2012 Swiftsure

The 2012 running of Swiftsure looked like it was going to be a very atypical race -- possibly downwind both ways!  As things progressed it turned out to be relatively typical -- light winds at the start, building through the day, and lightening the following morning.

We entered the race with 13 crew (5 less than our normal complement of 18), with an attempt to replicate what we would be doing in the upcoming Pacific Cup race to Hawaii in July.  Being short on crew would mean that the sail changes would take a little longer, plus we could be down on power upwind.

After another great start we led the fleet towards Race Rocks when a south-westerly wind filled in and enabled Neptune's Car, Westerly and Braveheart to get to the Race before us.  As the breeze built we were able to fully power up and soon were back in the lead.  By the time we crossed over to the US side we had consolidated a nice lead knowing full well things could change at night!

Here are some pictures from the 2012 Swiftsure Yacht Race -- check out our Swiftsure 2012 blog entry for the rest of the story: