Bumps on the Bar

It was an eventful day for the 43rd Oregon Offshore.  Prior to the Skippers meeting on the 8th, we worked hard to come up with a reasonable solution.  The problem was a big ebb starting at 4 am and continuing until noon, with 5.5 knot currents forecast in the mouth of the Columbia River.  After long discussion with Mike Cassenelli and Bruce Hedrick and some head scratching on the part of your faithful race organizers, we came up with what proved to be a sort of workable solution and decided that a 9 am start would work.  The trip out was fast and bumpy at the mouth but that 5+knot current helped and the fact that the wind was offshore and the seas had laid down outside  made it possible.  Only one boat had any problems and they managed to work through the bumps and join the race, if a little late.  I am waiting for some pics of the start to come in and as soon as I have them I will post an update.

After the start, everyone took off on Starboard, heading offshore, apparently following the information gained at the skippers meeting.  Wind was a light NE at the start and as the race progresses it appears that the predicted NW shift is starting to be felt by the fleet.  Rage is ahead with Riva not far behind and the  rest of the fleet appears well sorted per class divisions.

Party at the Rogue!!

The Oregon Offshore skippers meeting, party and raffle held at the Rogue Brewpub went off quite well on Wednesday night.  The skippers meeting was a great meeting, lots of attention and many many thanks to Bruce Hedrick who did a wonderful weather, conditions and tactical briefing that was appreciated by all.  Bruce is a great guy, very knowledgeable and, based on what is happening as I write this on the Race Tracker, called the conditions pretty well- more later on that!.

We had a bit of a crisis this year because the trolley that we have used in the past to ferry folks from the marina to the party was not available.  We worked hard to find a suitable replacement but, up to last week, no solution was found.  Then, at the last minute when we were contemplating carrying folks to the party on small beasts of burden, the Astoria School District came through and let us use one of their big yellow buses.  It worked great and everyone seemed happy to relive their youth for a bit.

The traditional raffle went off well this year and we had some great items.  Columbia Sportswear came through with a couple of very expensive jackets, The Sailing Foundation generously donated some text books and a discounted rate on a SAS seminar next year.  Sail Flow donated some memberships to their site.  The big prizes were a huge roller cooler by Yeti- we are told it is their first roller, in addition to some smaller coolers.  The biggest issue was to make sure that a big enough boat won it!!.  An anonymous donor gave a large print of this years T-Shirt logo that was signed by the skippers of every boat in the race.  Jeff Mcdonald won the print and Jeff and Jenn decided to donate it to Kevin Flanagan, the owner of Schooner Creek Boatworks, our title sponsor.   I am told Kevin loved it  and I hope it shows up on the wall at SCBW.

Here is a pic

The 43rd Annual Oregon Offshore is set to go

It is 0925, May 8th and almost all the boats are in Astoria. Everyone looks ready, the boats are prepared and all that is left is the Skipper's meeting, the party at the Rogue, a good night's sleep and then hit the line! Everyone I have talked to is eager to go.  This years race looks like a tactical challenge that should test the best of the fleet.  For the first time we have access to Dr. Dewey of the University of Victoria's tidal flow charts.  Dr. Dewey has provided these dynamic charts for the Swiftsure and this year he agreed to give us access to these extremely valuable tools.  Thanks so much!!  Bruce Hedrick will be providing weather information at the Skipper's meeting in person- another first for us- and everyone is really looking forward to his information- Thanks Bruce!

More to come.

The Rogue Ales Public House Party

Well, it's almost last call for the 2019 Oregon Offshore International Yacht Race sponsored by Schooner Creek Boat Works as we do the Skippers' Meeting and Crew party at the Rogue pub in Astoria on Wednesday, May 8th. If you're crew, or friends of crew, or sailors, or wanna be sailors – come one, come all – to the party on the last night before the start of the race. It all starts at 6:30 with a no-host bar and full food menu. Corinthian Yacht Club of Portland will be selling Oregon Offshore T-shirts and hats and raffling off some extremely cool sailing and outdoor gear from our sponsors. Come and raise a glass to the hearty sailors who head over the Columbia River Bar the next morning to start the race!

