After some work we are starting to finalize the 2012 Racing Schedule for Icon and Mikey (our Melges 24).  The plan for Icon is to make a number of important changes to the boat this winter with the objective in competing in our regular slate of Pacific Northwest events plus the 2012 Pacific Cup Race (San Francisco to Hawaii).

With Mikey the plan is to start working up for the 2013 World Championships in San Francisco by aggressively competing in as many west-coast regattas as we can in 2012, including the Nationals in Seattle and the North American championships in San Francisco...

Catching the top of the mast = 150' crane

Attaching the lift point

Moving the boat without the mast

Our last event of the season was Round the County, a two-day event put on by the Orcas Island Yacht Club at the beginning of November each year which circumnavigates San Juan county with a party stop in the middle at Roche Harbor.

Shortly before this event we converted Icon back into racing mode by removing all our cruising gear and most of the boat's interior, a job that takes several days.  A week prior to the race we held a crew practice as everyone was a little rough as our last formal event was the last leg of the Van Isle 360!  The practice went fine but we knew we would be a little out of shape if many sail changes were required.

Prior to the race we saw a very unusual weather pattern developing -- a moderate SE blow on Saturday, followed by a strong Westerly on Sunday.  This would mean that it would likely be downwind BOTH days which would favor our competition such as Dark Star and Braveheart!

Day 1 - Lydia Shoal to Roche
The first day of the race started off Lydia Shoal with a SE wind of 20-25 knots.  The race committee totally messed up the earlier starts and left a confused mess before our start.  We had a great downwind start and tried to stay right on the rhumb line as much as possible.  This put is in the middle of PeaPod rocks, but since we have a spinnaker pole we were able to run very deep between them.  After rounding Pt Lawrence the wind backed (as expected) and we jibed down the course with the usual gear changes in the lee of Mt Constitution.  After rounding Patos Island we were somewhat close hauled until rounding Turn Point when we had a short beat to the finish.  The only surprise on this leg was the the race committee set the finish line INSIDE the entrance to Roche Harbor -- I still don't know what they were thinking!

Jog through PeaPod Rocks

Jibing north of Matia and Sucia

The short beat to the finish at Roche

Day 2 - Roche to Lydia Shoal
Sunday started with the predicted westerlies - we knew this would result in us being close hauled which would then free up to a beam reach followed by a downwind run.  Again the race committee totally messed up the start and confused the entire fleet.  By our start everyone was disorganized, so much so that the Car tried to thread the fleet the wrong way on Port Tack!  In the resulting confusion both Icon and Braveheart were OCS (over early) and had to re-start.  We had a very close encounter with Dark Star (see the video below) -- unfortunately for Braveheart they didn't know they were also OCS and they had to go back as well!

The race turned out pretty much as predicted -- a beat followed by a beam reach which gradually freed up.  Many boats set their kites too early and ended up on their side.  We tried our A3 for a while but couldn't hold it so we had to go back to our jib top as we ran through the fleet.  After crossing over Salmon Bank (a nervous passage given the depth) we finally re-set our A3 and was the first to Davidson Rock closely followed by Braveheart and Dark Star.  In the run up Rosario we ended up going back to our Jib Top in 30-35 knots which turned out to be the right combination.  As we neared the finish Braveheart managed to slip in front of us even though we corrected over them.

In the end six (6) boats including Icon managed to beat our long held elapsed time record of approximately 8 hours -- this time Braveheart set the new record at 6:10:19 which shaved nearly 90 minutes of our latest record set in 2006.  In the end we had to settle for 3rd behind Braveheart and Dark Star which had ideal conditions.

We will be back next year!

Icon pass the Wild Rumpus at 18 knots

Icon Beam Reaching

Beam reaching down San Juan

This last September 24-24 we participated in the newly revived ABC Challenge -- this informal race consists of boats racing from Anacortes and Bellingham to Blakely Island, followed by a party at the Blakely Island marina. Each Anacortes boat is randomly paired with a Bellingham boat and the lower combined corrected time wins the event.  Unfortunately not enough Bellingham boats participated in this event so no prizes were given!

We left Anacortes Saturday afternoon and had an uneventful trip over to Blakely -- the winds were light and variable as they often are at that time of the year.  After arriving in Blakely we tied up at the outside fuel dock (we are way too large to fit inside the marina) and participated in the party at the cabana.

