Montague Harbour Trophy Race Report
Sunday, March 23, 2025
by Martin Herbert, aboard the mighty Kay D
It has been quite a racing week for your reporter, having raced 22 races on Thursday in IOMs. John Tulip, Paul Faget and I had a blast in the top of A rig, then switching to B rig when the harbour turned to white caps. We all won races in three hard fought hours of sailing. Then on Saturday, I had an hour and a half of perfect conditions and practised lee mark rounding (Paul having passed or gained on me at the lee mark all afternoon).
So, when it looked miserable and rainy this Sunday, I just came down to the Club to see who would be so crazy as to go out in the rain. Turns out that Sorcery X, Steller J, Evangeline and Saorsa were that crazy. It wasn’t raining that hard, so I rigged up and joined them. The course was Julia, Parker and Sphinx Islands to port.
The whole fleet started well into a good southeaster and blasted over to Goat Island. I looked under my boom and saw Sorcery X doing a penalty turn, so something must have happened…or was it a hat overboard? Steller J took the lead and played the shifts well (especially going left after the Sisters, taking advantage of a major backing of the wind). Sorcery X eventually ground her down and was leading through Captains Passage. Evangeline did the same to me, so I was looking at three transoms getting smaller and smaller as we approached Galiano.
Steller J and Sorcery arrived at the entrance to Montague and stood upright in the wind shadow.
It looked quiet in there. Out in Trincomali the wind shifted right and picked up nicely and I was able to ease sheets and the Kay D jumped onto the plane. The locked-in hull speed of just over 5 knots for a Flying Fifteen is bypassed when reaching in a breeze and the hull lifts out of the water. I was charging in on the upright boats at over 7.5 knots, trying to dodge huge lumps of water. As I rounded Julia Island I saw the three boats ahead still in light wind and, as I looked astern, I saw the line of wind that was coming into the channel and did my best to stay in it. I also hoisted the spinnaker, pegged the tiller in the centre of the boat and drove the boat downwind, steering with my body weight. I carried that blast of wind all the way down the channel and caught everyone but Sorcery. I had to gybe three times, single-handed, to stay in that line of wind, but it was worth it. Steller J passed me back on the approach to Sphinx, so I was the third boat out of the passage, rounding up for the beat back through Captains Passage. Evangeline again passed me upwind, so I was fourth boat around Nose Point. Again the big boats were becoming very small on the horizon.
Now comes the part that made my day. As I rounded Nose Point the wind started coming in big blasts. The Kay D loved it and she jumped onto the plane and started seriously surfing down the waves. It was so much fun! With the tiller in one hand and the mainsheet in the other, I was able to guide her over the top and launch her into a wild ride down the back of a wave, spray everywhere and the GPS hitting 9.8 knots. It was joyous!
At the Sisters I bore off onto a broad reach and the excitement was over. Ahead I saw Steller J and Evangeline battling, close to the shore and in very light wind. Steller J gybed out to try and get into more wind in the centre of the harbour. I hoisted spinnaker and bore off to stay in the stronger wind, hoping to sail around them.
It was not to be; Evangeline finished second, just ahead of Steller J. The Kay D was snapping at their heels but couldn’t get by. She finished at 13.46.59. I was exhausted, soaked, and delighted after a very exciting sail.
After the race there was a gathering on Shingebiss, just back from the boys’ cruise, so lots of racing stories were exchanged before I was able to drag myself home for a hot bath and a chance to float and reflect on how lucky we are to live and play on the Salish Sea. Cheers!
Club Handicap Result
| Club | Finish | Corrected | Rating for | club | |||
| Rating | Boat | Skipper | Time | Time | Place | Next Race | points |
| 170 | KAY D | Herbert | 13:46:59 | 03:05:34 | 1 | 164 | 100 |
| 130 | EVANGELINE | Sutton | 13:45:06 | 03:15:06 | 2 | 127 | 80 |
| 120 | STELLER J | Leitch | 13:45:49 | 03:18:53 | 3 | 120 | 60 |
| 68 | SORCERY X | Slakov | 13:36:11 | 03:25:49 | 4 | 71 | 40 |
| 249 | SAORSA | Gray | 15:12:00 | 03:58:22 | 5 | 255 |
PHRFBC Result
| PHRFBC | Finish | Corrected | |||
| Rating | Boat | Skipper | Time | Time | Place |
| 205 | KAY D | Herbert | 13:46:59 | 02:56:36 | 1 |
| 162 | STELLER J (NFS) | Leitch | 13:45:49 | 03:06:38 | 2 |
| 113 | SORCERY X (NFS) | Slakov | 13:36:11 | 03:11:11 | 3 |
| 120 | EVANGELINE (NFS) | Sutton | 13:45:06 | 03:18:09 | 4 |
| 198 | SAORSA (NFS) | Gray | 15:12:00 | 04:15:18 | 5 |
