Vic-Maui: Pointing at the Target

The 2308 nm Victoria to Maui International Yacht Race is hosted by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and the Lahaina Yacht Club. The fleet of 22 entrants had four staggered starts on July 9, 10, 11, and 12. Here is a report from the race office on July 17…

The wind has backed again and all boats are once again pointed almost straight at Maui. Across the fleet the wind continues in high teens to low 20’s. As long as spinnakers, halyards, sheets and the stuff lasts, everyone is making great time. Race Committee has warned the fleet of the old adage “that to finish first, you first have to finish” – but I think they are having too much fun to take advice from shore.

Div.1 continues to be a battle between Kinetic, Valkyrie and Longboard. It is possible there might be an elapsed time record broken and Mai-Tais served to a boat arriving in under 9 days. But there is still 1000 miles of ocean to cross.

Div. 2 is anyone’s guess as the leaderboard changes hourly depending on which boat has the best run in the last few hours.

In Div. 3, Rain Drop continues to impress. You have to remember that the Cascade 36 dates back to the 60’s and was one of the first fibreglass boats put into production.

Crossfire has had a couple more adventures and had to jury rig an injured rig to conserve fuel. But she is now only 85 miles from Neah Bay and is expected to arrive around 0800 on Jul 18. Mountain reported more comfort with the weather forecast has switched destinations to San Francisco, a shorter trip, but still over 500 miles away. The rudder bearing is making awful noises but is holding together – just another 4 days.

On the weather front, Hurricane Darby is diminishing in strength but approaching Hawaii and the remaining 35 kt winds may impact the leading boats on Tuesday or Wednesday. Under watch now is Hurricane Estella which has formed off of Baja. It is a long way off, but its progress will be monitored closely.

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Source: Vic-Maui Race