We thought about leaving Saturday night to go home but spent the night at the dock.  The next day the winds were up and we had to battle 35-45 knot winds on the way home.  Due to the high winds we ended up not going to our regular slip but instead took an outside dock at Cap Sante.  While tied to the dock the winds gusted to over 55 knots, making for difficult conditions even in the marina.

The next day we winds died down and we moved the boat back to its normal slip in Fidalgo Marina -- what should have been an uneventful and short trip to Blakely turned into something much more memorable!

Each summer one of our traditions is to participate in the Whidbey Island Race Week.  This event consists of 5 days of yacht racing in Penn Cove near Coupeville.  Since we don't race our Melges 24 in many regatta's each year, we expected some tough competition and we were not to be disappointed.

There were 13 boats registered in our division, several of which were just back from the 2011 World Championships.  Needless to say we had four days of great racing and finished the week tied for second with pTeron (Dan Kaseler).  Since they had one more bullet than we did we ended 3rd -- unfortunately we didn't get to sail the last day due to the lack of wind.

Next year...

Now that the VI360 is over we put the interior back in Icon and removed all the racing gear with the intention of doing a little cruising.  Plans for this summer include numerous trips around the islands, the Northern Century (www.northerncentury.org), plus at least one trip up north to Canada.

For the Northern Century we typically leave the boat in cruising mode as we race this event short-handed and having roller furling makes things much easier...

Stay tuned for more updates - here is a cool video take by DragonFly during the VI360.. For many of the legs we had dophins playing around Icon like this...!

The last leg of the VI360 is a night run from Victoria to Naniamo.  One of the challenges with this leg is that there are multiple navigational choices, the outcome of which greatly influence how well you do.  Further complicating things is that this last leg carries a weight of ten (10), which means that it is the highest weighted leg of the event and a bad showing in this leg can easily take you off the podium -- given that we are in the lead and only several points ahead of Flash the pressure was on...

We had a somewhat late start (which was probably a good thing given the blustery conditions) but quickly passed all but DragonFly by Trial Island.  Our original plan was to take Discovery Passage, but the winds looked light so we made the decision to stay outside of Discovery Island.  This turned out to be a mistake as we had to press extremely hard to avoid the island losing ground to Flash.

After rounding Discovery Island we headed for San Juan Island while trying to get in the river associated with the flooding tide.  By mid Haro Strait we had built up a nice lead leading up to our next major decision -- to stay inside or roll the dice on Boundary Pass.  Even though DragonFly decided to take Boundary Pass, the winds looked good up Swanson Channel so we decided to press north on the inside.  Most of the fleet followed us, with the exception of a few brave boats who followed DragonFly.

The winds were great up Swanson & Trincomali Channel and we quickly horizoned the rest of the fleet with the exception of Makika (a tri-hull not in our race).  With the flood about to change to an ebb we decided to punch out through Porlier Pass -- unfortunately the wind shut off and we drifted around in circles for hours while the rest of the fleet sailed up to us, with some electing to continue north to Dodd Narrows.

Meanwhile behind us Flash and Dark Star had no option but to head out Active Pass against a building ebb.  In talking with them later they barely made it out, but once in the Strait they were launched and quickly passed us as we drifted around in Porlier Pass.

Eventually we managed to catch a slight puff of wind in Porlier Pass and inch our way out against the current while the rest of the fleet had several more hours to wait until the current shifted.  Once in the Strait we were launched and reeled in the brave boats who took Active Pass and the outside route.  By the time we got to Entrance Island we were right behind Flash & Dark Star.  Staying wide in through our finish at Naniamo we nearly caught them, but given our handicap we needed to be hours ahead -- Dark Star 1st; Flash 2nd and Icon 3rd.

The crew was really discouraged as we were so, so close to making a real big move on the entire fleet and consolidating our 1st place -- instead we took 2nd overall to Flash and ahead of Madronna (Buchan).  Nothing to complain about, especially given the stiff competition - but still a disappointment!

A wonderful race - next time we will be back!

Tired crew member crashing after last leg

Today we left Uki on a 90nm run to Victoria -- it looks like it will be a nice downhill run through the whale pasture. It was really lumpy at the 10:00am start and after setting the kite we headed to Cape Flattery. Expecting a header we gibed back towards the Carmanah Lighthouse.

Start from Amphitrite Lighthouse at Ucluelet

The wind started getting light and we were really headed, nearly forcing an expensive gibe back out. In the end we were able to hold the Code Zero and literally rocketed along the beach until heading back out into the middle for more pressure.

