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2022 Swiftsure International Yacht Race update

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Published on May 28th, 2023 | by Editor

Swiftsure – Always a challenge

Published on May 28th, 2023 by Editor -->

Swiftsure 2023 is in the books but not before two competitors set new records for elapsed time, and all experienced the absolute romp (understatement) of the Juan de Fuca Strait where the Four Long Course racing occurs.

For the morning start on May 27, initial predictions of low-20 westerly winds gave way to gale force later in the afternoon. Boats were well prepared – these are known conditions in the Pacific Northwest in spring and summer. Race day dawned dry, calm, and bright in Victoria’s elegant Inner Harbour with 116 boats raring to get going.

The dance away from the docks was a sight in itself – no jostling, just joshing as lines were tossed, race yachts eased away and the parade progressed out of the harbour, mustering off Clover Point. Spectators ashore and on boats were treated to a warm morning with over 100 yachts testing their sails and checking currents along the start line, all with the Olympic Peninsula’s majestic beauty as a backdrop.

A spectacular array of boats graced the six race starts – Swiftsure Lightship Classic 138.2 nm, Hein Bank 118.1 nm, Cape Flattery 101.9 nm. Juan de Fuca 78.7 (Monohulls plus Multihulls), plus the Inshore Classic Racing and Cruising Divisions whose courses were determined on race morning.

The longest was 84-foot stays’l schooner ‘Martha’, while the shortest was 17-foot Cape Code Cat ‘Catlin’. Fast race yachts such as three TP52s took on Hein Bank race. The true stalwarts, racing the namesake Swiftsure Lightship Classic (SLC), were here for Swiftsure’s legendary challenge – and gosh they got it in spades this year.

Winds at the start were variable at about 10 knots. Boats started with tide against them – a flood until early afternoon. The pin end was in an eddy so was the favored end, nearest Clover Point, to spectators’ extreme delight. All races started on time with no On Course Side starts.

SLC leading boats pointed into the armpit north of Race Passage, and variously flew asymmetricals or headsails, finally settling on headsails. Westerlies increased as yachts approached the Race Passage corner, building throughout the day as the Four Long Course boats worked up Juan de Fuca Strait. Then conditions got sporty.

The race yachts were ready, but gear was sorely tested. One boat required rescue assistance; Hamachi was dismasted in Race Passage – several competitors ceased racing, approached Hamachi to provide assistance until the Royal Canadian Marine Search & Rescue – 37 Sooke team arrived along with the Canadian Coast Guard and set a tow bridle to bring Hamachi to safety. Competitors assisting in the rescue support were gladly provided redress.

The first finishers would soon arrive in the Juan de Fuca Multihull Race as Duncan Gladman’s Custom Multihull Dragon finished at 16:47:58, setting a new course record of 7 hours, 37 minutes, 58 seconds. The next three finishers also beat the previous course record of 10 hours, 31 minutes, 45 seconds set by Dragon in 2022. On corrected time, the race winner was Cheekee Monkee, Kim Alfreds’ F-45RC Catamaran.

A few hours later, with only half a mast left, the second record was broken in the Cape Flattery Monohulls race as Bill Weinstein’s RT35 Terramoto finished at 21:27:55, setting a new course record of 12 hours 7 minutes, 55 seconds, beating the previous record set in 2007 of 12:51:13 by Flash, shaving over 43 minutes from the record. Terramoto (Portuguese for earthquake) won Line Honors, First Overall on Corrected Time, and First in Class (Light). Terramoto was dismasted on her way to the finish line; she jury-rigged a mainsail on her remaining stub and still broke the record!

During the same period, Hamachi’s rig broke in heavy seas west of Race Passage and was at risk of fetching up on the shoals. Annapurna came to her immediate aid, giving up their race position. After getting a tow line on Hamachi and taking her through Race Passage, the Canadian Coast Guard cutter took over and Annapurna continued her race.

Through redress, her position was restored and Annapurna took 2nd in her division, and 3rd in the race and in class. Safety training was very much at the fore for all.

