Rather than abating, the winds were to increase, and now we were looking at storm force winds (Force 10) rather than at gale. Coming down to the mark, we

were wondering if we would make any forward progress to windward once we rounded. We noticed our friends on The Shadow, a 1D35 from WVYC, slogging it upwind. We decided to seek shelter from the storm in the lee of Ballenas Islands until things calmed down a bit and we could make our way to the next mark. Once there, we set the anchor,

put on some music, made soup and started to relax and wait for conditions to improve. Somehow, we had missed the Coast Guard message that notified the participants that the race had been abandoned. Upon calling the Race Committee, we were informed that a boat had been lost, and that the race was over. We were disappointed, but understood that the organizers had done the right thing, given the carnage that

“Wind speed was climbing and our B&G instruments kept turning off with an error message that said “input too high”. Even the instruments knew better, but we continued on.”

We made a fresh pot of coffee, lifted anchor and sailed back to Vancouver. By 10:00 am, we were all sitting at the Starbucks in Horseshoe Bay, de- briefing our race and thinking how incredible this adventure had been. Unlike many other boats in this

race, we are a fairly novice crew. We dream big, and we hope one day to do the Van Isle, and even Vic-Maui, but we had never really experienced offshore conditions like these. We learned more in that race than in any other before: about the boat, the importance of safety gear, heavy weather sailing, and mostly about ourselves. I take my hat off to Radiant Heat’s

skipper and crew who were able, despite very difficult conditions, to pull the crew of Incisor from the stormy

seas (see sidebar story below).

We thank our lucky stars everybody

we had seen on the way down. We took turns at anchor watch, slept, and by 4:00 am the wind had turned West.

came out of this safe and sound. But in the end, we can’t wait for next year…

by Pierre Martin

Lost…and then Found

Sailboat racing in the Pacific

Northwest is often an all-or-nothing affair. Some races are contested on mere zephyrs; others feature big wind and nasty seas. It’s usually a crapshoot, unless a well-forecasted storm is due to blow through — then it becomes a matter of judgment and seamanship. The 42nd annual Southern Straits

Race, held out of the West Vancouver Yacht Club on April 2, was the later. During the April 1 skipper’s meeting, a weather briefing was given by Environment Canada’s meteorologist David Jones, informing skippers that a big, low-pressure system was forming off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, with heavy, sustained winds and big seas combing the racing area by the time that the first warning gun would fire. Come morning, participating racers

encountered sustained winds of 35 – 45 knots, with regular puffs into the low 50’s (the highest recorded windspeed during the race was 64 knots), and six- to 12-foot seas. The RC soon began receiving calls from retirees; some reporting blown-out sails, damaged

or lost rigs, and broken boat bits. One of these retirees was Clint Currie, a Vancouver resident and professional boat builder. By all accounts, Currie is an

experienced sailor. His boat, Incisor, a 30-foot custom design that flies the WVYC’s colors, won the short-course division of the 2009 race, and both he and Incisor have reportedly logged some 30 Southern Straits races together. Currie was reportedly heading towards Nanaimo when Incisor began to sink due to still-unknown causes. Quickly. While Currie declined to comment for this article, Incisor reportedly began taking on water so rapidly that her crew of six—including Currie—didn’t have time to place a Mayday call to the Canadian Coast Guard before the gunwales were awash. According to reports from Tony

Brogan, skipper of Radiant Heat, a J/30, which had also retired from racing due to engine and rigging troubles, his crew spotted Incisor’s rig laying at an acute angle to the seas and sailors in the water. Brogan, diligently following the international code of

sailors, immediately issued a Mayday for Incisor at roughly 1545 and began to rescue sailors. After several passes and a lot of hard work from Radiant Heat’s crew, both Currie and another sailor — both of whom were suffering from severe hypothermia and were unresponsive — were pulled aboard Radiant Heat. Brogan and his crew then stood by until a Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft arrived on the scene. Radiant Heat then proceeded in to Nanaimo. Fortunately, the Canadian Coast

Guard rescued the remaining four sailors, thanks in part to the captain of the B.C. Ferries’ Coastal Renaissance, who positioned his large vessel as a windbreak for the rescuers. The RC cancelled racing at 1545

and all raceboats were safely back ashore by nightfall. Incisor’s crew was all taken to the hospital, where they made full recoveries. Amazingly, Incisor was reportedly found floating between Sisters and Lasqueti islands a few days later. At the time of this reporting she was due to be hauled at Vancouver’s Mosquito Creek Marina.

by David Schmidt

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