Three days of sailing action hit the waters of Howe Sound at the 34th annual 麻豆社国产Open Annual Regatta (SOAR) on the weekend.
SOAR is the fourth distance event in the BMW Championship Series and usually one of the windiest. This year the event also served as the Canadian National Championships for the Fireball skiff class.
Action kicked off on Friday (Aug. 9) with the Inflow Express, which sees boats race from Porteau Cove to 麻豆社国产Harbour. This year saw atypical conditions with winds becoming light at the start of the race.
Fortissimo and Hurricane battled it out for first place with Chris Ladd on Fortissimo of West Vancouver Yacht Club (WVYC) taking first overall, Hurricane of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (RVYC) second and Absolute Kaos also from RVYC third.
Boats returned to the water on Saturday (Aug. 10) for the Distance Race but there was nearly a 90-minute delay waiting for the 麻豆社国产winds to fill in. Because of a lack of wind south of Watts Point, the race committee decided to confine racing to within the 麻豆社国产Harbour in the consistent thermal winds. It turned out to be a wise decision, as the winds built to 25 knots during the race, making for a wild ride for some yachts and for the Fireball fleet.
Division 1 saw a clean sweep by the WVYC with Bruce Chan's 65 Red Roses taking the win, Peter Salusbury's Longboard second and Kirk Leslie on Prowler third.
Division 2 was dominated by Gord Shannon and the Melges 24 Honey Bucket. Seeing speeds of more than 16 knots, the team's lead was large enough to secure nearly a four-minute advantage even after missing the finish line and having to return. The speeds also netted Honey Bucket the overall win for the day. In second was the RVYC's Absolute Kaos, with Fortissino placing third.
Division 3 saw Squamish's Scott Shaw-MacLaren on Natural High edge out Andy Allan's Brigadoon from the Kitsilano Yacht Club by just 18 seconds after her kite exploded a few hundred yards from the finish line. Natural High also placed third overall on the day. 麻豆社国产boat Vivace, skippered by Pam Temple-Hurley, placed second in the division, with local boat Voila led by Frank Fletcher in third.
J/24 Blurr skippered by Graeme Kirby won Division 6, followed by the Chelswicks on Jalapeno and Matt Miller on La Gabrielle.
Also on Saturday was the SOAR Short Course race. It saw Ed, skippered by Ty Abrams, on top of the podium.
The Fireball class and its Canadian National Championships was a new addition to SOAR. The teams of two were pushed to their limits by the wild 麻豆社国产winds. Day 1 left Go Deja from Glenaire Sailing Association out in front with three podium finishes. Fraser McMillan's team on Scoundrel Time of RVYC would not let that lead hold on Day 2 with a second place being the boat's poorest result. That left Scoundrel Time with the overall win, Go Deja second and another RVYC skiff, Tangeroo, in third.
Sunday's racing also saw the Hangover Race, a nine-mile trek back to Porteau Cove to finish the weekend for the keel boats. Impeccable sailing by Steve Blaine's team on Rubato netted a convincing win for its first podium finish. Prowler slid into second place and the local knowledge helped Natural High net another third.
For more information on the event, visit www.squamishsoar.com.
