There was nothing typical about this year鈥檚 麻豆社国产Open Annual Regatta (SOAR), race organizer Scott Shaw-MacLaren says.
麻豆社国产didn鈥檛 live up to its name, with sailors facing three days of tricky, light wind conditions. The races on day one and two of the regatta were shortened to compensate for the calm sea. The start line for Friday鈥檚 Bernie Agg Inflow Express race was moved from Porteau Cove to in between Watts Point and Britannia Beach.
鈥淪aturday became a very technical and strategic race,鈥� Shaw-MacLaren said.聽
The lack of breeze didn鈥檛 stop the fun, he noted. Thirty-six yachts turned out for the 36th SOAR event. Eight 麻豆社国产boats hit the line at the start horn, up against yachts from as far away as Victoria.聽
鈥淭here were a couple of small speedster ones,鈥� Shaw-MacLaren noted.
That list included a Viper 640 and Martin 243. The Viper 640 is a high-performance sports boat, which combines the stiffness of a keelboat with the acceleration of a dinghy. The 6.4-metre boat often requires its crew to hike (lean back) over the windward side to decrease the heel (tilt of the haul).聽
The Martin 243 is a rare boat, Shaw-MacLaren said. The vessel was designed and built in Vancouver. It鈥檚 a zippy 7.32-metre vessel, with wings placed on either side of the haul for the crew to sit out on.聽
The 鈥淏oat of the Weekend鈥� title 鈥� an award that goes to the yacht with the best combined results over the regatta 鈥� went to the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club鈥檚 Absolute Kaos.聽
鈥淭hey have a lot of podium finishes,鈥� Shaw-MacLaren said.
Absolute Kaos also was ranked number one in the Inflow Express Race. The Viper 640, West Vancouver Yacht Club鈥檚聽Moistened Bint, finished at the top in the Long Coarse race. The Short Coarse Race on Sunday went to Vancouver Rowing Club鈥檚 Silik.聽
Shaw-MacLaren鈥檚 yacht, Natural High, was the top placing 麻豆社国产boat. The J30 came first in its division. Shaw-MacLaren was unable to race the boat in the last day of the regatta as he was called out with Squamish鈥檚 Royal Canadian Search and Rescue. The volunteer team participated in the search for a missing person earlier Sunday morning after a pleasure cruiser was found empty floating in Howe Sound. Police confirmed that a body was found floating off the east shore of Gambier Island. At press time another person was still missing.聽
鈥淲e spent 11 hours searching (for survivors),鈥� Shaw-MacLaren said.聽
While it was a hectic and unusual weekend, Shaw-MacLaren said the overall event was 鈥渁wesome.鈥� Despite the rain, 10 more teams turned out than last year. Shaw-MacLaren contributes the increased participation to the quality of the regatta and racing, and the combined 麻豆社国产Wind Festival. This is the second year the Wind Festival has run alongside the sailing.聽
鈥淭eams were coming up for the event as a whole,鈥� he said.聽
For the complete list of racing results visit www.squamishsoar.com.