The wind started to build and we ended up in front of everyone - rhumb lining for Race Rocks were the winds were predicted to be 30+ knots. While peeling from our A2 to A4 we managed to put a little tear in the A2 which we repaired down below. Later we also put a big tear in our A4 which held until the finish.

After mid strait the winds built to 20-25 knots and we had sustained boat speeds of 14-16 knots, peaking at 18.6 during one surfing episode. The farther down the Strait we got the smoother the water. When we got to the Race we were dead even with DragonFly and Makika. We managed to transit the race just at slack, with the door closing hard behind us as the ebb current built. We held the A4 together as we pressed up to the finish, then dropped it as we jib reached to the finish at 7:08pm averaging over 10 knots from Uki to Victoria.

We don't have the finish results yet, but we probably corrected to second behind Jonathan McKee's Dark Star and ahead of Carl Buchan's Madronna and Steve Travis's Flash. A nice downhill sleigh ride!

Icon's Track to Victoria

Today we had a rare lay day in Ucluelet -- this gave us a valuable opportunity to wash some clothes, fix damaged gear and prepare for the run to Victoria. We also had some crew changes as we picked up Rana and sent Karl home.

Since the weather was nice several of the crew decided to go surfing in Tofino, plus Seamus wanted to see his parents at the Leanard Island lighthouse. We tried to call them the night before on the VHF - they could hear us, but we couldn't hear them. They were however watching our progress on the satellite tracker and knew where we were.

Tomorrow will be our last offshore passage - a 90nm run to Victoria which is looking like it will be downhill ride!

Surfing in Tofino

After the run from Port Hardy to Winter Harbor the Ucluelet leg is the longest run of the VI360 -- 138nm to Ucluelet. Navigationally it is a relatively simple leg -- start, go around Brooks Peninsula, then bee-line it for Uki. Unfortunately the Brooks Peninsula as a well deserved reputation as being the windiest & roughest place in the eastern Pacific Basin -- Brooks Peninsula is a stubby 9-mile (14-km) finger of land that juts out into the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of Vancouver Island, northwest of Kyuquot. This peninsula is unique in that it is the only part of Vancouver Island to escape glaciation, and today produces plant species found nowhere else.

For this leg the start was off the Kains Island lighthouse. Because gale warnings were predicted the race committee decided to start the fleet at 7:00am in order to give the boats a chance to get around Brooks before the seas built.

Kains Island Lighthouse

We had a great start and literally romped out towards Brooks - eventually putting up our Code Zero to get out of a light spot while the rest of the fleet ended up getting stuck at Lawn Point. The wind and seas weren't too bad at Brooks, but steadily built to 20-25 knots and 8-12 foot seas as the day progressed. We ended up heading about 20-30 nm out with the wind on our nose as we beat our way down the course.

In the back of the fleet there were lots of problems -- Makika hit a whale and lost their rudder; Turricum blew out their mainsail; Dark Star blew out a window and started taking on water; White Cloud (later renamed Brown Cloud) shattered their holding tank - just to name a few. In was rough and uncomfortable as we drove the boat hard upwind in the pitch darkness. All you could do was to hang on as we slammed at 10 knots into the heavy seas.

West Coast Vancouver Island

In the end it was a battle of attrition -- at one point one of the boats started taking on water and they headed for the beach expecting to need rescue. After radioing in their mayday they started bailing -- during a break they looked behind and 300 yds behind them was the Coast Guard Cutter quietly shadowing them ready to lend assistance. This gave them the confidence to proceed.

This was a night that went on, and on, and on -- in the end we finished well ahead of all the other mono-hulls but we were so tired that we needed Coast Guard assistance to thread the needle into the Uki channel taking a hard earned 1st place for this leg!

Today we left Port Hardy for the wild blue yonder - the course for today is from Port Hardy, out Goletas Channel, over Nahwitti Bar (a seriously bad piece of water), around Cape Scott, and then down the west side to Winter Harbor.

We had a reasonably good start and led the fleet out to the channel -- we ended up battling with Flash in light to moderate winds until after the bar when we managed to leg out using our Code Zero and other specialized tools of the trade!

The Cape Scott rounding was uneventful, but we were glad to see the Canadian Coast Guard Heavy Weather Cutter the Gordon Reid tucked in the lee of the cape to keep a watchful eye on the fleet. The winds were relatively light all the way to Winter Harbor where we took 2nd on corrected time, narrowing our gap with Flash.

