We had a great day at our wonderful little harbour last Saturday, with our 5th annual Heritage Harbour Classic sailing race! Querencia came out the winner this year, with excellent course planning and taking advantage of wind shifts and gusts. We got a pretty decent breeze most of the time, quite shifty and constantly changing, but it gave us lots to work with!
It was a close race with Winsome III, trading the lead a few times. Winsome’s skipper blames their loss on a tangled spinnaker – their secret weapon turned against them!
Third place, and first among the Oarlock & Sail fleet, was Button Swan. The feisty little boat managed to keep the big racy boats in sight on the last leg as they crossed the finish line!
The prize for best crew surely has to go to Anja, with a couple of young crew members getting involved, as well as the new Executive Director of the Maritime Museum. Anja came in 4th place, looking amazing with topsail flying!
The rest of the field consisted of Luna, Enke, Ragna, Moonbeam, and Odin, with Ella McKenzie serving as committee / spectator boat. Always nice to have her rumbling along out there!
The annual rowing race was action-packed, with the two paddle-boarders passing the row-boats, rounding the mark without colliding with each other, and making for a VERY close finish at the dock!
First place in the rowboats was Feather with Arnt and his young crew. This was Feather’s second win in a row – might have to introduce some handicapping!
New to this year’s festivities was a heaving line challenge, using a monkey’s fist made by each competitor. The rising tide made the judging a bit difficult, but based on audience reaction, there were several winners – and really, it was a lot of fun, and everyone was a winner! (how’s that for covering up the lack of record-keeping?)
The afternoon was a wonderful time of cameraderie and fun! We had a good crowd, and a great time! You can see more of the photos in the Google Photos album.
We are grateful for the foundation of community put in place by Sheila and Bruce over the years, and for the development of the Heritage Harbour Classic. Thanks to Bruce for organizing the day, and to the Vancouver Maritime Museum for hosting the event and providing some of the prizes.
Oarlock and Sail Wooden Boat Club 