While the Midwest and East Coast of the United States prepared to bake in yet another wave of heat or be pummeled by golf-ball sized hail and devastating winds, the racers on 115 boats who traveled from 15 states, four countries and two Canadian provinces awoke on the first day of Whidbey Island Race Week 2012 to a weather report of mid-70s and partly sunny skies, with perhaps a sprinkle or two to keep it clean and green (in true Norwest fashion). Not to rub it in, but the forecasters made good on their promise of Pleasantville and threw in a bone of 8-knot winds just to ice the cake. As Whidbey Island Race Week organizer Gary Stuntz says is perhaps the best advice he got from previous Race Week organizer, Bob Ross, “Throw a party for 1,000 of your closest friends, and they will come.”
Now in its thirtieth year, WIRW 2012 began with Brigadoon-like perfection. Dozens and dozens of tents sprung overnight from the ground like mushrooms on the Navy base adjacent to the Oak Harbor Marina. Local restaurants, grocery stores and businesses prepared for the welcomed onslaught of shoppers. And one thousand sailors and their shore support crews converged in the playground of Penn Cove on Monday morning to officially kick off the five-day racing portion of the only remaining true race “week” in the United States. Include the opening weekend’s two-day dinghy regatta, Dinghies Whidbey Island (DWI), and it’s a full seven days of racing. And in this Olympics year it was only fitting that the 1984 Flying Dutch gold medalist Carl Buchan was among the contestants. (Buchan placed first in the DWI 505 class.)
On Monday morning the racing sailors were welcomed with the “sound of freedom” as Navy sailors from the nearby Whidbey Island Naval Air Station practiced low-altitude fly-bys in the early morning marine layer that clung stubbornly to the island. Oddly reassuring, the tranquility of waking up in a town unblemished by high-rises, yet protected by the most advanced military technology tax money can buy results in a rare feeling in this day and age: serenity.
Those sounds of freedom that call Whidbey Island home include Thunderbirds. And coincidentally, the Thunderbirds (as in boats, rather than planes) chose Whidbey Island Race Week to hold their 2012 World Championships.
Northwest born-and-bred, the hard-chine “T-Birds” reveled in their home waters. Even more fittingly the 26-footer was designed in 1958 by Seattle naval architect, Ben Seaborn. The dozen T-Birds who threw their hats into the ring for this year’s Worlds performed in true one-design fashion, swapping leads throughout their two races of the week’s first day of racing. The first day of racing often is used to size up the competition, with some sandbagging to be expected. Only the final results come Friday will reveal the true champs – and the winner of the gold mainsail decal – but Monday’s racing was more akin to the Kentucky Derby: “Coming into the second and final weather mark rounding of the day’s last race, it’s the Carey boys on Invader on port, Hussy II on starboard, with the team from San Diego, Compound X, spit out the middle, and it’s the red-eyed Invader that’s first around and on the straightaway to the finish!” Ah, yes, it’s going to be a fun week of watching who will be the next T-bird world champion.
The T-Birds aren’t the only class holding a championship at Whidbey Island Race Week. The Vipers have also selected the Oak Harbor venue this year for their Pacific Coast Championships. A sporty two- or three-person high-performance sport boat, the Viper 640 sails well in both light air and heavy weather so whatever meal Penn Cove or Saratoga Passage dish up during the week the dozen Vipers in the PCC pit will feed well.
Penn Cove is the favored venue for spectators, with the action getting up close and personal enough for young enthusiasts watching from the dock of Coupeville’s red dock to shout words of encouragement to their newest athletic heroes. The Anacortes crew about the Viper, Barrel of Monkeys, got so close to the dock during Monday’s two races that they were able to exchange pleasantries, while still in full hike, with kids watching the action. (By the way, Kim’s Café serves up both the premier view of the regatta as well as mouth-watering Thai food, and the espresso shop on the southwest corner is a fine place to follow up with a ubiquitous Northwest latte.)
An uplifting sign was all the shiny new cloth parading on the race course. Like peacocks showing off their feathers , new sails are an obscure, but accurate, bellwether of a positive economy. In other words, things are looking up.
Stay tuned for more racing highlights as we follow the action at www.whidbeyislandraceweek.com of all 115 boats in 11 classes, five of them one-design, competing in Whidbey Island Race Week 2012 through Friday, July 20.
Note, for those reading this at the races on their smart phones, mobile devices or tablets: No crabbing in Area 8-1 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Oak Harbor Yacht Club will hold another Penn Cove mussel dinner on Wednesday at 6:00 (get there early, before they run out). Lost and found is at the Hospitality Desk. And don’t drive faster than 30 mph on Midway.
By Liza Tewell