At Winter Harbor we moored at a private dock (the Outpost) and had two suites to ourselves. On our lay day we went to Grants Beach and experienced some tropical sunshine and sand!

Grant's Beach at Winter Harbor

First about Joy - she made it out of hospital and met us in Telegraph Cove.  The start there was uneventful, but in very light winds.  We did really well and really legged out on the fleet, ending up literally hours ahead by Malcolm Island...

After dinner at the fish farm we had an interesting evening -- to say the least...

In a minor freak accident Joy fell and broke her arm -  being about 30 miles from anywhere this presented a BIG problem as you can imagine!  We were able to hitch a ride on a fishing trawler with Joy to Kelsey Bay (we had a paramedic from Flash, plus Ian & Jenny along), then an overnight drive to Comox.  Joy had broken her arm in three places and was admitted to hospital.

After leaving her in the care of Phil (our driver & chef) Ian drove back to Kelsey Bay (about 10 miles from the fish farm) and hopped a ride on Makita (a F25 trimaran) and under spinnaker headed for the morning start.  He arrived just before the start and hopped on Icon under sail.

Icon approaching Telegraph Cove

After two general recalls the race committee let us start anyway which turned out to be a long beat to windward to Telegraph Cove.  On the way we played tag with a tug & tow all the way up Johnson Strait.

There were several frustrating convergence zones which enabled us to lose our lead, but in the end we took a 5th position.

In case you haven't been to Telegraph Cove, it is a wonderful place to visit...

Today was an interesting day -- we left Campbell River at 7:00am and motored 10nm through Seymour Narrows to Deepwater Bay for the start.  The current in Seymour Narrows was so strong that a number of boats couldn't make it through and had to wait for it to diminish.

For this leg we took to guests with us from the BC Salmon Farmers Association -- I think they had a great time and we gave them an experience they likely won't forget.

We had a conservative 2nd row start (J3 with a reefed main) in 20 knots of wind.  For this leg we had to head up from Seymour Narrows, around Chatham Point (lighthouse) and then up Johnson Strait.  The breeze was on so we later had to downshift to the J4 in 30-35 knots of breeze with a very steet 4-8 foot chop with wind against the current.

We nearly eclipsed our previous record for this leg (2:48 set downwind several years ago) finishing the race in 6th and six (6) minutes out of first place!  Given the positive current all day it was not a good one for the big boats.

Following the race the entire fleet tied up at a working fish farm where they treated us to a full-on banquet in the middle of nowhere (ie, paradise).

Tomorrow we head to Telegraph Cove -- the currents will be mixed and the course longer so we would be able to leg out on the fleet...

We left Comox harbor about 7:30am this morning - crossing the Comox bar to the start area for Leg #3 -- Comox to Campbell River -- a short 30 mile beat!

The Race Committee set a much longer start line today making things a little easier than yesterday's cluster.  Before the start we sailed out onto the course for a couple of miles to check wind conditions and directions.  This helped us later in the race as we knew what to expect.

The start was very exciting (video to follow) -- we started on starboard narrowly avoiding a few collisions, then once we got rolling we port-tacked the fleet with only a few feet to spare and rumbled out into the strait.  Flash elected to head way out while we short-tacked the beach with most of the other boats.

About 10 miles from the finish we stepped into a nice lift and much stronger positive current, increasing out speed over ground (SOG) to nearly 14 knots.  The interesting things about this leg is that this is where the flood currents meet around Vancouver Island.  This means that the floods run south and ebbs north, exactly opposite of that near Victoria.  The currents in Seymour Narrows really rip.

We haven't got the final results for today yet (game #3 of the hockey game is on), but Flash beat us by about 2 minutes corrected and it was really close with Anam Cara (J-122).  We will see, but we likely got 3rd or 4th!

Tomorrow we will be taking a few guests from the BC Salmon Farmers Association as we race to a fish farm on Hardwicke Island where we stay overnight, and then continue our journey to Telegraph Cove.

Life is good -- the wind is blowing and the sun is out!

After a long and tiring night it was good to get racing.  The start in Naniamo is always dramatic given the close quarters and crowds ashore.  Ian pulled off a great start, although there was considerable carnage behind us.  Two large boats collided and another ripped their spinnaker.

