Victoria to Maui International Yacht Race
June 27th brought beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures. At 1200 hours the gun went off on the M/V Sea Quest to start the 2000 running of the Victoria to Maui International Yacht Race. Capt. Denny and Dream Catcher, the first ever SSYC entry in this race, was well positioned next to Renegade (the favored boat to win) and Grand Illusion a Santa Cruz 70 from Lahaina. Shortly after the start we had a problem with the roller furling and had to send Eric “Danger Boy” Junes up the mast to have a look. As it turned out the halyard jammed from lack of halyard tension.
We watched the big boats take off as we, Darby and Tethra sailed into a big hole. It took 6 agonizing hours just to get passed Race Rocks. A wee bit different from this years Swiftsure. We were however, entertained by Orca whales breaching and slapping their tales as we waited for wind. As night fell the wind freshened and Nate took us to the American side and the beat to Cape Flattery. By 1200 hours the following day we were well clear of the Cape and on our way, but in thick fog and mist. The radar was on and we kept a vigilant eye. We heard Renegade trying to raise a container ship on VHF as they thought a collision might be a problem.
For two more days it was misty as we beat our way down the coast, slowly gaining distance offshore. Finally at noon on the 30th the wind veered to the west and Dream Catcher could start reaching, her best point of sail. Later in the afternoon, as a good omen a shark past in the opposite direction, just 20 feet off the port rail.
The next six days brought more overcast skies, squalls with cool temps, and very few sunbreaks. The nights were so dark one could not even see the bow. The one bright spot was Rube catching a 40 pound tuna, which we had for 4 meals. Just one of the four “fish ons”, the rest were Mahi Mahi and excellent.
On the 4th of July the furling line broke and we had to improvise the rest of the way. The radio chatter during role call was to wish the Americans a happy 4th , who caught what fish and best wishes to the folks at home.
Tethra slipped ahead of us but we wouldn’t let her get very far away. Prairie Voyager suffered a severe knockdown with her mast 90 degrees to the water that would later lead to her rudder failing on the 6th of July. The same day we rapped our whisker pole around a lower shroud in 6 to 10 foot swells. Such is yacht racing.
Still no sun, but a contest started among the crew to see who could get the boat to go the fastest. 8.71 knots topped out the rest of the slackers.
The rolling seas slid under the keel one by one and we were becoming very tired. Japanese floats would appear and disappear at least one a day. Hand steering for all these days was starting to wear on everyone.
While I was sitting in the cockpit and Rube was fixing dinner, he yelled “Fire”. A smoldering box of farmer matches came flying out of the galley and into my lap and then over the side very quickly. They had started from just sitting on the hot stovetop.
We finally hit the trade winds and started the down hill slide. For three days we carried the spinnaker. Land broke through the clouds and Maui was ahead of us. As the sun set we had just 35 miles to go and the lights of Maui showed us the way. 25 miles out we had to check in with the race committee. I estimated our time of arrival at 0046 the morning of the 14th. At 0034:52 we crossed the finish line 2nd in class D, 16 days, 15 hours, 34 minutes and 52 seconds after the gun in Victoria.
On the dock the “Wahines” were waiting along with 50 or so other greeters, Race committee officials, other crews, and members of the local populace just happy to see us in. They sang Happy 41st birthday to Nate before we even tied up the mooring lines. Kimba and Ricardo our official greeters gave us a great welcome and Party that lasted until four in the morning.
It was all worth it and a great experience. Both the Royal Vancouver and the Lahaina Yacht Clubs did a tremendous job. We have made friends that will last forever.