2025 Swiftsure Recap
Winning the Swiftsure long course this year took some patience. John and Ann Bailey restored their 1984 Burns 49 custom schooner 'Sir Issac' in the boatyard for ten years. It is unlikely their plan was to be out of the water for ten years, so if they didn't have patience naturally, they learned it. The 2025 Swiftsure will be remembered for the light air start, the no wind park up at Race Rocks where competitors had to anchor so the current would not sweep them backwards, and the giant holes of no wind. 'Sir Isaac' may have been helped along by their many comforts not usually found on racing boats, and a natural ability to ghost along in light conditions.
‘Sir Isaac’ team photo at the finish. Thank you Swiftsure for the photo.
Twenty one hours into the race 'Sir Issac' and 'Hana Mari' were separated by 9 seconds corrected at the rounding. They crossed the finish line separated by just 10 minutes after 35 hours. Ultimately, John Bailey and his team from Orcas Island Yacht Club on 'Sir Isaac' won the Swiftsure International Yacht Race Lightship Classic with an elapsed time of 35:10:58, and a corrected time of 31:21:58. Ged McLean's Wylie 43 'Hana Mari' from the host Royal Victoria Yacht Club was the only other yacht to finish the long course. As trends go, only two boats finished last year, and three the year before that, so patience is often rewarded in this race and when it's not patience, endurance.
Twenty eight ORC monohulls finished the Cape Flattery course this year. 'Terramoto' was third to round the turning mark at Neah Bay, eleven and a half hours into the race and behind 'Rosebud' and 'Blue'. When considering the handicaps, 'Terramoto' was in sixth place at the rounding. Unlike the classic course, the leading pack of the Cape Flattery course had pretty good breeze for the downwind run home - where they covered the 50 nautical miles in under six hours. Team 'Terramoto' kept the speed up better than the rest, finishing first across the line in 17:30:04, ten minutes ahead of 'Blue' and 50 minutes ahead of 'Rosebud'. On corrected time, their overall win was even more decisive with a 48 minute lead over Alex Smyth's J/111 '65 Red Roses II'.
Team ‘Terramoto’ at the finish. Thank you Swiftsure for the picture.
This year's 'Terramoto' team of Alyosha Strum-Palerm and Stasi Burzycki as co-skippers, and Herb Cole, Tim Scanlon, Adam Gibbs, and Julia Mamen were looking to keep up their winning streak after winning and setting the course record in 2023. It was quite a ride that year, cutting 45 minutes from the prior course record, even though they finished under jury rig after breaking their mast in wind pushing into the high thirties. Read Alyosha's terrific write up about the 2023 adventure in 48 North here.
Nine out of eleven PHRF monohulls finished the Cape Flattery course, the highest finishing percentage, making PHRF the toughest or maybe the most patient class. Kirk Palmer and his team from the host club on their J/120 'Light Scout' was first across the line in 22:50:53. John Atchison representing CYC Bellingham on 'Moose Unknown' finished four minutes later and had the best corrected time in the fleet. He also won the race among the J/105s, the largest one design fleet in the race with six entries, five of which completed the race. This is the third year in a row that ‘Moose Unknown’ has won their division.
To round out the divisions, Peter Dennis on his Swan 46 CB ‘Setri’ from Royal Victoria Yacht Club won the Juan de Fuca race for monohulls, and Nigel Oswald on his Farrier F-32SR from NWMA-US won the Juan de Fuca race for multihulls.
Team ‘Mazu’: Co Owners: Irene Tang and Nicholas Wilkerson, and Andrew Bryan, Julie Kipp, Kim Schulze, Kyle Gracey, and Travis Gosnell. Thank you Swiftsure for the photo.
Finishing for the first time this year were Nick Wilkerson and his team from CYC Seattle on J/105 'Mazu'. Three of the team members sailed last year and were unable to finish before the time limit. They made it with many hours to spare this year. 'Mazu' co owner and first time Swiftsure sailor Irene Tang drove the boat across the finish line. A race like Swiftsure, overnight, and in the notoriously rough waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is something to be worked up to. The sailors on 'Mazu' are a testament to the idea that with dedication and enthusiasm anything can be accomplished. Try showing up for the Masters in Augusta with your first set of clubs and asking to register for a tee time. In Sailboat racing all you need is a little patience and some determination, and you can participate alongside the pros in your very own sailing pro-am.
I am sure many plans are already underway for next year.