2019 RSS Results & Review
The 2019 edition of the Round Salt Spring Race is in the bag. Prizes have been divvied up, stories have been told, the need for coffee (and other stuff) has been satiated, and racers have headed for home and a well deserved snooze.
It was the usual Round Salt Spring, and it was an unusual Round Salt Spring. While the winds were fickle and the currents capricious like everyone expected, both were dealt to the racers at less than usual times. Very light winds at the start did not give way to an expected afternoon breeze. But instead of totally shutting down for the night under the gorgeous full moon, there were breezes that moved the fleet along from sunset until just before dawn.
In the end 42 finishers out of the 105 boats that left Saturday morning, a better than expected tally given how little progress boats had made by late Saturday afternoon. But there were good sailors out there and the wily ones managed to find the right combination of right place and right time to keep their boat moving.
The first racing boat to finish was Jeff Eckhart’s Will o’ Wisp, the venerable, but still fast after all these years Peterson 41 sailing for Royal Victoria Yacht Club. Jeff crossed the finish line just before 3 am with an elapsed time of 16 hrs, 5 minutes. Jeff and Will o’ Wisp also won the main prize as First Overall based on handicaps and takes home both the Marshall Sharp Trophy and the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation Trophy.
The other main trophy up for grabs was the Doug Thomas Memorial Trophy for First Salt Spring Island Sailing Club Boat to Finish – based on handicaps. In his first year in a new boat (to him), Gyle Keating’s J-36 Shingebiss was the winner of the Doug Thomas and Division 3.
In a cruel case of irony, one of Vancouver Island most recognized sailors, Alex Fox in his classic 26 foot Thunderbird Scooter managed to beat the time limit by 2 minutes and win 3rd place in Division 6. But he also takes home to Royal Victoria Yacht Club the Tar and Feathers Trophy for last boat to finish on elapsed time.
And the UK Sails Team Challenge was won by Nanaimo Yacht Club with their team consisting of Bill Allan’s Lawndart, Greg Keel’s Dream Chaser and Keith Cleminhaga’s Dilligaf.
Other winners were:
Division 1: Will o’ Wisp – Jeff Eckhart, baad kitty! – Ben Power, Kairos – Ron Jewula
Division 2: Moonlight Mile – John Vassallo, Legacy – John Peterson, Excalibur – Jason Vandergaag
Division 3: Shingebiss- Gyle Keating, The Fugitive – Ben Rummen, Sorcery X – Greg Slakov
Division 4: Mad Dash – David Jackson , Godzilla – Allan Ip, Dilligaf – Keith Cleminhaga
Division 5: Prime – Murray Swayze, Terna III – Bill Kitchen, Kitsita II – Mark Wallace (sailing a classic wooden 6 metre yacht)
Division 6: Cahoots – Jim Cameron, Jaguar – Clay Mills, Scooter – Alex Fox
Division 7: Flight – Brian Robinson
MultiHull: Dream Chaser – Greg Keel
Island Time Cruisers: Motu – Roger Ball
Environmental Awareness Awared – Ultramar III – Jason Sanderson (stopping to pick up trash from the ocean)
Final Results can be found here
