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Kinetic report 7-16, post finish
by Gaylean Sutcliffe, July 17th, 2010Kinetic report 7-16, post-finish
Challenge – Adventure – Teamwork! We had it all.
The weather was great, and challenging – a Vic-Maui for the ages. Compared to earlier races, we had more wind, and more consistent wind. Moderate to strong winds prevailed near the rhumbline and were sufficient for displacement boats like Kinetic to sail at or near hull-speed, while near-gale force winds were in a band between the rhumbline and the West Coast. We started near Victoria, beating out of the Juan de Fuca and reaching/running around the North Pacific High making good distances of over two hundred miles per day for eight consecutive days. We gybed for Hawaii, still in great breeze, sailing hard to protect our lead, and spent the last two days clawing our way through weak trade winds and variable conditions to finish the race in Maui. We took just twelve days to complete the race, which compares very favourably with the sixteen days that we took in each of our previous Vic-Maui’s.
The adventure lay in sailing across a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, seeing one landmass sink into the horizon behind us, and hoping to make landfall at another where the world’s highest volcanoes rise from the ocean floor. We set sail as sailors have for time immemorial, without assurance of safe passage. The scale of the ocean dwarfs both boat and crew, who must be self-reliant for the entire passage. There is raw nature; wave skimming albatross and spinning dolphins, frigate birds soaring and whales blowing, bright sunrises and burning sunsets, dark squally nights and blazingly sunny days, and starscapes that defy description. There are memories to last a lifetime.
Our crew of five adults and four teens bonded well into a team. We had two watches of four people on each, plus the skipper/navigator floating across the two watches. The Port watch was Greg, Bill, Gord and Jeff; the Starboard watch was Peter, Adam, Sebastian and Graeme; the skipper/navigator was David. Watches were four hours on, four off at night, and six hours on, six off during the day. Beyond the twenty four hour per day routine of helming the boat and trimming the sails, there was a host of work to do including many sail changes, bagging sails, banding spinnakers, chafe prevention, maintenance, cooking, dishes, cleaning, log entries, navigation, communications, and so on. With two adults and two teens on each watch, it was critical that the teens pull their own weight, contributing fully, and they did. Teamwork, including support from Gaylean onshore, got us through the pre-race preparations and to the start line, and teamwork got us through the race to the finish line.
All the boats have finished now, and unofficially, we believe that Kinetic has won both her class and the race overall. Results will become official in time for the awards banquet on July 24th.
Finally, thank you to everyone who supported Kinetic and the 2010 Vic-Maui Race.
Kinetic
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Featured Yacht Profile
Annie M (2022)
Type: Amel Mango 52Skipper: John McCarthy
Port: Santa Fe, NM
Blog: 1 articles posted
The Annie M crew has a wealth of experience to contribute to the Vic-Maui 2022 race. John McCarthy, the captain of Annie M, is a lifelong sailor with experience racing Snipes and J24s, as well as cruising on a Swan 47 and, of course, an Amel 52, the Annie M. His boat has been beautifully restored and named after his beloved wife of 60 years.
Steve McCarthy brings years of racing and cruising experiences from sailing many seas. He’s also a sailmaker and, since 2004, owner of Hogin Sails located in Alameda, CA. In addition to working with sail lofts from Seattle to Santa Cruz, he has raced on Moore 24s and J24s and cruised on a Swan 47 across Europe. Our sails are in good hands with Steve as a sailor since he was a wee one.
Steve Summers is an instructor at Seattle Sailing Club, an Outward Bound teacher, and a National Outdoor Leadership teacher with experience sailing long voyages requiring an excellent ability to handle a variety of conditions and personalities. He’s also a Wilderness First Responder and a well-respected navigator in the Pacific Northwest. A calm soul called to the wild, Steve seeks adventure, and Vic-Maui is one of the adventures he’s ready to tackle.
Callum Hally is focused on sailing when the opportunity arises. In the past five years, he’s sailed more than 500 hours on a variety of boats such as a Catalina 22, J35c and an Andrew 53 to name a few. Through his previous job with Seattle Sailing Club supporting the customer’s experience, he became passionate about being on the water. He’s an excellent crew member with an insatiable thirst for reading, which makes him a fascinating conversationalist, wise beyond his years.
Bill Busch participated as “old goat’ status for Mackinaw races. He’s had a 1st place PHRf overall, 1st place in j105 class, 1st place j120 class. He’s looking forward to sailing a long ocean passage. He recently completed his International Offshore Safety program at St. Petersburg Florida Yacht Club. Bill is known for his kindness and patience.
Sarah Mackay, a lifelong sailor who learned at a young age the art of not getting seasick and never getting bored. She’s a crew member, communicator and, on occasion, cracker of jokes at which she’s the only one laughing. She has raced on J24s and J30s, crossed the North Sea and cruised throughout Europe on a Swan 47, and explored the Pacific Northwest on an Amel 52 named Annie M.
We are busy preparing the boat (and ourselves) for this epic journey. This year, Annie M will be entered in the Pacific NW Offshore Yacht Race and the Swiftsure Yacht Race leading up to our start date of the Vic-Maui International Yacht Race in early July.