Throughout that evening, finishers came in thick and fast. Shortly after midnight, the first SLC boat finished at 12:38:00 – completing the course to Swiftsure Bank and back in a little over 15 hours was Zvi, Alan Lubner’s Reichel-Pugh 55. Zvi (gazelle in old Hebrew) had a fantastic run the entire way and won SLC Line Honors and First Overall on Corrected Time and First in Division.

Inshore Racing divisions had a fine race day, arriving at Cadboro Bay in plenty of time for Awards and barbecue by Swiftsure International Yacht Race host Royal Victoria Yacht Club. Division 1 Racing winner was Hotfoot 27 HayTor, skippered by RVYC Commodore Stephanie Bacon, Division 2 winner was Merganser, and Cruising division winner was Lunita.

This was a magical Swiftsure race year filled with all the wildness the Pacific Northwest is known for.

Final Results: Four Long Courses: https://www.swiftsure.org/results/swiftsure-2023/ Inshore Classic: https://www.swiftsure.org/results/2023-inshore-results/

Photos: https://www.swiftsure.org/gallery/

Source: Charlotte Gann

Tags: Swiftsure International Yacht Race

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• Swiftsure 2022 Aboard the Corsair F28R Aliikai

After a two-year postponement due to COVID, the Swiftsure International Yacht Race was back on in 2022. 

When I asked Mats Elf about doing Swiftsure, he said he was headed to the Gorge to pursue his latest wind powered water activity of high-speed windsurfing. I was left in a quandary of  who else might like to be a part of Team Aliikai , so I made a few calls, but before anyone replied, Mats rang back and said that he could always go to the Gorge but didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to do Swiftsure aboard my F28R Aliikai . He also said he could help us with a third team member, but being a holiday weekend in the U.S. and being sort of last minute, our potential crew list was running dry. With the initial forecast looking light, Mats commented, “wouldn’t we go faster with just the two of us?” He knew perfectly well the answer was “yes.”

The stoke was high as the start time of the adventure arrived. Mats was his casual “a few hours behind schedule”, and par for the course, I needed all that extra time to make sure I had everything sorted anyway. We launched the boat in the rain in Cornet Bay, Deception Pass State Park on Thursday evening. We had hoped to make it over to the San Juans, but since we required an unexpected supply run into Oak Harbor, we called an audible and spent a peaceful night on the recently installed new floats at Cornet Bay. At 6:30 a.m. Friday morning, we caught the last two hours of the ebb through Deception Pass and we were on our way to Victoria.

The wind was perfect for a one tack fetch all the way to Victoria Harbour where we were once again welcomed to Canada. The docks were loaded with racing sailboats buzzing with crews from near and far. The excitement was building as we attended the skippers meeting and we were happy to have an early turn in time to be well rested in the morning.

However, as predicted, we were headed outbound into the flood tide, with the easterly breeze forecasted to eventually die before turning westerly in the late afternoon. The weather report called for a gale warning late Saturday night into Sunday morning, and we’d hoped to be safely back in the harbor by then. Unfortunately, we played the Vancouver Island shoreline in adverse current and dying breeze for too long and gave up massive distance to the Kiwi built 10.6 M Chris Cochrane designed tri, Dragon . It is always an interesting puzzle to put together sailing in light winds and adverse current in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

After a brief period of no wind, the westerly finally started to materialize. Our enthusiasm was brief as we shortly saw Dragon passing us on the return leg, while we were still at least an hour from our rounding the mark in Clallam Bay. The good news was that we could see the bulk of our other competition close at hand. After approximately an hour of light air upwind sailing the westerly started to build. We rounded the virtual turning mark in Clallam Bay within 20 minutes or so of our three closest competitors. 

We logged our rounding for the first half of our 80-mile course at 7:11 p.m. and we were quick to set the kite and head off in pursuit of our rivals. Under full main and spinnaker, we were instantly in full send mode in 15 knots of breeze with nothing more than 20 knots of breeze expected till we finished. Pushing hard, we soon outpaced a couple of 31Rs and the F82R. As the sun set out in the Pacific, it dropped beneath the cloud curtain that was covering the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The entire fleet was treated to a magnificent magic hour as the sun set below the horizon. Wind against tide made for short steep waves. Stuffing the leeward float in at the bottom of the wave, at times up to the cross beam, was an ongoing issue. Combined with the aft beam shearing off wave tops, we had water cascading everywhere over the bows of all three hulls and into the cockpit! Remember, Mats is a speed seeker and going as fast as you can is the name of the game. Monitoring wind speed at Race Rocks, we favored the Washington shore, which had slightly better pressure. The ongoing parade of commercial ship traffic was one more variable to manage and it wasn’t long until the light of day gave way to the chaos of darkness.

