Racing Sheet

BY DOUG HANSEN

DOUG HANSEN previews the abundance of autumn regattas just ahead as we reach the month of October.

Well, it’s finally happening; the days are getting shorter, sleeves are getting longer, and the dog days of summer are nearly behind us. Somehow, amongst a lot of swirling chaos in the world, boating life managed to move forward during a fantastic summer of sailboat racing throughout the Salish Sea. While we could lament the incoming Pacific Northwest winter and tune up the skis, there is still plenty of fun to be had on the water in the fall months. We finally appear to have a familiar fall calendar of weekend regattas to bring us to the close of the 2021 sailing season. The first official fall event for the big boat fleet is the Foulweather Bluff Race on October 2. There will be a shift in venue from Edmonds that will make for a new dynamic within the race. Still hosted by Corinthian Yacht Cub of Edmonds, the race will be run out of Kingston Cove Yacht Club on Bainbridge Island instead. The move is in line with efforts to make the race a more social event with boats staying in Kingston overnight for what might be the last warm weather cruising weekend of the year. A bit further south, the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle is following its spectacular summer of weeknight racing with a pair of short course race weekends for the Puget Sound Sailing Championships, better known as PSSC. Separated into a small boat event on October 2-3 and a big boat event the following weekend, the regattas take place on the waters of Shilshole Bay and traditionally comprise of two racecourses to give fleets plenty of space to have fair and reliable races. The small boat weekend invites one design fleets from J24s, the normally large fleets of Laser dinghies, and, of course, we expect the Tasar fleet to be well represented with their World Championships coming up next summer. The big boat weekend on October 9-10 welcomes handicap fleets and one design, attracting everything from the Melges24 and J80 fleets up to the large keel boats such as the TP52s and the increasingly popular PHRF 40 fleet. With last year’s regatta being limited to boats that could race with five crew or less, this year’s event is certainly going to be a memorable one with fully crewed boats taking to the start line and ready to race hard. For the third weekend of the month, we make our way back again to Shilshole Bay for the Sloop Tavern Yacht Club Fall Regatta on October 16. Focused on the local fleets of PHRF-rated keel boats, this 25-year-old mainstay utilizes familiar permanent marks around the Sound, making for a wide course range that results in longer races compared to the short course buoy racing of the weekend before. Traditionally, this regatta is the culmination of the weeknight Ballard Cup summer series and puts fleets of familiar boats racing against one another one last time before the winter. Finally, wrapping up a busy month of racing is the pinnacle event, the Seattle Yacht Club Grand Prix Invitational hosted October 22-24. The organizers put on a mix of distance and short route races with the focus on variety and fair and square courses; the end goal is to determine which crews are the most well rounded by putting them through a range of conditions. Being late in the year, there is normally the opportunity for heavy winds and conditions that push boats and crews to the limit, and at times, beyond. Being the first Grand Prix regatta to be held since 2019, as last year’s was cancelled, it will certainly be one to watch as there are many new faces on seasoned hardware as well as old faces on new boats competing to have their name on the trophy. It’s looking to be a memorable month of events to squeeze the last drop of on-water fun with possibly decent weather. This does not come without hard work, coordination, and a lot of luck. As always, there are many people to thank to make all these events possible. Be sure to check back here for reports on these races and others in the coming months.