We elected to not use a spinnaker given the short duration that we would use it -- this proved to be a wise choice and gave us much needed maneuverability that others didn't have.  After exiting the Naniamo harbor we ran the whole way to French Creek picking our way through the islands. As the wind built we reefed our main, which we later shook out as the wind dropped.

In the end we finished about 20 minutes behind DragonFly (not in our division, but a competitor in the overall elapsed time event) and well ahead of the rest of our fleet.  We thought we had done well, but you never know for sure.

When the results were read we got a 1st place with a total of 35 points.  The VI360 is a high-point scoring system with the winning yacht earning points equal to the number of boats in their division, times the leg multiplier (which in this case was 3) plus bonus points (5 for 1st, 3 for 2nd, and 1 for 3rd).

We now have a total of 35 points are leading our division,  although it is very early in the event and things can & will change rapidly...

Off to Comox tomorrow with a similar setup...

After much consternation we managed to get the engine put back together after the flywheel & 24v alternator pulley detached themselves from the front of the engine block.  The initial sea trial seemed okay so we left Anacortes around 5:00pm for Naniamo - about an 8 hour trip unfortunately.

As a backup plan we bought a 3kw generator and lashed it on the transom -- using this we can charge our 24v batteries and operate the keel and other boat electronics (very important).  Hopefully it will not be needed, but until we have more confidence in our repairs this is the way things are.

Canadian customs in Naniamo is open 7x24 so it doesn't really matter what time we arrive, but it will most certainly be late.  The first leg of the VI360 starts tomorrow at 10:30am...

Stay tuned for more!

We were part way to Naniamo for the start the 2011 Van Isle 360 when our 24v alternator pulley blew up making a loud sound.  We decided to turn around and head back to Anacortes where we have access to our regular mechanic plus a machine shop.  We should be back in Anacortes before midnight Thursday!

Other crew will have to fill in for us at the skippers meeting tomorrow in Naniamo -- hopefully we can get this fixed quickly and be on our way.  Kind of an unsettling way to start a big trip, but at the same time I am glad it happened here and not offshore!

More tomorrow...

The team has been hard at work this last week making the final preparations for the 2011 running of the Van Isle 360 -- the Van Isle 360 is a biennial, 580 nm. point to point race circumnavigating wild and rugged Vancouver Island, B.C. Sailed in ten legs the course provides inshore, offshore and overnight legs through some of the most stunning and challenging waters on the planet.

The news is just in -- Icon takes the following trophies in the 2011 Swiftsure Lightship Classic:

This was the second year that we have participated in the Round Saltspring race hosted by the Saltspring Island Sailing Club.  This event consists of a circumnavigation of Saltspring Island -- this year (like last) they chose a clockwise course which starts and ends in Ganges Harbor (or Harbour for those Canadians out there)...

We started the race in light winds with 120 other boats using our new drfiter (or more affectionately called our J0).  It took us a while to get clear, but we were through most boats by Fulford Harbor at the south end of the island.  We then switched to the Code Zero and then the A1 which we ran all the way through Samsun Narrows and the north end of the island.

We had some trouble with our new winches (drive train issues) so had to top-handle the primaries which didn't help things.  At the north end of Saltspring we had a 180 degree wind shift and went to our J2 for the beat up the NE side of the island.  By then we are out of sight of the rest of the fleet and rumbling right along.

For the final run to the finish in Ganges we hoisted the A1 yet again and completed the circumnavigation with an elapsed time 8:52:37 -- putting us in 16th place overall (time-on-time scoring) and 2nd overall (time-on-distance scoring).

Given that we were short-handed and this was primarily a practice/tune-up run for us it was a fun race with congratulations to the crew of Mischief (Melges 32) that sailed a great race...

Here is a wonderful picture of the start:

Each year the Seattle Sloop Tavern Yacht Club hosts what is called Race to the Strait -- what makes this event unique is that it is exclusively for single & double-handed boats.  Double-handing Icon is challenging to say the least and is physically very exhausting.  This being said we thought we were up to the challenge and entered:

DAY #1 - RECAP
We awoke early Saturday morning in the marina to a stiff SE breeze, probably a little more than we were comfortable with flying a spinnaker.  Since it was a reverse start we had nearly three (3) hours to watch the rest of the fleet depart - in doing so we observed many wipe outs and a couple of torn spinnakers.   As the time wore on I was beginning to think that we were over our heads and that bad things were going to happen.

