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Ward Fay

2024 Deer Harbor Wooden Boat Rendezvous Race Report

There were 18 entries in this year’s Rendezvous Race, a good turnout. The race began at noon with light wind from the south so that the start was clean. We then proceeded on port tack toward Nob Island, very slowly. Once west of Crane Island it became more of a broad reach with spinnakers.


By the time we got south of Coon Island, wind died, and spinnakers came down. Some boats were able to get a little wind from the south and continue toward the red nun buoy southwest of Yellow Island. Other boats, like my boat Aura, became frustratingly stuck south of Coon Island, and watched miserably as the leading boats sailed away while we drifted backward in the strange back eddy there. The Wasp Islands sometimes have a back eddy between the islands when the flow outside the islands is in the opposite direction. Of all the races I have done here, this was the first where I seriously considered calling the race committee to tell them I was quitting the race. Then I looked behind me and saw the six boats parked there waiting for wind, and decided I could wait too. Not long after that enough wind came in and I was able to get moving again. There was still hope even though the leaders were a mile ahead. It was at this point that several boats decided to return to the marina for their DNF.


[Ed. note: As a member of this DNF group, I can attest that after some time of virtually no wind, the flood began to move boats in the reverse direction. It certainly raised eyebrows to see our sails periodically filled and bow headed toward Yellow Island, but the GPS course over ground pointed in the opposite direction... Jim W., Boren]



Luckily for me (Ward), I kept going. Because after chasing the distant leaders around Yellow Island and past the north end of McConnell Island, I found the leaders stuck in another dead zone north of Bird Rock and was able to catch up with many of them. Those who tried to beat along the east side of McConnell were pushed north by the increasing flood. Those who tacked along the west side of Reef Island had less tide against them because the reef of Bird Rock was blocking some of the flow north. The wind was also better near Reef Island. As a result, Aura was able to edge past the south end of Reef Island and on to the finish while others helplessly watched from the zone of death. Thus, we all had another demonstration of why we do these interesting races.


The race committee had wisely re-anchored in a spot east of the south end of Reef Island and shortened the course by 0.7 miles. This enabled boats to finish within three hours. So, after being a mile distant halfway through the race, Aura ended up being sixth across the line. To my surprise and delight, Aura corrected out to 3rd, due to her rating and the shorter course, and we received the coveted white burgee for third place on corrected time.


There were other happy results in this race. The Campos cutter Vito Dumas from Port Townsend, after struggling valiantly in these races for years, was finally able to win the blue first place burgee. Varya, the beautiful Rhodes 27 also from Port Townsend, had an excellent race and took home the red burgee for a well-deserved second place.



Some of the boats who normally dominate this event had a calm zone descend on them and had to watch slower boats catch up to and even pass them. To some of us this felt like divine intervention. That’s why we love these races. It’s as if Ma Nature and PHRF ratings occasionally collaborate to roll the dice and make the poor rich, the weak strong, and the slow fast. Only seems fair, to me.

Special mention goes to those who came from farthest away, such as Orion, the Kettenburg PC from Seattle.


Mark your calendars for the 13th running of the Yellow Island Race, to be held here in Deer Harbor on Saturday, May 17th, 2025. Get your boats ready!


Wood Rowboat Race, 4 pm, September 3, 2024


Ben Feldman won the rowboat race around Fawn Island with a time of 17:12, in the 13 foot skin-on-frame dinghy built and owned by Mike Douglas. Given this success, Ben's self-awarded prize is to begin building a boat of similar design!


Alex Speer took second overall at 18:35 in his PT-11, and the double handed fixed seat rowboat Josuette finished in 20:48. Perennial rowing partners Shiela Gaquin and Nancy Shafer finished fourth at 21:56, while wearing their trademark flower adorned granny hats.




Submitted by Ward Fay, Secretary, Wooden Boat Society of the San Juan Islands, Orcas chapter, and Jim Waite, webmaster.

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