The 31st 麻豆社国产Open Annual Regatta participants saw a weekend of highs and lows Friday to Sunday (Aug. 6 to 8) especially when it came to winds.
It began with exhilarating action on the high seas from Nexen Beach to Porteau Cove with treacherous winds taking sailors by surprise during the inflow express race Friday, and for some it was a little more action than anticipated.
"My initial reaction to Friday's event was 'Oh my God,'" said 麻豆社国产Yacht Club fleet captain Shawn Gosnell. "There were a number of exciting moments and a lot of mechanical carnage during the inflow express."
One woman went overboard during the event but the next boat quickly picked her up while winds played havoc with equipment aboard the fleet of a dozen sailboats participating in the race.
"There were quite a few torn sails," he said. "I'd say at least half a dozen lost some sort of sail or equipment. And I know one spinnaker at least is laying somewhere on the bottom of the ocean floor."
Despite the treacherous conditions, Gosnell said he was amazed by the positive attitudes of the SOAR participants.
"We knew it was very windy out there but when everyone got in, I didn't hear one negative comment," he said. "Everything was positive. Even the woman that was knocked overboard wasn't negative and she even raced the next day."
And even when racers were given a choice to avoid higher winds near Squamish, they wouldn't hear of it, said Gosnell.
"There was some talk of shorting the course so that it's only from Porteau Cove to Watts Point, but a number of the participants said they wouldn't come if we made that change," he said.
"We can often have potentially extreme weather but that seems to attract people who like a challenge."
Skipper John Guggins, who captained the Red Heather, was the top 麻豆社国产racer Friday, placing fourth overall by the time the weekend wrapped up.
"These were great conditions, this is what 麻豆社国产is like," he said. "We were a little slow off the start but built up some good momentum."
Scott Shaw-Maclaren who captained the Natural High, failed to finish the race and was frustrated with his performance on Friday.
"It was definitely really windy out there but we had poor planning and made a few stupid decisions," he said.
Saturday (Aug. 8) saw the long course race, which Gosnell said was a little subdued as winds died down completely. Skipper Bassett from the Vancouver Rowing Club finished the day with the fastest corrected time.
Shaw-Maclaren felt his performance improved on Saturday, but he still came up a little short.
"Natural High sailed really well on Saturday but made a tactical error early which put us behind," he stated in an e-mail. "We did take third in our fleet though and second in our division."
But the weekend wasn't over yet.
The final day of the regatta was a day of redemption for Shaw-Maclaren. He placed second, gleeful by the bounce back performance.
"On Sunday, the Natural High sailed her best race," he said. "Beating many faster boats in both elapsed and corrected time."
Saturday morning saw a brand new event come to the SOAR the dingy races. Located at the Government docks, the fun event was designed to entertain the crowds, and Gosnell said he was pleased with its impact.
"The dingy races were a riot," he said. "I definitely consider it one of the highlights of the weekend. It was really well attended despite the fact that it was raining."
He said the event will definitely be back next year and hoped to feature the event more prominently.
Gosnell was pleased by the weekend, but stressed SOAR could use more locals.
"We had 10 boats locally over the weekend but we could always use a few more."
