Amazing Grace sails in a recent Swiftsure race.

Even if you can’t participate in the Swiftsure International Yacht Race this weekend, you can follow the action live online.

For the first time, all boats racing in Swiftsure’s three long courses are equipped with GPS trackers that allow their locations to be streamed on the race’s website with about a 10-minute delay. That means armchair racers can track their favorite boats — and racers can keep tabs on the competition (click here).

The trackers also allow boats that get into trouble to send out a distress signal that transmits immediately to race organizers and the Coast Guard. Racer organizers have been experimenting with the trackers for the past few years, but this is the first time they have been provided to all boats racing in Swiftsure’s long-distance courses.

“They’re intended for spectators and for safety,” said Paul Servos, who’s on the race’s media team.

Put on by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, the race starts Saturday morning in Victoria, B.C. There are 158 boats registered, the majority from the Pacific Northwest and roughly half from each side of the Canada/U.S.

The race includes three long courses of up to 139 nautical miles. Boats are assigned to a course based on their PHRF rating, with the fastest boats racing on the longest course to Swiftsure Bank, northwest of Cape Flattery on the open ocean, and back to downtown Victoria.

Slower boats race on a 103-nautical mile course to Neah Bay or a course of almost 80 nautical miles to Clallam Bay. The courses were designed so boats will arrive back in Victoria around the same time. The race starts at 10 a.m. Saturday morning and crews have until 6 a.m. Monday to finish.

Swiftsure dates back to 1930, when six boats raced from Cadboro Bay, not far from downtown Victoria, around a lightship on Swiftsure Bank. The race grew to 45 boats by 1960 and a shorter race to Clallam Bay, some 15 miles west of Port Angeles, was introduced in 1962.

As participation grew, skippers had a choice of only two courses – a 76-mile one or a course of 137 miles. Race organizers decided something in between was needed and in 1988 introduced a 100-mile race to Neah Bay, halfway between Swiftsure Bank and Clallam Bay.

In the race’s early days, the now-defunct Eaton’s department store in downtown Victoria set up a large map in its big display window, showing the race’s progress with miniature boats that were moved across the course.

To accommodate boats unable to compete with increasingly high-tech, fiberglass raceboats, a two-day regatta off the Victoria waterfront was introduced about a decade ago for boats more than 30 years old. The regatta has become extremely popular, Servos said.

But the longer courses are the big attraction for serious racers, offering a grab bag of unpredictable and challenging conditions. Boats must navigate through Race Rocks on the eastern end of Juan de Fuca Strait, named for its strong currents and rocky reefs. A few dozen boats usually have to anchor, Servos said, waiting for the tide to turn before crossing through.

Going through Race Rocks on the way back is also challenging, he said, with winds typically gusting on the nose and making it difficult to head north to Victoria.

“That’s where the rookies get knocked down every year,” he said. “The wind picks up and almost doubles in speed and they can’t get the spinnaker down and make the turn back to Victoria.”

The run through the Strait of Juan de Fuca can bring winds blowing down from the Olympic Mountains, freighter traffic and ocean swells. Winds may gust at 40 knots or barely blow, sometimes combining with strong currents to create what racers call “Driftsure” conditions.

“Either way, it can be exhilarating,” said Servos, who’s raced in Swiftsure about 10 times. “I think that’s what brings people back every year — it’s just so unpredictable.

“You’ve got to have good strategy. You’ve got to have good equipment,” he said. “And the competition is fierce. It’s a really challenging race.”

About Deborah Bach

Deborah Bach is the editor and co-founder of Three Sheets Northwest. She is an avid sailor and long-time professional journalist. You can find Deborah aboard Three Sheets, an Island Packet 38, with her husband Marty and their cat Lily.

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