We left the marina about an hour before our start time and motored around checking things out.  We started conservatively under a headsail with the intent to fly our yellow A2 using a sock.  Neptunes Car started about 1:30 in front of us, but thought they were over early since the recall flat on the committee boat was over the side.  They turned around and came back only to find out this was an accident -- bummer!

We sailed down towards Point No Point under the A2, dodging a big ship that made it clear on the radio that anyone who got in his way would be protested and DSQ'ed.  As a result we stayed in the separation zone in our low & slow mode.  Unfortunately other than the Car behind us (who was getting smaller by the minute) we couldn't see anyone ahead -- a very bad sign as everyone was being flushed to the finish by the large ebb.

Near Point No Point we could see on the water that there was going to be a convergence, but it hit so hard and fast that I had to spin the boat 180 degrees to get the kite down and headsail up!  Other boats reported hail and heavy rain in that transition.  From Point No Point we worked over to Double Bluff, rounded the mark while trying to stay in the current and aimed directly for Marrowstone using our J3 and a single-reefed main.  In this reach we made good time and started catching a few of the no-flying sails boats.  After rounding Marrowstone we headed directly for the finish, completing the run about 10 minutes off the Port Townsend Dash record time, despite having to cross Admiralty twice in order to round the Double Bluff mark.

In the end after Day #1 we were near the bottom of the pack in the overall standings but first in our division -- we knew when we started that it wasn't going to be a good big boat day.  That evening we went to the awards party and hung out with friends while watching Andy Schwenk prove he really can't sing.

DAY #2 - RECAP
After a calm night in Point Hudson marina we awoke to a reasonably nice day with light westerly winds.  We knew from the start that this would be a better day for the big boats given the adverse currents and increasing winds from behind.

Like the day before we started about 1:30 behind the Car under our A1 spinnaker.  They immediately tried to cross to the Whidbey Island side and fell miles behind right out of the gate.  We headed for Marrowstone and then crossed to Bush Point.  By the time we were at Bush Point we were already passing boats, plus we could see a huge cluster of boats stuck at Double Bluff..

We worked the Whidbey Island side trying to stay in the wind but out of the current.  Whenever the wind lightened up we headed inshore, but when the breeze was on had the power to buck the current.  By the time we got to Double Bluff we had passed nearly half the fleet and reached off across the river to Skunk Bay.

When we got to Skunk Bay we were solidly into the top boats.  We rounded Point No Point with only a few boats ahead, including Banshee sailed by our friends Scott & Derek.  Following Banshee's line we short-jibed the beach south of Point No Point, tiring ourselves out in the process.  Eventually we passed them when unfortunately the wind shut off.  We immediatley dosed the A1 and put up a headsail.  Behind us there was a building northerly and boats started to head over towards Edmonds which didn't bode well for us as they could easily make an end-run around us.

In order to stay in the game we decided to put up the Code Zero and lead the boats back to the east side as the A1 was not re-packed and staying with Banshee on the west side was not an option.  We managed to make it over the east side using the Zero, but watched the northerly sweep those who stayed on the west side down towards the finish -- another sould searching moment.

Once we reached the east side we put up our now repacked A1 and worked down towards the finish hoping we could keep moving.  Our jibes were much more difficult now as the Code Zero was up and the foretriangle was much smaller (we usually inside jibe the A1).  Meanwhile the train of boats was approaching -- we overstood the finish and jibed between the train and the mark.  In retrospect we should have gone further as there was a big lift at the finish.

In the end both us and Banshee had to throw in a last minute jibe just before the finish.  In doing so we finished about 20 seconds ahead of them and took first again in our division and overall for day #2.  It was great to see Banshee do so well both days giving them 3rd overall for the regatta.

After putting the boat away we were extremely tired -- getting in jibing duals with a Melges 32 is not recommended!  All things considered is was a great even with many wonderful memories!

On April 30 we participated in the 2011 running of the Seattle Yacht Club Protection Island Race facing off against most of the other big in the Seattle area.

We had a nerve-racking downwind start in close quarters, narrowly missing and being missed by other boats.  We immediately set out spinnaker and setup for a low and slow middle lane to Point No Point.  Dark Star and later Flash took our lane, while Wasabi, the Car and the rest took the high lane to run the shore down to Point No Point.  We made some pretty big gains until the wind started to shut off when the boats that went down the west side totally hammered us.  In the end we were the first to tuck in north of Double Bluff with a nice comfortable lead.

