Canada Day sees Vic-Maui Competitors Arriving
by Charlotte Gann, June 30th, 2022
With the arrival of Canada Day on July 1st, competitors in the 2022 Vic-Maui International Yacht Race will begin to arrive at the Causeway Marina of Victoria's Inner Harbour. This marks the last of the preparations, with teams of divers cleaning boat's bottoms, and great excitement for the crews who have been preparing for over two years. Boats from as far as Kaneohe Yacht Club in Hawaii and Long Beach Yacht Club in California will compete this year. There are some fine competitors such as Gord Wylie's XP 44, Phoenix, and Tim Slater's Baltic 38, New Haven. Everyone competing this year has unique reasons for doing so. The stories are quite wonderful.
Shoreside, a great amount of organizing has taken place to bring everyone together, with the start date almost upon us. There will be two fleet starts; 9 boats will begin their race at 10 AM on the morning of July 4th. The remaining 3 boats will begin their race at noon on July 6th.
Spectators will get a fantastic view of the start of the 2,308 nautical mile race by heading out to Ogden Point Breakwater on the race mornings and looking toward Brotchie Ledge. This is the first time in four years the Vic-Maui Race has been competed as it's a biennial competition co-hosted by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and Lahaina Yacht Club - unique that two yacht clubs in two nations working collaboratively to create this yacht race to the remote Pacific paradise that is Hawaii.
Photos: David Sutcliffe
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Featured Yacht Profile
Red Sheilla (2022)
Type: Beneteau 49Skipper: Jim Innes
Port: Vancouver, BC Canada
Blog: 1 articles posted
Red Sheilla is the first boat to enter the 2022 Vic-Maui!
Red Sheilla previously competed in the 2010, 2012 and 2016 Vic-Maui races. In July 2022, Red Sheilla skipper Jim Innes will sail in his fifth Vic-Maui, following the pioneering course sailed by his father JG (Jim) Innes in 1965.
The first Vic-Maui was sailed in 1965. The race was a dream of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club member JG (Jim) Innes who, at that time, was a Captain for Canadian Pacific Airlines. Jim convinced three other skippers to start with him off Brotchie Ledge in 1965. With Jim in his Lapworth 36' "Long gone", there was Lol Killam of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club with the 45' sloop "Velaris", Ron Ramsay of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club with the 45' ketch "Norena of Wight" and Boo Paskel from Seattle Yacht Club with his 73' ketch "Tatoosh". The 1965 race and weather were typical; Westerlies in the Juan de Fuca Strait, a left turn down the coast to about the latitude of San Francisco, followed by a right turn under the North Pacific High and a gybe with the Northeast trade winds filling spinnakers for the sunny run to Maui. "Long Gone" won the first Vic-Maui with a time of 15 days, 6 hours and 55 minutes. Records have been broken many times since 1965.
The current record holder is "Valkyrie", skippered by Gavin Brackett of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, who completed the race in 8 days, 9 hours and 17 minutes in 2016.
Follow Red Sheilla on Facebook (including her blog posts) at: http://www.facebook.com/redsheillasailing.
This fall, Red Sheilla will be entered in Cascadian Convoy, Round The County followed by 2022 Southern Straits, PNW Offshore and Swiftsure.
In 2022 Vic-Maui will be marking the next 50 years of Vic-Maui. We invite you to join us!
