Thursday Edition - Whidbey Island Race Week

Rules Corner answer from page 3
1. No 2. No 3. Maybe
At the moment one of the boats enters the three boat
length zone, Rule 18 takes effect. Rule 18 does not
change who has right of way, but rather restricts what the
right away boat can do.
Stevan Johnson’s Cookson 12m, White Cloud,
held off the rest of the big boats in Class 1 on
several legs of Wednesday’s first race
WIRW NEWS 2016
Volume 34, Issue 3
WIRW News is sponsored by Cori Whitaker, Windermere Real Estate
www.CoriWhitakerHomes.com / 206.795.4361 / coriwhitaker@windermere.com
A US Sailing Judge from Portland, OR, Craig Daniels has been
sailing since he was 10. In his 20s Craig raced four Transpacs
and wonders when he is going to do it again. Craig has never
sailed a Flying Dutchman.
A certified US Sailing National Judge and Regional Umpire,
Jared Hickman has been sailing for 34 years and works as a
judge around the world, including for the recent Musto Skiff
Worlds in Riva Del Garda, Italy, and the High School Team
Race Nationals in Anacortes, WA.
Left, veteran RC crew Stan keeps a sharp eye on the flags.
Above, a clean Class 4 start.
Right, who will win the 13-deep J/105 class?
Below left, Penticton’s Bad Dog hunts down Ogopogo.
Below right, Kids’ Camp field trips include Opti sailing, tide
pool spelunking, boat building—and glassmaking.
Photo:
Tami
Hanson
Whidbey Island Race Week News © 2016
Editorial: Vicky MacFeidh, Liza Tewell
Photography: Jan Anderson
www.janpix.smugmug.com
Whidbey Island Race Week News Thursday, July 14, 2016
D
ay three of 2016 Whidbey Island Race Week was the kind of day that haunts the sleep of racers during
Northwest winter nights. When the damp darkness threatens to linger for eternity, sailors summon the
memory of the Penn Cove playground where the skies are blue, the water is silky and the wind is from the
west. On Wednesday, that dream came true for the regatta’s 64 boat fleet as they tacked, gybed, reached
and collided in the waters off Coupeville.
While the flood current caught a few off guard resulting in several OEs, Class 5’s Last Tango set the bar for the day by
port-tacking the 13 boat J/105 fleet, earning cheers and applause from spectators and rivals alike. The race legs were
long and many, regardless, finishes were neck-in-neck with positions gained or lost by last-second maneuvers. The
organized mayhem orchestrated by the race committee meant boats were finishing on one side of YC5 while starting
on the other. Gopher Baroque stood by to help record results on the line to the east. The best seats in the house? The
Navy jets flying overhead. Clear front-runners are emerging or evident, such as Brad Butler’s Sierra 26X, Uno, in Class
3, and the Anacortes based Melges 24, Mikey, who continue to horizon the fleet. However, with two more days of racing to go, the rest of the befuddling standings—with a throwout—may continue to muddle and madden.
Happy Bastille Day to the Frenchmen on Occam’s Razor.
Thursday, July 14, 2016 Whidbey Island Race Week News
Left, the Montesano,
WA, Beneteau 35s5,
Bodacious, battles for
top honors in Class 7.
Rules Corner
By Jared Hickman and
Craig Daniels
Thursday’s Question:
I’m the windward boat of two overlapped boats on
port approaching a leeward mark to be left to port.
When we reach the zone the other boat acknowledges the overlap and says he will give room.
Right, Class 1’s White
Cloud and Teddy Bear
head downwind.
Below, Uno’s crew
relaxes between
winning races in Class 3.
1. Am I now the right of way boat?
2. Can I round the mark however I want?
3. Do I get exonerated if I hit the mark?
Above, Lance Staughton’s BOOH represents
Hood River, OR, in the one-design Farr 30 class.
Below, also from Oregon, Troublemaker and
Seattle’s Moose Unknown vie for honors in the
highly unpredictable one-design J/105 class.
Lower right, Tom Greetham’s Distraction dukes
it out in the one-design Melges 24 class.
Answer on page 4
Have an interesting situation come up you want to
talk about? Bring it to the rules Chalk Talk Friday
morning 9:00 at the OYC Bar hosted by US sailing
National Judge, Regional Umpire Jared Hickman
and US Sailing Judge Craig Daniels.
Above, a messy start between the Wauquiez Different
Drummer and the J/90 Eye Eye in Class 4, one of several
during Wednesday’s racing.
Left, Doug Pihlaja, behind the wheel of Abstract, his
J/105 from North Plains, OR, takes a moment to orate in
the Penn Cove amphitheater.
Right, Eric Yaremko’s Bellingham-based Flying Circus
stays aloft in the solid Performance-30 class.
Below left, the crew of Oak Harbor’s Yeah Dogg rocks
the race course, and the dance floor.
Below right, Mikey leads the Melges 24 class around the
race course.
BRENDA VAN FOSSEN
M.D.
Whidbey Island Race Week News Thursday, July 14, 2016
Thursday, July 14, 2016 Whidbey Island Race Week News