 18 - 20 knots of wind on the nose.   All but the last few boats got in before the tide turned in Discovery Passage taking advantage of the strong positive current.  The top half of the fleet were sailing at times in 5 to 6 knots of positive current.  Several boats mis-judged their closing speed and ended up reaching upwind to clear the mark.  This area has some of the strongest currents in the world at times getting up to 16 knots.  Many thanks go out to the RipTide Pub for the excellent venue and the Discovery Harbour Marina for hosting the fleet at their fantastic facility.

For Leg Four - Campbell River to Hardwicke Island - 24.50 nm- the race got underway in Deepwater Bay, 10 nm north of Campbell River with a 15 knot westerly.  The fleet sailed into a typical Johnstone Strait westerly with winds in the high 20's and and ebb tide making a nasty chop.  Some boats ate it up, others did not like it at all.  In Division 2 a tight battle rages between the J/109's, with ASTRAL PLANE, DIVA and TANTIVY taking first, second and third place on this leg.  ASTRAL PLANE currently leads in the overall standings with TANTIVY following in second.  In Division 1 ANAM CARA was first and is now lying 3rd overall.  The entire fleet was treated to a sit down salmon BBQ at the Marine Harvest Canada site in Chancellor Channel.   The BC Salmon Farmers Association once again cooked a fabulous meal.   It was clear that everyone in attendance appreciated what a special event this was and the scenery is spectacular.   For more Van Isle 360 sailing information

  

J/122 Wins Swiftsure Cape Flattery Race

(Victoria, BC, Canada)- While Storm Trysail hosted the east coast spring classic offshore race on the "right coast", on the "left coast" the Royal Victoria Yacht club in Victoria, British Columbia hosted the Pacific Northwest’s Premiere Yacht Race-- the 68th running of their spring classic- the Swiftsure Lightship Classic Race.  As one of the oldest long-distance races in North America, starting in 1930, the Swiftsure has always been a test of seamanship and tactical skill.  This year, the story was no different, challenging the sailors with very light airs and lots of current off the start and the initial beat NW into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A very light breeze built a bit a few hours after the start, and the boats inched along the Canadian shore of the Straits by short tacking for current relief.

The wind built to about ten knots and lasted until about midnight, then shut off. Boats drifted in the dark for hours praying for wind, and wondering if their competitors had taken the tried-and-true Canadian shore return route or gambled and gone on the American side of the Straits. This year, the gamble paid off to go West along the American shore.

In the morning, the westerly filled in nicely for a great spinnaker run down the Straits, with steep, 6-foot swells pushing boats toward the finish line. Early finishers had max winds of about 18 knots, but later finishers had a 37 knot tail wind and a 5 knot positive current pushing them through Race Passage, significantly benefitting the smaller (or slower) boats.  In short, the results reflect the fact it had become a small boat, slow boat race for handicap honors, although there were a few exceptions in the standings.

In the 108 nm Cape Flattery Race, one of the three events one can sail in the Swiftsure 2011 International Yacht Race, it was Tom Kelly's gorgeous navy-blue hulled J/122 ANAM CARA from Portland YC that took overall and Class L-1 honors, completing the course in 23 hour 35 minutes and winning by over two hours on handicap time!   Sailing photo credits- R Beberidge   For more Swiftsure Race sailing information

  

Vancouver Isle 360 Race- Competitive J/Fleet Sailing

(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)- Officially known as the TELUS Van Isle 360, this biennial 580 nm point-to-point race circumnavigating the wild and rugged Vancouver Island is an extraordinary experience.   Starting next weekend, the race is sailed in multiple legs and the course provides inshore, offshore and overnight legs (10 of them!) through some of the most stunning and challenging waters on the planet.  If ever an island was meant to be raced around it is Vancouver Island. Her dramatic beauty, majestic mountains and natural harbors provide an awesome backdrop for a race that has become "the must do" event on the West Coast sailing circuit.

