Most racers had clean decks for the start because it rained from noon on Friday to around 0200 on Saturday. Saturday morning there was ice on the docks and decks, and there was sun! The weather report was predicting some wind and clear skies for the race. The report was half accurate: there were clear skies.
The Cruising classes started at 0930 with the wind gusting one knot to zero. All made it across the line and beat north with the strong ebb. There were no multi-hulls so thirty minutes later the PHRF classes began their starts. All did their best in the breeze to work their way north to Blake Island and the turning mark.
NOAA weather radio reported winds at Smith Island, Point Wilson and Point No Point in the high teens. At approximately 1045 the wind filled in with a sustained 10-minute flurry of eight knots! It died and boats found themselves still working north trying to avoid the numerous holes in Colvos Passage.
The race committee shortened the race at the turning mark. This was a wise decision and all racers complimented the decision. Motoring back to Gig Harbor the wind had disappeared.
The Gig Harbor Yacht Club welcomed sailors after the race with their traditional feast at the clubhouse. It would be the last time for many to see each other until the next Winter Vashon race on December 3rd.
The 2010-2011 Southern Sound Series was a great success! Three of the races were competed in their entirety with most sailors finishing before dark. A record was set for the 37.4 mile Toliva Shoal Race with Pax the Space Spider finishing around 1400 hours! The Islands Race was a benign way to finish the season: In like a lion, out like a lamb!
The results may be found on the Series web site.
Dave Knowlton, Koosah
A winter Blast!! At 0400 as I looked out over the Toliva buoy and then panned towards McNeil Island one could see the full moon starting to drop below the skyline. There was no reflection on the water as there usually is for the Toliva Shoal Race, which indicated there was going to be some wind! As the sun rose it created a morning Alpenglow on the Olympics covered with snow, which meant there was going to be no rain, as it usually is for the Race!
The docks had ice and the boats were icier! It was cold! The sun started melting most of the ice and the boats headed out to Olympia Shoal for the start line.
The Cruising Classes, flying sails and non flying sails, had 19 boats and started thirty minutes before the 1000 PHRF fleet. These classes have the best seats in the house: they get to see the entire fleet as they get passed during the race!
The north wind was blowing in the high teens and mid 20’s. The current was ebbing which was favorable but the two created some pretty large waves as the fleet beat up Budd Inlet and down Dana Passage. The boats were able to reach from Johnson Point to the McAlister Creek mark and then over to Lyle Point on Anderson Island.
Then the going became rougher. With over eight miles of fetch from the Narrows Bridge, the waves became larger and the wind held steady in the 20’s. Two boats went inside Ketron Island to get relief from the waves! About half the fleet made it around the Toliva Shoal buoy with the ebb current.
After rounding the spinnakers were hoisted and the Cruisers went wing-on-wing. The current was now flooding and one could not ask for better conditions. The wind, was tapering off. It held however, and most boats had a winter sleigh ride back to the finish! We were able to get our oven going for some long awaited lunch of hot fried chicken!
Charlemagne and Wildflower did not finish. Not sure of what happened; but nothing was broken that can not be fixed.
Half of the NFS Cruising Class were DNF. Perhaps this was not a cruising day? Those who finished did so before sunset! This seldom happens with Toliva Race! A great race: strong winds, favorable currents and a super party the night before.
Pax the Space Spider, an F-32 trimaran built by Rod Tharp and his daughter, was first to finish the 37.4 mile race at 1405 hours! That is smoking!! First Over All PHRF went to Snake Eyes, a Beneateau 40.7 skippered by John Hoag. They were one second faster than Dos, a Sierra 26 skippered by Brad Butler! Both boats have finished first in their class for Winter Vashon, Duwamish Head, and now Toliva! Of special interest is that Ian Beswick usually helms Dos and has beat his brother, Rafe who skippers Dragonfly, a Rondar 21 in all three races. Sibling rivalry? This is Rafe’s first year with the boat so the score may even soon! I do know that they are both wet, cold and tired after each race!
Results and photos are on the Series web site.
This is the third race of the four race Southern Sound Series. All three have been a success with favorable winds and finishes! The Islands Race is next on the 19th of March ... will the trend continue??
Dave Knowlton, Koosah
Another almost perfect day!! The Duwamish Head race sponsored by the Three Tree Point Yacht Club on 8 January found fair winds and currents for a spectacular race.
