Leg 9 of the VI360 is perhaps my favorite leg -- it starts off Amphitrite Point in Ucluelet and heads sounds down the Vancouver Island coast and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The winds typically increase as you get further east, reaching a maximum at Race Rocks and then lifting/diminishing to the finish in Victoria. This run was no exception -- we had a good start at Ucluelet and steadily legged out on the fleet while aiming for Cape Flattery. We then executed a traditional Swiftsure return trip getting lifted into the US shore then jibing back to the Canadian side while anticipating the Race Rocks lift. Given that we were only rated for three spinnakers we had to choose carefully. In the end we had a near perfect run to Victoria and saw boat speeds in the low 20's when passing through Race Rocks.

This return was much better than the last one earlier in the year for Swiftsure. Here are some video highlights of this leg:

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