Hope to see you there. 

The address is: 100 39th St. (Pier 39), Astoria, Ore. 97103   P: 503-468-0923

Tides - Strait of Juan de Fuca

Just added in the Race Information menu is an semi-animated visual tool showing the tides in the Strait of Juan de Fuca for the time period May 10-12. It was custom built in the last few days just for the Oregon Offshore by Dr. Richard Dewey of the University of Victoria. It is way cool. Download it, study it, use it on the race. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you Dr. Dewey.

Offshore in the News

It's always fun to get recognized by the sailing media!  J/Sailing News is great about finding and writing about J/Boats around the world.  Check out what they have to say about The Oregon Offshore here.

Going, Going, Go...stop the presses!

While much of the fleet was enjoying the Kick Off Party, Phillip Wampold was busy typing up his entry to sneak in just before the deadline.  Zaff Racing is a J/92 out of Victoria, BC and they are our 21st and last boat to enter as the entry deadline has now come and gone.  Phillip describes Zaff Racing as a rag tag crew of rum dumping young buds looking for fun, fast adventures.  They must put down the rum long enough to do a little sailing as they have posted some impressive results including class wins in the 2018 Pacific Cup, 2018 Southern Straits and the 2018 Patos Island Classic.  See more about this program here: https://www.facebook.com/ZaffRacing/

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Whoodat is back!

Whoodat is Tartan 33 hailing from Spokane, WA and skippered by Kevin Jones.  With a PHRF rating of 162 Whoodat isn't likely to be a line honors contender, but all that means is they get more racing for their money.  Whoodat started the Oregon Offshore a couple of years ago but withdrew due to engine problems before turning right at Neah Bay. The boat was new to Kevin then and having corrected those pesky engine issues, the team is excited to give the OOR another go. This will be the first offshore race (finish anyway) for Whoodat, though the crew has sailed thousands of offshore miles, including two deliveries from Hawaii to Seattle. By the way, Kevin says this is the only photo of Whoddat under way, so anyone with a camera during the race should snap some photos for next year's Offshore entry announcement.

Fortunate One

115 that is.  We are happy to welcome back Fortuna, our second C&C 115 to join the 2019 Oregon Offshore Fleet.  Skippered by David De Lanoy along with John Price, Fortuna hails from Seattle, WA. In 2018 they had a strong showing and were hooked from the experience.  Fortuna has competed in long distance events ranging from Round The County to Southern Straits to multiple Swiftsures with a divisional win in 2013. The team is anxious for more podium finishes.  With two C&C 115s in the race, hopefully we see a good friendly rivalry!  See more about this team here: Fortuna's Facebook Page.

Time to raise the roof, raise a glass, and raise your sails (almost) !!

Hey there Sailors, wanna party? Don’t we always? Time to celebrate the kickoff of this year’s Oregon Offshore. Skippers, Crew, friends and wannabe friends, everyone is invited to Kells in downtown Portland (112 SW 2nd Ave.) on Monday April 15 at 6:30. The kitchen will be open, the bar will be open, the raffle will be on, the T-shirts and Hats will be on sale, and everyone will still be in first place for this year’s race! Don’t miss it! Bring your enthusiasm and support the longest and best ocean race in the Pacific Northwest. See you a week from Monday! Whoo-hoo!

Margaret

Margaret is an Ericson 33 designed by Ron Holland and based out of Portland.  Skipper David Shepherdson says she is named after his mother who was a keen and successful dinghy racer.  Hopefully those good genes got passed to David and crew who are excited to compete in the Oregon Offshore for the first time.  David says the list grows longer each day, which is a common complaint, but don't worry David, the list stops growing and is considered "complete" as soon as you leave for the starting line!

Express Delivery - Selkie

Yes!  We get to welcome yet another new boat to the Oregon Offshore!  Selkie is an Express 37 hailing from North Vancouver, BC.  Skipper Gordon Wylie says this is the first offshore race for the boat, but not the skipper or crew.  They intend to compete in many offshore races in the years to come and expect this to be the first of many Oregon Offshores.  Express 37s are known to be excellent ocean racing boats, so this sounds like a match made in heaven. We're glad to have you!