From Double Bluff we worked the Whidbey Island shore and at Bush Point crossed over to Marrowstone and worked that side.  Immediately after rounding Marrowstone in light air we headed deep into the bay at Port Townsend to stay out of the current.  We managed to round Pt. Wilson before Dark Star reached Marrowstone, further consolidating our lead.

Unfortunately after rounding Pt. Wilson and working the beach the wind completely shut off and we were left drifting forward at ~1.0 knots for hours while watching the rest of the fleet sail up to us -- UGH!  Eventually a hint of a westerly filled in and we were back to sailing putting some time on the fleet.  After a nice rounding of Protection Island we were back into little breeze while the rest of the fleet started to catch up again.

We managed to find little pockets of wind in what looked like a building westerly -- in doing so we rounded Pt. Wilson and put up our A2 in the building westerly.  We essentially repeated out course back to Seattle, except after rounding Pt Wilson we immediately crossed back over to Bush Point and worked the Whidbey Island side.  At Double Bluff we crossed over to Skunk Bay and rounded Point No Point under spinnaker.

We could see the wind building behind and tried to keep rumbling.  We ended up getting the gun after 14:22:37 and took first place by about 7 minutes over Flash -- a nice surprise after a long day on the water.

Downwind start in Protection Island Race

It's official - Icon took first place in Overall in the 2011 Southern Straits (long course).  There are a number of interesting write-ups on the web -- check this one out...

Pressure Drop Article

At the end of the race we all gathered for a crew picture...

2011 Southern Straits Crew Picture

We are back from the 2011 running of Southern Straits -- unlike last year we could have used some more wind, but then again the conditions suited us well.  More pictures & video will follow, but here is a brief recap...

We had a good start and footed off to the south side of English Bay, then headed back to the Bowen Island side of the course, short tacking the beach until near Schehelt when we attempted to head over to the Ballenas Island mark.  The winds were extremely light and the rest of the crowd stayed on the beach and ran all the way up to Texada, leaving us stranded in the middle.  After a 12+ hour first leg we rounded Ballenas behind most of the long course boats and half of the medium course boats -- a real outhouse moment.

On the first downwind run from Ballenas we hoisted our trusty A1 and worked down the beach steadily passing boats.  We managed to squeeze off Wasabi by the Entrance Island rounding with only our friends on Neptunes Car in front.  Wasabi is very fast downwind and she will be a force to deal with this season.

After rounding Entrance we hoisted out A0 and had a very fast reach over to Halibut Bank.  The Car sagged down on this leg and we were able to get to the mark about 5 minutes ahead with Wasabi within sight behind.  After Halibut Bank we put up the 3Di J2 and aimed right at Ballenas.  About 2/3s of the way there the wind shifted so we headed to the Vancouver Island side.  The Car followed us but Wasabi went right losing a great deal of time.

We rounded Ballenas for the second time that night with the Car behind but still in touch.  After rounding we put up the A1 again and headed back to Entrance trying to stay between the mark and the Car.  The Car took an interesting inside route which looked like it might pay off until they hit a dead zone near Naniamo with what looked to be adverse current.

By the time we rounded Entrance for the second time we were comfortably ahead and out of touch with the rest of the fleet.  We again hoisted our A0, but this time with our GS for some extra power.  We headed right for Bowen Island and powered through the other divisions on our way to the finish.  Just before Bowen Island we switched to our A2 and while staying out of the current finished after 25 hours and 24 minutes of racing.

While the final results are not in, it looks like we corrected to about 54:28 ahead of the Car and 1:04:52 ahead of Wasabi taking first place.  These are fine boats and we were delighted things worked out that way, although to be honest there were moments when we wondered if we had enough food on board to even finish!

Power reaching into the finish off Point Atkinson

Hein Bank Rounding Track (with currents & winds)

The event poster for the 2011 Van Isle 360 was just released and guess what - Icon is on it!  This poster will be used to publicize the event around BC, so we should be very much in the news...

Check it out!

2011 Van Isle 360 Poster

We had our second race of the season - the boat & crew performed well, but not so with the electronics.

It was a downwind start in about 6-8 knots and 3-4 knots of current.  We were about 45 seconds late, but much better than being too early!  We limped along at the start with our J3 until we rounded Green Point where it was breeze on and we ran the rhumb line to Smith Island (approximately 13 miles).  Near Burrows Island we threw a reef into the main.  Upwind speeds were 9.8 to 10 knots, no doubt aided by the big ebb.

