With the two lead boats now finished and entering the Victoria Inner Harbour, it is time we turn our attention back to the rest of the CYC Oregon Offshore fleet.
Riva has been a little anti-social this race; she continues to sail her own race with no one even close to her position nearing the turn at Race Rocks.....the tide is swinging from slack to ebb again now, so it could be along night for all of the boats if the breeze lightens significantly. Riva SHOULD be the next finisher, sometime around 8 or 9 pm tonight most likely.
The J-105's ( and Anam Cara, who thinks she is a J-105) have herded together in the middle of the Strait with Free Bowl of Soup - still hot - leading the pack. They are all past Shearingham Point now, which currently is showing winds WNW @ 11 knots, and are heading towards Sooke and Race Rocks. It looks like a nice Spinnaker ride down the Strait for this "race within a race".
Panama Red is at Shearingham Point and making nice speeds along the Canadian shore, but will it be enough? Panama took an unexpected westerly route up the coast and seems to have sailed a LOT of extra distance, putting her far behind the competition at the mouth of the Strait...she was one of the first boats to pick up the afternoon westerly breeze, and is now making back some of the distance lost.
UPDATE: PANAMA RED HAS WITHDRAWN FROM THE RACE AND IS HEADING TOWARDS VICTORIA UNDER POWER.
Raindrop, like Riva, finds herself all alone in the middle of the Strait, to the south and behind the J-105 fleet. This lone Cascade 36 rates PHRF 138, so the rest of the fleet owes her LOTS of time...she's saved her rating more than once in this race........
Behind Raindrop, it gets really interesting! Sloop Dawg, Escape Artist, Cool Change, Passepartout, Desperado & Stay Gold are grouped together just North of Clallam Bay. This group has taken a "middle of the road" approach to the Strait so far, but as night approaches and the ebb tide picks up steam, you'll most likely see this pack move farther north, seeking the refuge of shallower waters and less current near the Canadian coast.
Aja, Sol Pacifico, Souffle and Blue Martini round out the fleet, and are all in the Strait heading East. Blue Martini's position is a bit of a surprise, as she was showing tremendous boat speeds approaching Cape Flattery...
