Northwest Yachting March 2017

Page 80

RACING SHEET

Center Sound Series: It’s Here! Words: Doug Hansen // Photos: Jan Anderson When walking around the boatyard this time of year, it is easy to tell that winter is coming to an end. Boats are being moved out of sheds, final coats of paint are left to dry, and shiny new hardware is waiting to be installed. All this preparation is

centered on spring and summer racing, which is just around the corner. Kicking off the season is the Center Sound Series, hosted annually by Corinthian Yacht Club. Marking the official start to the spring sailing season, most skippers and crews are

eager to get out on the water after a long hiatus and historically this series host some of the best attended races of the year. The series attracts all the usual suspects from the well-stocked galleys of the cruising class to the carbon fiber sleds of the big

boat fleet. The Casual Class invites those who are new to the sport or with less racy ambitions to enjoy a day on the water and sail an alternative course that returns them to the marina in time for the party. Kicking off the 2017 racing season in style, Blakely Rock is Saturday, March 4, and has consistently delivered great sailing over the years. The course alternates with the wind, providing sailors with an upwind start regardless of the conditions. On a northerly breeze, racers start in Shilshole Bay heading south around Blakely Rocks, up to a temporary mark set to the north of Meadow Point, and then back to Shilshole Bay to finish at the Corinthian Yacht Club committee boat. This short course is a welcome shakedown and a great opportunity for many teams to blow off the dust or, at times, shake off the rust. While the rocks have claimed many keels over the years, a clean rounding and exit from the bay can mean the difference between a win and a loss for the tight matched racing fleets of today, and starting off the series with a win is a great beginning to the racing season. Perhaps one of the most important traditions within the Seattle sailing community is for the racers to drop yellow daffodils when rounding the rocks into the water in memory of Kelly O’Neil Henson, a beloved

March Racing Events

Above we see the tight-quarters racing around Blakely Rock from 2016. The rocks have scarred many a keel. 80 NORTHWEST YACHTING || MARCH 2017

DATE

ORGANIZING CLUB

EVENT

March 4

Corinthian Yacht Club

CSS #1: Blakely Rock Benefit

March 4

Corinthian Yacht Club Tacoma

March 5

Seattle Laser Fleet

March 5

Corinthian Yacht Club Edmonds

March 11

Corinthian Yacht Club

Scatchet Head CSS #2

March 18

Gig Harbor Yacht Club

Islands Race SSS #4

March 18

Shilshole Bay Yacht Club

March 19

Seattle Laser Fleet

March 19

Corinthian Yacht Club Edmonds

March 25

Corinthian Yacht Club

March 25

Port Orchard Yacht Club

Harbor Series #3 Seattle Laser Frostbite Series Frostbite Series

Snowbird #5 Seattle Laser Frostbite Series Frostbite Series Three Tree Point CSS #3 Spring Shakedown WSSA #2


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