The weather – and the wind – help up for two days of sailing on the weekend, as 34 boats competed in the annual Semiahmoo Bay International Regatta.
“Everything went great – the weather was really with us, which was nice. Everyone I talked to seemed to be really happy with it all,” said race director Terry Willey.
“It was a great day on the water.”
Boats from both sides of the border were entered into a series of races in the bay, including Saturday’s long-course race, which was a 20-mile journey out past Boundary Bay and back.
The winds were about 10 knots at the start of Saturday’s race, Willey said, which meant boats took about five hours to finish the distance.
Had their been less wind, the race would have been shortened in order to get all boats back in time.
“Thankfully, we didn’t have to do that, and everyone was able to do the whole race,” Willey said.
The fastest boat on the water Saturday was Ron Thomas’ Bad Kitty, which won Division A, while the Division B victor was John Gerity’s Extreme. Division C was won by Ross Bernard’s Zen No Zen, and the top boat in Division D was Roger Gibb’s Passtime.
In Division E, Richard Ross was the fastest through the water, in his boat, Psyche.
Sunday featured a series of shorter “sprint” races, and afterward, the West Marine Trophy – awarded to the top American and top Canadian boats from both days of racing – was handed out.
The top U.S. boat was Bernard’s Zen No Zen, while the top Canadian boat was Passtime, skippered by Gibb, a Peninsula resident.
The winds co-operated on Sunday, too, although they were lighter than the day before, and did change direction after the first race, which was the only hiccup.
“After the first race, we had to change the course to stay with the wind, but it was no big deal – it just meant there was a bit of stall before the next race,” Willey said.