We were still hurtling into, through and over the waves at speeds into the mid-teens and often higher. Mats was convinced we needed to keep sailing hard. I, on the other hand, tried to remind him that we already had our time on our immediate competition, and attempting to “slay the Dragon” just wasn’t going to happen. Wind readings at Race Passage were 16-18, and we chose to round Race Rock on the outside since we were already enjoying the higher boat speeds closer to the Washington coast.

And so it was that, once we made our final jibe for Victoria, conditions “somewhat unexpectedly” changed dramatically. It appeared that we had somehow overstood our jibe to the finish back in Victoria, the wind had stepped up to 25+ knots, and the sea state had become rowdier. We almost instantly stuffed all three bows and with the rapid deceleration, the back end of the boat rose uncomfortably. We were forced to blow off the spinnaker sheet, and then had to release the main sheet as well. With all sails flogging and the rig shaking violently, we had to safely turn down wind and somehow regain control of the boat. We waited for the right moment, and Mats quickly turned us through the death zone. We instantly headed downwind, over-trimmed the main and spinnaker, and somehow, I managed to get the kite safely on the net and back in the bag without further incident. We were still sailing in the low teens under a full main and I wondered if we needed more sail area at the moment. After a few deep breaths, we raised the jib, and with 10+ miles left to the finish, we were instantly powered back up and flying down waves in the upper teens once again. Within the last two miles we got uncomfortable with the lighter air and slower speeds and deployed the screecher to cross the finish line at just after 11:30 p.m. 

Big thanks to John Green and his Swiftsure volunteer crew. They greeted us at registration with a smile to kick off our race weekend and served us hot soup at the inspection dock after our finish. By the time we got the boat tidied up and put away, the next boats were coming into the dock. With celebratory drinks in hand, we shared some of the adventure with old and new found friends, until we couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore. 

After the two-year hiatus, it was fantastic to be able to reconnect with the Pacific Northwest international yacht racing community and their families. Thanks to Tad Fairbank and Manifest Racing for dinner on Friday. Big thanks to all my friends on the Island who assisted with shore support: Duncan Gladman (well done Dragon ), Sharon Denny and Jonathon Watson (congrats to Korina Korina ). And finally, Vince DePillis and Freda Mae , we appreciate your spare nuts and bolts! Thanks to the Swiftsure International Yacht Race committee and everyone that made it happen! What an amazing couple days of sailing in the entrance waters of the Salish Sea Basin.

Editor’s Note: Feature image courtesy of Jan Anderson. 

Dougie Barlow

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Masts break, records fall during fast Swiftsure 2023 race

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Strong winds propelled some to record times in this weekend’s Swiftsure International Yacht race, but ended dreams of victory for others by damaging multiple sails and masts. 

Randy Diamond, Swiftsure’s race event chair, said competitors broke course records in some races and came close to records in others. About 120 boats competed this year, the same number as last year, he said. 

Dragon, a multi-hull skippered by Duncan Gladman and racing for the Northwest Multihull Association-Canada, crossed the finish line in a record time of seven hours, 37 minutes and 58 seconds in the Juan de Fuca Race for Multihulls on Saturday afternoon. 

Dragon broke its own 2022 course record by three hours, five minutes, but results are calculated using a handicap system, and the eventual winner was the Cheekee Monkee, skippered by Kim Alfreds of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. The Cheekee Monkee crossed the finish line about 14 minutes behind Dragon. 

Winds of up to 40 knots (74 kilometres an hour) broke the mast of the Hamachi, out of Seattle, in the Cape Flattery Race. A number of boats put their own races aside to come to its rescue. 

The eventual winner of the race, the Terramoto, also had its mast broken during the race, but the crew was able to finish despite the damage. 

