Previous page top: John Leitzinger’s ID35, “Kahuna” as they pass the Point Robinson Lighthouse.
Below: Thomas Davis' “Suddenly” (took 1st in Class I) and Shelly Conti's “Chinook,” dueling it out. Right: “Flim Flam,” “Madrugador,” “Reign Maker” and “Charlemagne” vying for position.
Photos by Jan Anderson.
light wavering breeze. For the first time in memory, the Winter Vashon race would proceed counterclockwise around the island; traditional strategy was out the window. We watched as the cruising class slowly made way for Point Robertson at the southeast edge of Vashon. With only a 13 hour time limit, the length of the race is often determined by how much headway the cruising class makes in the first few hours. Few crews wanted to bare the chill of the evening hours, to make the time limit. We speculated if the TYC race committee would shorten the course of the race. With a building breeze, the fast fleets
were off in a chilly 9 knots of southerly wind. The fast fleet split as the wind began to die. While some headed close to the Vashon shore, those that chose to stay further out in current, were rewarded with a push of positive tidal flow. The wind paused and we drifted east, on course at max VMG. Aboard Jim Marta’s Farr 395Eye Candy, we could feel a frigid breeze by the lee; we tacked and worked the middle of the course reaching for a reluctant northerly. With a delayed start, the remaining fleets quickly began to close the gap behind, until they too were becalmed. The morning race would be a continuous series of restarts as isolated waves of freshening breeze passed through the fleet. Soon a south-southwesterly filled and
the fleet collectively set their spinnakers. The new breeze carried us all the way on layline to the picturesque Point Robertson Lighthouse. Once at Point Robertson the oscillating wind quickly shifted some 60 degrees and again we were on a layline to the northern midpoint mark. With a few tenths of a knot of current against us, we followed the lead of David Pickett’s Strider. Kerry Sherwin aboard Strider noted that they decided to play close to the Vashon shore
48° NORTH, JANUARY 2012 PAGE 77
for current relief, even though it required hotter sailing angles to keep the boat moving in the ever waning breeze. As the wind shut down at Point Robertson those lucky to make it through would have clear sailing to the finish. As we approached the midpoint
mark we came upon a log boom being pulled slowly and surely by a diminutive tug. Jibing to position ourselves on
the favorable side of the log boom, we passed only a few hundred feet from the boom and noticed a giant herd of grey Harbour Seals. We speculated on the distance these seals had traveled and if they had any idea where they were going. The TYC Race committee had indeed
decided to shorten the race. As the wind continued on next page
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