Desperado - Why Don't You Come To Your Senses?

It's all about perspective....For Jerry Barnes and the crew of Desperado, it's a good race if they just don't get hit by a whale!
Here are some post-race pictures from the well deserved celebration aboard Desperado. Great race!



PhotomCredit: Naomi Reichman

Happy Arrivals In Victoria - Crew Photos

Here are a few scenes from the revelry at the finish of the 2017 CYC Oregon Offshore International Yacht Race!

Panama Red crew celebrates landing in Victoria. Photo Credit: Naomi Reichman

Anam Cara crew pose for a team photo following the successful completion of the 2017 CYC Oregon Offshore International Yacht Race. Photo Credit: Naomi Reichman.

The crew of the J/105 Free Bowl of Soup poses for a post race picture at the dock after completing the 2017 CYC Oregon Offshore Race. Photo Credit: Naomi Reichman.

The crew of the J/42Velocity are all smiles at the dock in Victoria, B.C. after successfully completing the 2017 CYC Oregon Offshore International Yacht Race. Photo Credit: Naomi Reichman.



The crew of the J/105 Abstract had just enough light to take a great crew photo after finishing the 2017 CYC Oregon Offshore. Photo Credit: Naomi Reichman.

Saturday Morning Update - Souffle Is So Close To Finishing, They Can Almost Taste It!

It looks like almost everyone has finished....Souffle is so close to the finish line, they can taste it! Should finish within the hour.....!
That leaves Cool Change approaching Race Rocks at about 2 knots, they should come in after Souffle......
Sol Pacifico and Blue Martini have advanced and are near Shearingham Point, where winds are reported WNW @ 4 knots.

It won't be long now and the entire 2017 CYC Oregon Offshore Fleet will be in Victoria!
Congratulations to ALL of the racers!
The Cal 34 Souffle at the start of the Oregon Offshore....Nearly two days later, Souffle is preparing to finish the 2017 CYC Oregon Offshore International Yacht Race in Victoria, B.C. Photo Credit: Maria Swearingen

Sol Pacifico Update

We haven't said much yet about the Catalina 470 Sol Pacifico, a first time Oregon Offshore entry hailing from the Seattle area and skippered by Randall Barnes......they've kind of slipped under the race blog commentary this year....until now.
Have you ever SEEN the interior of a Catalina 470?!?
Here are a couple of file photos found online.....Frank Butler and his team sure do know how to nail the esoteric details of a beautiful yet functional boat design that combines a magnificent interior layout & offshore ocean racing durability......I wonder though, do they drink Sol, or Pacifico onboard?!?

Again, if "style" points were allowed in the scoring, Sol Pacifico would, no doubt, be at the top of the fleet!



Question: What Can Get Light At Night? Answer: The Wind!

Wind speeds and boat speeds are slow out there right now.......By the looks of this screen shot, B fleet seems to be playing a counter-clockwise game of ring-a-round the Rosy with Race Rocks, but actually, they're all just looking for some wind.

Shown here: Desperado and Stay Gold take a cautious night time course outside of Race Rocks....Risking Race Passage at night in light air and strong current is ill advised....but that doesn't mean some people don't do it anyway! Passepartout must be Canadian for "In the Parking Lot".....because that is where they currently find themselves.....


The Fleet Is (Almost) Halfway Home!

With the imminent (we think!) finish of Escape Artist and Sloop Dawg sometime Saturday morning, more than half of the 19 starting boats competing in the 2017 CYC Oregon Offshore International Yacht Race will have finished!

The remaining boats on the course are battling light winds tonight....a far cry from last night's rock & roll ride up the coast!

The Following Boats Have Finished (or withdrawn) from the race:
Kinetic V
Rage
Riva
Panama Red
Anam Cara
Free Bowl of Soup
Abstract
Velocity
Raindrop

These Boats Are Still Racing (as of 11 pm):
Escape Artist
Sloop Dawg
Desperado
Stay Gold
Passepartout
Aja
Cool Change
Souffle
Sol Pacifico
Blue Martini

Cascade 36 Raindrop Leads B Fleet To Victoria and to Victory!

