The above YouTube clip is from the 2010 Southern Straits of Georgia Race always run on Good Friday which can take up to three days. I skippered my boat, a J37 called Future Primitive. This was the 42nd running (my 40th) and is known as the ultimate challenge in these waters (a true gear and crew breaker.) During this race, one boat sank, about 12 crew wound up in the water. All rescued and survived. WVYC, at the request of the Coast Guard, terminated the race about 4 PM on the first day (this has never happened before but the CG said that it had no more resources to respond to the calls for help from the fleet of about 50 sailboats.) Some boats registered 80+ knots of wind. We certainly saw that. As usual, in those conditions, the waves are the problem, not the wind. They were huge…I’ve raced over 10,000 miles offshore including the 2006 Sydney, Australia to Hobart (all racers’ Everest), a couple of Victoria-Mauis, Pan Am Clipper Cup in Hawaii CDN Team, LA-Puerto Vallarta, etc. My crew and I have been together for many years (some over 15), and are all very experienced ocean racers; some accompanying me on Vic-Mauis and Sydney to Hobart.
The Skipper/Navigator’s weather briefing the night before the start at WVYC by a professional meteorologist warned us that it would be very rough. We were ready, as was the boat. We’ve all raced offshore in big winds and high seas. In fact, about six boats decided not to race. On a friend’s boat, one of the crew jumped off the boat and swam to shore just before the start off Dundarave Pier in WV. Many more similar stories, with many boats starting in about 35 knots of wind, but pulling out before leaving English Bay (the first island to round was just north of Nanaimo.) It was a wise choice for many if they weren’t prepared.
It really picked up about 1/2 way across the Strait. The way we described it later was that it was violent. F P was pushed well beyond her hull speed, up to 18 knots. Unfortunately, the camera does not capture the true sense of the situation. I knew we were safe, barring any unforeseen situations such as gear/mast failure (there were many.) It was exhilarating.
We arrived in Nanaimo after the race was abandoned about 4 PM. The winds were fierce even in the harbour. At the bar after (we’re sailors, of course…), we watched some ambulances take away crew that had been recued by Coast Guard boats who were severely hypothermic having been in the water too long (that time of year, about 1/2 hour is max.) Some were good friends sharing a passion, and all are fine now. One friend was in the hospital for a few days.
It’s difficult to describe this to people who do not share this passion, and push the boundaries. I read a poem years ago in a sailing magazine. It was written by a sailor who had circumnavigated the world, occasionally encountering challenging conditions and surmounting them. He said that, having met and survived these challenges, it was difficult to settle into a house with a white picket fence and speak the language of the common man. When my crew and racing buddies get together, here or Australia or Hawaii, or a local yacht club bar, we know what we’ve done (or not), and we share the camaraderie.
My next major race is Antigua Sailing Week (aka Race Week) during the last two weeks of April. My partner Joan and my crew organized it all to celebrate my 70th birthday in April. There’s a clip of the great reveal at a crew brunch on my Facebook site.
In the meantime, we continue to race F P every other weekend in the WVYC Snowflake Series, followed by more long and short races in the Spring. We cruise her July and August. A nice break…
Hope you’ve found this interesting. Joan and I live a block from Magee. I can still see our old school in my mind’s eye. I had lunch with my still best friend Stan Webber, and his Mom and sisters Sandra and Joan recently.
Best wishes for a great New Year.
Ron MacKenzie