Terramoto, from the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle, had an unofficial elapsed time of 12 hours, seven minutes and 55 seconds. That broke the previous elapsed time for first to finish, set in 2007 by Flash, of 12 hours, 51 minutes and 13 seconds. 

The heartbreak of the weekend was the Korina Korina, skippered by John Knudson of Washington state with a seasoned crew made up of Victoria and Washington state residents. The Korina Korina was last year’s winner in the Swiftsure Lightship Classic, but this year she was the last boat to reach the dock at around 7 p.m. Sunday, long after most of the other racers had finished. 

“It’s the luck of the draw,” Diamond said. “She has an experienced captain and very consistent crew, but struggled in light winds [throughout the race]. We made sure there was still a welcoming committee, with hot soup waiting for them.” 

This year’s winner in the Swiftsure Lightship Classic was the Zvi, out of the Seattle Yacht Club. 

Other preliminary first place winners include: KOA, with Jason Hyslop and Jim Rhodes from Vancouver in the Hein Bank Race; Setri, with Peter Dennis of Seattle in the Juan de Fuca Race for monohulls (he also won last year); HayTor, with Stephanie Bacon of Victoria in the Inshore Race Division 1; Merganser, with Richard King of Victoria in the Inshore Race Division 2 and Lunita, with John Comuzzi of Victoria in the Inshore Cruising Division. 

The official results will be posted in the next two days, Diamond said. For the most up-to-date results, go to swiftsure.org/live-race-results.  

[email protected]. 

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Motorsport prime

Marussia f1 team return to russia for moscow city racing, andy webb, marussia ceo: we have seen the strength of that support again in the last few days following the very pleasing announcement of our new powertrain partnership with scuderia ferrari..

Max Chilton, Marussia F1 Team MR02

Despite the three-week gap between Rounds 9 and 10 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship® the Marussia F1 Team has had little time to draw breath, embarking on a series of promotional events to reward the loyal support of its fans.

This week, while the race team conduct the Young Driver Test at Silverstone, the demonstration team are heading ‘home’ to Russia for their second year of participation in ‘Moscow City Racing’.

The event takes place on 20 and 21 July, with the demonstration runs scheduled for Sunday 21 July on the streets surrounding the Kremlin and the ‘paddock’ located close to Red Square.

Photo by: XPB Images

Visitors will also be given the opportunity to enter the inner-sanctum - the Paddock - to soak up the atmosphere and see for themselves the intricacies of Formula 1 design and engineering.

Aside from his on-track duties, Max will participate in a range of promotional activities, taking time out to mingle with the Russian fans during autograph sessions and photo opportunities.

Supporting the Marussia F1 Team over the weekend are main event partner Liga Stavok along with additional partners Instaforex, QNet and RBC.

Max Chilton: “There have been quite a few ‘firsts’ for me in my debut season in Formula One - new racetracks, new cities, meeting new fans - and Moscow City Racing will be my very first visit to Russia. I can’t wait. From what I hear from previous events, the demonstration runs are a fantastic spectacle and the crowd is huge and very supportive.

That’s nice, because we are the only Anglo-Russian team and it is good to keep building on their love of Formula 1 before Russia gets its very own race next year in Sochi. I’m really excited about making the trip and I hope to meet as many of the Russian fans as possible, when I’m not driving through their streets!”

Andy Webb, CEO: “The Marussia F1 Team are very excited to be returning to Russia to participate in the Moscow City Racing event for a second successive year. As the only Anglo-Russian team in Formula One, this event has become a very important date in our Team calendar, as we continue our determined efforts to bring more of F1 to Russia and more of Russia to F1.

This is our opportunity to get closer to the fans and for them to see our car and drivers right on their doorstep, not just on the TV. Our drivers Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton are enjoying a flying start to their exciting debut seasons and the Marussia F1 Team really is going from strength to strength now, making good progress towards its long-term ambitions.

We look forward to a fantastic crowd in Moscow and to expressing our thanks for all the incredible support we receive ‘back home’ in Russia. We have seen the strength of that support again in the last few days following the very pleasing announcement of our new powertrain partnership with Scuderia Ferrari. It seems the fans share our optimism for the future of the Marussia F1 Team.”

