Tripp Tease enjoyed an exciting race on the weekend.
The 40-foot racing yacht hailing from the Comox Bay Sailing Club with her crew of nine took part in the Swiftsure on May 28-29. Swiftsure is a 103 nautical mile race from Victoria to the outer entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait and return.
A crew member filed the following report:
The start was incredibly exciting strategically speaking, as our boat managed to make a bold move in the lighter winds to the right side of the course, where there was less current against us, and more breeze to carry us out to the Race Rocks corner and the entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait.
The breeze filled in througout the afternoon, forcing us to change our sails to smaller ones to keep the boat on a more "even keel." We were treated with an amazing sunset and beautiful breezes to our turning mark at Neah Bay.
The return trip was a little difficult as the wind dropped off to near 0 and the current turned into an ebb, pushing against us instead of with us. We passed a few boats in the night, and in turn were passed by others.
Our spinnaker was flying with fresh breeze as Sunday morning became warmer, propelling us to a maximum of near 13 nautical miles per hour through the Race Rocks area. Unfortunately, we sailed too fast for the breeze and had to watch our competitors catch up to us with more new fresh breeze at the finish.
As a result, Tripp Tease finished back in the field, (fourth in our division, and 22nd overall). We will use our new-found knowledge and experience in the next race for us, the Telus Van Isle 360.
If there are armchair sailors out there wishing to give racing (keelboat or dinghy a try, with your own boat or crew on anothers, contact our club at cbscsailing@gmail.com or call 250-890-9154.