Seventy nine boats showed up for the start. The winds were from the southwest at about 12 knots and the current was ebbing. These conditions allowed almost all to carry a spinnaker on a tight reach to the Duwamish Head mark in Elliott Bay and arrive around noon before reaching over to Blakely Rock. After rounding the rock, the fleet split, some going to the Vashon Island side and the rest over to the West Seattle side of East Passage. It didn’t seem to matter which side one went. The wind became spotty and shifty as the boats worked their way back to the finish at Des Moines.
The faster boats finished before dark and before the rain squalls began moving in. Around 1715, with darkness and rain squalls, boats finishing were difficult to identify from the fishing pier where the race committee was stationed. As of this writing, January 10th, the committee was in the process of contacting boats they could identify and reconstruct the finish in order to post the results. The results, along with some great photos, may be found on the Series web site: www.ssseries.org.
For all of the Southern Sound Series races one can usually get a blow-by-blow account of the activity on SailingAnarchy.com. These posts are often down-to-earth and critical, but educational to read.
The delivery from Olympia was soggy and wet! Five SSSS boats elected to use the reciprocal moorage at the Tacoma Yacht Club Friday night. Eleven sailors enjoyed the great food in the TYC Dinning Room and then motored over to Des Moines the next day. They returned Saturday night and rested up for the delivery back Sunday morning. The ride home Sunday was cold and wet with some snow!
The third race of the series is the Toliva Shoal race on 19 February. This is our home turf, local knowledge and no delivery! The last race of the Series is sponsored by the Gig Harbor Yacht Club on 19 March.
Dave Knowlton, Koosah
Perfect: The word to describe the kickoff of the 2010-2011 Southern Sound Series! Winter Vashon was a race that sailors who raced will remember for a long time!
Deliveries to the Tacoma Yacht Club were made in cold, but sunny weather. No snow, ice or rain as the week before.
The party Friday night, over 200 sailors attended, received Ullman Sails T-shirts, and feasted upon a delicious pasta dinner along with free beer. Awards were presented for last year’s Winter Vashon race and the Summer Vashon race.
Posted class breaks featured the new sport boat class: Two Vipers, a Sierra 26, a Melges 24 and a Cheetah 30. These sailors were destined to end up cold and wet but have a wild ride during the 30.7 mile race.
Friday night the wind howled and the boats rocked at their moorings. A few sailors were walking the docks to ensure that fenders were out and dock lines tight.
Saturday morning the wind was still blowing in the high teens. The Cruising Classes, flying sails and non flying sails, started at 0835. They were followed by the nine PHRF classes at 0905. Almost ninety boats crossed the starting line. The starting sequence was announced over the radio on channel 72 which reduced the usual confusion associated with so many boats.
The wind was from the north and gusted into the mid 20’s. It was a beat to the north end of Vashon Island! Several had reefs in their main; most had small jibs up and all were heeled over. Koosah races in the Cruising Class non flying sails along with Kelly Coon on Releaf. We were able to see about half the fleet pass us on the way to the top of the island. Pax the Space Spider with Rod Tharp at the helm flew over us like an airplane! Thera Black had her seat belt fastened on the high side! As the boats reached the windward mark the waves became larger with the forty-mile fetch from the north.
Rounding the mark was the beginning of a sleigh ride back to the finish! Spinnakers were slowly hoisted as crews debated if the jib would be more comfortable! The sun was out, the wind behind, and following waves! Could not have been better!
Pax finished at 1225, three and a half hours after her start! Not bad for 30+ miles. Even Koosah with her 6,000 pounds of lead finished before quarter after two!
Some excitement during the race included a broken jib halyard aboard Koosah, a blown out spinnaker on Sidewinder, a lost mast on Tantrum II, a Shock 35, and a hot spinnaker run on Rafe Beswick’s Viper, Dragonfly. We looked over at Des Moines and thought we could see smoke behind his boat! They were flying!
Twelve SSSS boats participated in the race; six boats made up two SSSS teams. Boats that took home silver included Pax the Space Spider second in Class A; Something Special third in Class D; Dragon Fly, second in Class E; Bodacious third in Class G; Sugar Magnolia second in Class I; Showtime third in Class I; and Koosah, first in non flying sails Cruising Class. Not bad when over half the SSSS fleet takes home some silver!!
Results are posted, along with several photos, on the Southern Sound Series web site. There also should be several descriptions of the race on Sailing Anarchy.com!
The next race in the series is Duwamish Head on 8 January 2011 followed by Toliva Shoal on 19 February.
Dave Knowlton, Koosah