Cascade 36 sailors always have great stories!
This crew should have some new stories to tell after this trip!
Raindrop finished first in PHRF Class B, and gets to relax shoreside while the rest of B fleet is still slugging it out at Race Rocks.
Congratulations Raindrop! Welcome back to Victoria! How does a hot shower sound about now?!?




Photo Credit: Ashley Paterson (with apologies for poor night time picture quality from her cell phone!)

B Fleet Symmetry

My love for the Race Tracker grows each year! I just liked the symmetry of this screen shot showing B fleet as it rounds Race Rocks....very artistic!
R-L: Sloop Dawg, (Race Rocks), Desperado, Stay Gold, Passepartout

It Always Tightens Up Just Before The Finish!

These two boats are in different fleets, but you can bet that doesn't make it any less of a white knuckle, head to head race to the finish! At this rate, expect these two to cross the line sometime around midnight tonight....





Finish Alert? - Escape Artist & Sloop Dawg Pass Race Rocks

The J/105 "Escape Artist" lived up to her name as she slipped through Race Passage as the last light of day disappeared.....the Beneteau 405 "Sloop Dawg" took the outside course and both boats are now moving north towards the finish. Speeds have slowed, but are still showing between 2 and 3 knots. Okay, maybe it's not a finish ALERT....more like a "may finish sometime in the next couple of hours" monitoring update........


Decision At Race Rocks...Inside or Outside?

In a previous post we mentioned the dilemma to be considered at Race Rocks and Race Passage.
The right or wrong decision here can sometimes win or lose the race.
Sloop Dawg and Escape Artist illustrate the point beautifully, as one takes the route through Race Passage and the other takes the route around Race Rocks....it will be interesting to see where they finish.

Finish Alert - Raindrop Nears The Finish Line!

It won't be long now before at least one Raindrop lands in Victoria.....


Day 2 - Last Light

Let's not forget that, although many have finished the race, there are still about a dozen boats left on the course facing another cold dark night. Take a minute to keep these racers in your thoughts and wish them well as they strive to finish the race.


Velocity Crew At Rest!

The crew of the J/42 Velocity poses for a team picture at the dock in Victoria, B.C. following completion of the 2017 CYC Oregon Offshore International Yacht Race.


Abstract is In Victoria!

The crew of the J/105 Abstract is all smiles as they arrive at the docks in Victoria, B.C. after finishing the 2017 CYC Oregon Offshore International Yacht Race.
Photo Credit: Ashley Paterson

Pysht? Yes, Pysht!

Cool Change has committed to the Washington side of the Strait all the way down to Pysht.
Yes...Pysht!
We don't get to say Pysht very often, so whenever we DO get the chance, we always like to mention Pysht!
Let's hope there are some puffs at Pysht for Cool Change's sake!

Anam Cara In Victoria Harbour

The crew of Anam Cara look right at home in front of the Empress!


Photo Credits: Ashley Paterson

The B Fleet Blog

As Raindrop leads the PHRF Class B Fleet towards the finish of this years CYC Oregon Offshore, let's take a look at the rest of the class as they make their way east towards the turn at Race Rocks.
Besides Raindrop, the Beneteau 405 Sloop Dawg is currently the alpha dog in the B fleet pack and is just North of the remaining J-105 on the course, Escape Artist as they move briskly towards Race Rocks, where winds are currently W @ 13 knots.
Desperado is sitting just south of Sooke and smoothly sailing along at 3.5 knots.....
Stay Gold and Passepartout are off of Otter Point and aughta be at Race Rocks by dark, wind permitting.
Not sure what is happening with Blue Martini, who we had such high hopes for earlier in the race.....they've dropped way back and are still on the Washington side of the Strait.....details to follow. Race Tracker is reporting them at "hobbling along" speed of just 1.3 knots now....

Finish Alert - Raindrop To Arrive In Victoria Before Last Light?

Raindrop is past Race Rocks and on course to the finish, making 4-5 knots of boatspeed....let's hope that it holds!



Velocity, Anam Cara & Abstract Have Finished!

More details, photos and finishing times to follow.....