Marussia F1 Team

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Moscow Raceway

• 2012 to date

Circuit Overview

Moscow Raceway owes its existence to Russia's desire to host a Formula One race but seems destined to lose out to Sochi and the Igora Drive circuits for the foreseeable future.

Boasting a full FIA Grade 1 Grand Prix layout and and FIM Grade B circuit, the track was initially successful at attracting a range of high-profile championships, from the World Superbikes to World Touring Cars, the DTM and the Blancpain World Series.  One by one these have dropped off the schedule, however, leaving the circuit to host mainly national level events, albeit the most important on Russian racing scene.

Circuit History

Plans for a street race in the Russian capital were first mooted in the 1980s and a Grand Prix of the Soviet Union did in fact make it onto the draft F1 calendar for 1983. However, bureaucratic barriers prevented the Grand Prix from being held, and the race was dropped.

Two decades later, new plans were advanced for a permanent circuit on an island in the Molzhaninovsky area in the north of the city. These received backing from the Moscow mayor, and F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke was engaged to design the facility. Construction was due to start on November 30th, 2001. However, the mayor rejected the commercial contract offered by Bernie Ecclestone and construction was delayed. It was eventually abandoned altogether in January 2003 and the land turned over to a hotel, yacht marina and golf course instead.

By 2008 momentum had built again for a new project, intended to host both F1 and MotoGP events and located around 90 minutes from the capital. Hermann Tilke was again employed to design the permanent facility. Unlike previous attempts, this project became a reality and on October 1, 2008 a delegation including F1 driver David Coulthard witnessed the ceremonial laying of the first stone.

Construction continued throughout the next few years, supervised by Tilke. After initially signing a deal with Bernie Ecclestone in 2008, the project was dropped from the 2010 Formula 1 calendar in early 2009, and construction stopped. Work resumed in June 2010, with the new contractor agreeing to complete the road section of the track. By September 2011, all asphalt laying had been completed, and construction of the associated pit, support and medical buildings was being undertaken.

When the full circuit and all of its infrastructure was completed in July 2012, it had cost a total of 4.5 billion rubles. Tilke had designed a technical circuit featuring a 873 metres long back straight – among the longest allowable under modern track design guidelines – which would see Formula One cars achieve a theoretical 193mph.

When presented for inspection, the circuit achieved FIA 1(T) status, allowing for Formula One testing and all categories of racing below this. However, the FIM only granted Grade B status, one below the expected level for motorcycle. This still allows for the raceway's inclusion on the World Superbike calendar, though further work will be required before MotoGP could visit.  Subsequently, the track has achieved FIA Grade 1 status, allowing for full Formula One races to take place.

A total of 18 variations of the circuit can be run, from the full Grand Prix course, to shorter 'sprint' variations and a small 'club' circuit utilising the western end only. World Superbikes have utilised the FIM GP course, as has the Renault World Series and WTCC from 2013 onwards (the Renault series' had previously used GP1),  while the DTM makes use of the shorter Sprint Circuit 4.

Tragedy struck the circuit during the first visit of the World Superbike Championships in 2013. During the first lap of the supporting World Supersport race, Italian rider Andrea Antonelli lost control on a slick track during torrential rain. He fell to the ground where he was struck by fellow Italian rider Lorenzo Zanetti, dying from his injuries later the same day. Criticism was levelled at race organisers for beginning the race in such conditions, while the circuit fell under scrutiny for what some felt was inadequate drainage – both claims strongly rejected by championship promoters, Dorna.

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Moscow Raceway is located within 90 minutes drive of central Moscow and 20 minutes drive from Volokolamsk.  Moscow's three international airports are within easy reach of the circuit - Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo are both around a 60 mile drive, while Domodedovo is around 90 miles away.

Travelling by car from Moscow, take Novorizhskoye highway (M9) or Volokolamskoye highway and drive for 60 miles/95 km, and then follow the turn sign for Moscow Raceway.   The journey usually takes 90 minutes.

You can also travel by train from Moscow. Take a train from Rizhsky train station to Chismena (2 hours 10 minutes). During international events free shuttle buses are available from the station to the track and back.

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Swiftsure International Yacht Race

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