J/Domination in Southern Straits Race

(Vancouver, BC, Canada)- The annual Southern Straits Race took place this past weekend, hosted by the West Vancouver YC in British Columbia- the Canadian side of the infamous Straits of Juan de Fuca that separate the wild and majestic Olympic Peninsula from the Canadian Maritimes to the north.

The race is a popular one in the Pacific Northwest for the offshore racing fraternity. Like the Swiftsure International Yacht Race that sails later in the year, the West Vancouver YC has also evolved the race over time to be more accommodating to the reality of today’s lifestyles. The participants have the choice of three courses- the Long Course (140nm), the Medium Course (106nm), and the Short Course (73nm). A majority of the J/Teams participating sailed the Long Course (mostly 35 footers on up), while the smaller J’s did the Medium Course.

ORC 2 Division
In this competitive fleet, Tolga Cezik’s J/111 LODOS took the bronze medal, missing the silver by a mere 5 minutes and overall by 15 minutes corrected time! Fourth went to John Murkowski’s J/122E JOY RIDE just 4 minutes in arrears of her stablemate.

ORC 3 Division
Taking the silver medal in this large dozen-boat fleet was John Polglase’s J/109 DOUBLE TIME.

PHRF 4 Division
Winning this class was the veteran J/109 SPYHOP team led by David Schulte, taking class honors by nearly 20 minutes over the next boat!

PHRF 5 Division
Sweeping this fleet were two J/teams. Winning was Nick Conti’s J/92 LIVE WIRE, followed by Bruce Townson’s J/112E KAJOFI.

PHRF 6 Division
J/Teams also faired well in this fleet taking two spots on the podium. Winning was David George’s J/29 RHUMB LINE, followed by Mardy Grosman’s J/30 DESPERAFO– two classics still have it in them!!

For more Southern Straits Race sailing information
https://www.wvyc.ca/on-the-water/racing/southern-straits