The Owens 102, HMCS “Oriole” , is impressive from any angle.


Photo by Jan Anderson.


Royal Victoria Yacht Club Swiftsure One look at the tides and currents


for the weekend of May 29th to 31st gave cause for pause. Unless the winds were substantial, Swiftsure 2010 could prove to be a long and challenging race. But, they came all the same, these “gluttons for punishment” called yacht racers, for the challenge of the unpredictable. And, what they got was a race that went from gear buster to drifter, and then something in between. At the Clover Point start


line, the winds were a steady 15 knots, and proved exciting while jockeying for clear air for a good start. In the strong winds, the first two starts went off without a hitch until Class 3 was recalled. Principal Race Officer Jennifer Guest then postponed the start sequence to allow enough time to get all the Class 3 boats back for their start, and proceeded to get everyone else underway. The earlier you got


to Race Passage, heading outside the pass proved to be


48° NORTH, JULY 2010 PAGE 56


the way to go to take advantage of the left-over ebb current. Asked, as Dragonfly arrived at the Inspection Dock at 2033 on Saturday, about their approach at and beyond Race Passage, owner Richard Ackrill, of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, explained, “Having gotten a clean start and flown to Race Rocks, we decided to go outside and everyone else fell behind us, where they stayed until we reached Clallam Bay, where the winds dropped


Kevin Reath's “Something Wicked” takes 1st in the Cape Flattery Race Class 5 Division H.


Photo by Jan Anderson.


to 4 to 6 knots.” Added former Dragonfly owner and current principal helmsman Pat McGarry, with a big smile, “This is the first time we’ve ever been at the head of the pack just past Race Rocks!” The majority of those arriving later at “the race” chose to tack up the Canadian side to keep out of the flood current, which seemed to be the prudent choice. By mid-day, 30 knots of wind was


the norm across the race course, causing 26 boats to withdraw in the fairly early going. Gear failure was the order of the day, with two dismastings, two rudder failures, a broken window through which the water gushed, and a multitude of torn sails. One of the dismasted boats was Bad Kitty, out of Winter Cove on Saturna Island, which was very much a disappointment, given the crew was sailing this race for the late builder, owner, and skipper Karl Uthoff, who succumbed to cancer in February. Explained crew member Alec Mackenzie, in


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90