Royal Victoria Yacht Club Swiftsure The Royal Victoria Yacht Club’s


Swiftsure International Yacht Race is the Pacific Northwest’s “Great Race.”


and determination. In yacht clubs across the nation, casual conversation of Northwest racing often leads to talk of Swiftsure. Many have heard the lore of racing within the Strait of Juan de Fuca with conditions that can vary from heavy wind and waves to slatting, becalmed for hours while surrounded in drizzle and fog. Many sailors have at one time or another wanted to participate in the Swiftsure race. Those who have made it to Victoria, British Columbia for the race, leave with an experience never to be forgotten. Historically, the Royal Victoria Yacht


T


Club’s (RVYC) Swiftsure International Yacht Race is the Pacific Northwest’s “Great Race”. Every major maritime region of the United States has its own “Great Race.” Southern California has the Islands Race or the Newport to Ensenada. Chicago has the Race to Mackinac Island. On par, Swiftsure has attracted international sailors from as far as Russia and New Zealand to race138.7 miles to the Swiftsure Bank. Once the location of the Swiftsure Lightship, the Swiftsure bank has proven for


48° NORTH, JULY 2011 PAGE 50


he Swiftsure International Yacht Race is known as a race of confidence


over 60 years to be the ultimate Pacific Northwest challenge of strategy and perseverance. This year, the 2011 Swiftsure had a


fleet of 149 boats racing in one of five distinct distance races along the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The longest running of the races, The lightship classic to Swiftsure bank had seventeen boats ranging from Scott Milne’s classic Sparkman & Stevens Lightning to Alex Wigley’s Tartan Ten Perfect Ten. The most popular course, the Cape Flattery Race to Neah Bay, at 103.4 miles, hosted three races, including Unlimited, Multihulls and the Cape Flattery Race, the largest fleet of fifty-six boats. With thirty-six boats, the 79.7 mile Juan De Fuca Race to Clallam Bay has been the second longest running race of Swiftsure. The fifth event was the inshore races to Pedder Cove. A twenty-nine boat fleet of flying and non- flying sail mono-hulls as well as a small class of multi-hulls would race a two day in-shore regatta for the event. On the Friday prior to race day, the


energy level in Victoria’s Inner Harbor was exuberant. The day was filled with last minute boat preparation and jovial stories of past races. Battle-flag adorned


boats encompassed the Inner Harbor docks. Victoria residents and mainland visitors walked the docks taking in the spectacle of boats and racers with the Parliament Building and Empress Hotel set as the backdrop. Saturday morning’s forecast of


strong currents and building breeze had the fleet a buzz with activity. Everyone was eager to cast off and get out to the starting area. The boats set off forming a long parade of boats that stretched from the Inner Harbor to the starting area off of Clover Point. We all arrived to light breeze and the starting line set with a crowd amassed along the shore to watch the starts. The breeze, lighter than expected, didn’t diminish our anticipation of the race to come. As canon fire rang from the Canadian


Naval Vessel at the pin end, the fleets started in five waves. Each wave of boats was met by an ever diminishing breeze. Light breeze gave way to strong negative currents and soon we were all drifting backward to Victoria. Those that could set anchor halted their backward drift. The rest sat at the mercy of the tidal current. After several hours of drifting, light zephyrs of breeze built


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