The event attracts some of top sailors in the Pacific Northwest. The variety of extremes and conditions challenge even the most seasoned crews. As Canadian Olympic Medallist, Ross MacDonald, quoted in SAIL magazine,  "I can't tell you how many races I sailed in this year, but I can tell you this was the most challenging by a factor of 2 to 1. The current changes every few hundred yards - maybe by 180 degrees - and the wind funnels down off the cliffs....you'd better have your boat sorted out."

A fascinating piece of "Johnstone family" history is attached to the race, in perhaps a rather unusual way.  One of the most challenging parts of Vancouver's circumnavigation takes the fleet through the infamous "Johnstone Straits"-  it's a 68.0 nm channel along the north east coast of Vancouver Island that is up to 3 nm wide. It is a major navigation channel on the west coast of North America and is the preferred channel for vessels from the Georgia Strait leaving to the north of Vancouver Island through the Queen Charlotte Strait bound for Prince Rupert, Queen Charlotte Islands, Alaska, and the North Pacific Ocean, and for southbound vessels from those areas bound for the Port of Vancouver.  The strait is named after Commander James Johnstone, a British naval officer and explorer in the late 1700s. He was master of the HMS Chatham, which accompanied George Vancouver on the HMS Discovery on their famous Vancouver expedition to chart the Northwest coast of the Americas. Johnstone established the fact that Vancouver Island was, indeed, an island (named after his friend George, along with the city, too).  Today, perhaps most significantly, the Johnstone Strait is home to approximately 150 orca whales during the summer months, which are often seen by kayakers and boaters packed with tourists. Scientists including Michael Bigg and Paul Spong have been researching the orcas in the Strait since 1970. Spong established the ORCALab, based on studying the Orcas in their natural habitat.

Enjoying the breath-taking Straits will be a number of highly competitive J's that have a hard time resisting the "call of the wild".  If it isn't the extraordinarily fun times, camaraderie with other sailors, it must be the  singularly spectacular experience of sailing one of the world's pre-eminent "round island" races.  Amongst the fleet will be some familiar faces to J sailors worldwide.  Tom Kelly's gorgeous blue J/122 ANAM CARA is a repeat participant.  Good luck to all on your fortnight long adventures!  For you armchair sailors dreaming about putting this event on your "bucket list", this one's a fabulous one to consider!  They have tracking this year so you can follow the fleet as they drift past orca's and sea otters, pound upwind in vicious current induced chop in the Straits, or plane offshore down mountainous seas on the Pacific side of the island.  Finally, all of the sailors efforts go to a great cause-  the event is providing an amazing $25,000 donation for the Queen Alexandra Foundation in support of "Jeneece Place", a home away from home for children requiring medical treatment and their families in Vancouver.   For more Van Isle 360 sailing information

  

Leading J's In Swiftsure Lightship Classic

15 J's Challenge Notorious Juan de Fuca Straits
(Victoria, BC, Canada)- While Storm Trysail is hosting the east coast spring classic offshore race on the "right coast", on the "left coast" the Royal Victoria Yacht club in Victoria, British Columbia is hosting the Pacific Northwest’s Premiere Yacht Race-- the 68th running of their spring classic- the Swiftsure Lightship Classic Race.  As one of the oldest long-distance races in North America, starting in 1930, the Swiftsure has always been a test of seamanship and tactical skill.  The spring weather in the Straits can turn fast and stir up viciously steep chop and blow a gale, and then some.  Last year's event saw "the pots, the pans and the kitchen sink" all thrown at them over the course of the race-- Mother Nature was at her usual capricious self.

The racers have a choice of 3 races to sail, the "Swiftsure Lightship Classic" that's 137 miles, the "Juan de Fuca Race" that's only 76 miles and the "Cape Flattery Race" that's 100 miles in length.  All racing yachts will have a tracker system using Globalstar’s SPOT technology- locations are updated every 10 minutes, of every boat on the Swiftsure Lightship Classic, Cape Flattery, and Juan de Fuca race courses.

The sixteen J's sailing in the three races include  the J/122 ANAM CARA sailed by Tom Kelly (CFR).   Sailing photo credits- R Beberidge/ FlashInThePan.com   For more Swiftsure Race sailing information.