It got a little lumpy at the south end of Rosario Strait, but true to form we punched right through with minimal effort.  We stayed a little high nearing Smith Island where we were headed slightly in diminished breeze.  After rounding Smith Island we jib reached for Minor Island, then cracked it off with a full main & our A3.

The A3 was the perfect weapon broad reaching back up Rosario -- with TWS around 16-20, we were consistently hitting 14-16 knots.  The only thing that hurt us a little was that the ebb was still running.  Just off Green Point we doused the A3 and went back to the J3 and finished at 12:21:22, averaging 10.56 knots over the entire course.

We will see how the results come out - you never know.  We did however do some analysis on the race -- we were slightly downspeed upwind (probably because we were using our old J3), but broad reaching with the A3 we were really rocking...  Here are some graphs:

At long last Icon is back in the water after her winter pimping.  We were hoping to participate in the AYC Foul Weather Race, but unfortunately the weather was so "foul" the travel lifts were not moving in the snow so we had to sit that event out!

We did however make the AYC Lawson Reef race on March 5 -- many things were not ready and we had our new development crew onboard, but we managed to finish without breaking anything and everyone had a good time.

As far as the actual race was concerned, the winds were light  and we had to throw in a tack right before the start in order to make the line.  This made us a little late, but we quickly made up for it.  We reached out to Rosario Strait riding the ebb as long as we could.  Eventually we had to start tacking, with each tack feeling a little more of the rumored westerly in the Strait.

By the time we got to Lawson Reef the wind started to shut off and the other boats had cut into our lead substantially.  We struggled between Lawson Reef and R2, trying our Wind Seeker and then our A1.   Eventually we settled on the A1 and managed to round R2 after a painful crossing.

Once we rounded R2 we managed to catch a little breeze and ran directly to the finish line with only a few gibes near Green Point.  During this run we horizoned the rest of the fleet behind us as the wind appeared to be shutting off behind us.

We ended up taking 1st overall, but not because we sailed particularly well as it was mainly because the wind shut off behind us!  Our next event is a much longer race on the 19th of March -- the AYC Smith Island Race!

After a great deal of work using Expedition, Tableau, our latest VPPs and Race Replay Analysis we have created an updated set of polars for Icon which we can use during the 2011 racing season.  Given all the currents, wind shear and gradient that we experience here in the Northwest these tables can at best be considered an "approximation" and ultimately the trimmers & driver need to decide what works the best -- at the same time without giving away any secrets we learned a great deal about Icon's performance envelope and we plan on putting some of this new knowledge to good work -- stay tuned!

In addition to pimping the boat this winter we have been doing a lot of analysis of all the data that we collected during our 2010 racing season.  In doing so we have learned a lot of lessons about what it takes to seriously collect data and analyze it - some of these include:

• Manage events & sail selections during the race before you forget
• Weigh everything going on the boat (crew, sails, gear & stores)
• Make sure all systems are working correctly

While the 2010 running of Swiftsure was a great race, it was a little disappointing to have the wind shut off so close to the finish and watch our lead evaporate - but that is yacht racing and congratulations to Strum for pulling ahead at the end.

Icon did however win two significant trophies in this event:

1. City of Victoria Perpetual Trophy - for winning line honors and being first to finish
2. Royal Canadian Swiftsure Trophy - for being in first place on corrected time when rounding Swiftsure Bank

We have already registered for the 2011 running of Swiftsure, so maybe this year we can bring everything together at last!

DATE	CLUB	EVENT	TEAM
Feb 26-27	AYC	Foul Weather	Blue
Mar 5	AYC	Tri-Straits I - Lawson Reef	Blue
Mar 19	AYC	Tri-Straits II - Smith Island	Blue
Apr 2	AYC	Tri-Straits III - Hein Bank	Blue
Apr 22-24	WVYC	Southern Straits	Red
Apr 30	SYC	Protection Island	Red
May 7-8	STYC	Race to the Straits (double-handed)
May 14	SYC	Vashon Island	Red
May 21	SISC	Round Saltspring	Red
May 27-29	RVicYC	Swiftsure	Red
Jun 4-18		Van Isle 360
Jul 17-21		RACE WEEK (Melges 24)
Aug 27	AYC	Northern Century (double-handed)
Sep 10	AYC	Viti Rocks Pursuit Race	Blue
Sep 24	AYC	Wine & Cheese Race with BYC	Blue
Oct 2	OIYC	Benson Cup	Blue
Nov 12-13	OIYC	Round the County	Red