Aha, it's Aja

Based out of Gearhart, Oregon and Astoria Yacht Club, Aja doesn't have far to travel to get to the starting line. Rich Elstrom and his crew on this Ericson 35 Mk II are a familiar fixture for Oregon Offshore, with this being their 11th race.  They will be bringing two new Aja crew this year, new to Aja, but not new to sailing with experience on Olson 30, Rattler, out of Astoria.  Welcome Aja!

Wy'East of Course

It would hardly be an Oregon Offshore without Wy'East and while Frank's entry got lost in the mail, it finally made it to us!  We're happy to welcome the Wy'East team on the venerable Cascade 36.  I don't know how many Oregon Offshores and Swiftsures Frank Colistro and team have competed in, but it's a lot!  To learn more about Wy'East, they have a Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/363272933714058/ or you can always ask Frank who is usually happy to tell a tale or two.

Thirsty for more

Alan Bergen and crew on Thirsty are in for Oregon Offshore 2019. Thirsty, a C&C 35 MKIII should be familiar to anyone racing in Portland or following the Offshore over the past several years as they are very active racers. Alan has competed in more than 20 Oregon Offshores and raced in Southern California before that. With the same crew for the last three years, and with three podium finishes, we can expect a competitive team to hit the starting line.  

A Salient Entry from Vancouver

Salient, a Beneteau 40.7, hails from Vancouver, BC, making this our first international entry this year. Skipper Christof Marti and his experienced team have been busy in the three years they have been campaigning Salient. In addition to last year’s Oregon Offshore, they have participated in two Southern Strait races and Vic-Maui. We’re glad to have them back! Read more about this team here: http://www.salientracingteam.com/

Defiant is In!

After seeing the very well equipped C&C 115 Defiant show up in town, many of us hoped we’d see her and her crew on the Oregon Offshore. We are in luck as Rich Ackerman and Theresa Coleman have registered. Even though this is Defiant’s first Oregon Offshore, these are not rookies – the team has 16 Oregon Offshores between them, all sailed on Cool Change. As well equipped as this boat is, with a PHRF rating of 75, and with an experienced crew, this boat will have no problem making fast tracks to Victoria.

Another First Timer – Chinook 

Chinook is a Beneteau Idylle 11.5 skippered by Tod Bassham. Yay for first timers and another cruising class entry! Tod reports their main goal is to have fun getting to the northern cruising grounds, but with a performance hull based on a First 35, and with several Oregon Offshore and Swiftsure veterans on board, we can expect some competition coming from this group. While this is Chinook’s first time competing in the Oregon Offshore Tod and Deedie have been sailing and racing a progression of boats on the Columbia river since 2008. Given Deedie is responsible for at pushing for least one of the upgrades because she wanted a faster boat, and with a stated desire not to be late to the party in Victoria, this sounds like a fast and fun program.

Velocity is In

We are glad to welcome back the J/42 Velocity. Velocity is a well-travelled and prepared boat skippered by Thomas Keffer out of Hood River. Tom and crew are very experienced ocean sailors, this being the boat’s 10th Oregon Offshore. Velocity is, in her heart, a cruising boat, but with those fancy black sails and a PHRF rating of 72 she is plenty quick in most conditions. You can read more about Velocity and some interesting projects Tom has done here:  http://www.threefools.org/velocity/index.htm

Riva is back, or is she?

Same boat name, same skipper, but not recognizable as the beautiful blue J/46 that has graced the Oregon Offshore for many years. This year Riva is the still beautiful, but brand new J/121, skippered by Scott Campbell and crewed by many familiar faces. The old Riva had her share of success in the Oregon Offshore, including first overall, first to finish and several class podiums through the years. Throw in the experience of three Pacific Cups and we can expect more of the same from the new Riva. In fact they could well be even more of a threat with less furniture down below in this boat designed to be an offshore rocket ship. As in the past Riva has an aggressive racing campaign planned with Swiftsure and Van Isle 360 on tap following the Oregon Offshore.