Speedsters

by Ed Watson, July 4th, 2010

Hitting 9 knots during a race is the stuff of dreams for most inshore keelboat racers. As of about 1600 today 2 boats in the Vic Maui fleet were making more than 9 knots in the open ocean and most of the other boats weren’t far off the pace. Terremoto and Red Sheilla were hitting better than 9 knots in brisk north westerlies and moderate seas as both classes of boat continue to drive south. Black Watch is back in the game after returning to Neah Bay to fix a fuel problem that was preventing them from charging batteries. Black Watch is traveling in the company of Class 1 boats a couple hundred nautical miles away from Turicum, Pyreneenne and Sonsie. Pyreneenne and Turicum are leading the pack, although following different tactics. Pyreneenne has opted to stay closer to shore and Turicum is more to the west, gambling on the location of  the doldrums of the Pacific High. Sonsie is following Turicum’s track albeit some miles behind. Kinetic apparently has transponder problems and her position isn’t showing on the tracking system, but at least the Class 1 boats aren't fighting the light winds that challenged the Class 2 boats the first day. The wind is good, the seas are manageable and at 9 knots Maui is getting closer by the second.

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