Saturday May 25, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated 1 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The annual Swiftsure International Yacht Race draws participants from many locations and draws a crowd to Victoria shores.
The 2-day race started today May 25 with boats gathering around 10 am. Skies were grey with a light breeze, but rain has held off.
This is the 79th year for the race that launches from Clover Point.
The race is being livestreamed on CHEK-TV this year (a first). Conditions appear blustery, waves are choppy.
This year, over 130 yachts from around the world are participating. The longest route is over 255 km.
Pre-race arrival:
Ranging from an 84-foot Schooner to a 17-foot Catamaran, finding moorage for more than 131 sailboats of various sizes can be a challenge in Victoria’s Inner Harbour.
In the days leading up to the Swiftsure race, the Royal Victoria Yacht Club’s Swiftsure docking drew sprang into action.
Working with radios and charts and a small inflatable boat, more than 15 volunteers worked in shifts to shepherd all the arriving races into their designated spots. Breezy conditions make docking of a large sailboat a challenge.
Economic driver:
The annual race is an economic driver for the Greater Victoria region as participants and guests arrive from across Canada and around the USA. That includes hotels, restaurants, and related attractions.
Various races:
There are various races of different distances and routes. Some of the races go overnight.
Race hosts:
CHEK weather reporter Tess van Straaten is the on-air host for the race today. She is a fourth-generation Victorian.
Dale Gann’s grandfather was part of starting the Swiftsure race in 1930. A fifth-generation Victorian, Gann is a senior business administrator at Royal Roads University. He explained things like ‘bad air’ (air conditions impacted by the boat ahead) and how sometimes collisions happen between boats but these are experienced sailors so incidents don’t happen very often, he explained.
Experienced sports broadcaster and executive Keith Wells is out on one of the boats reporting as part of the livestreamed broadcast, doing some informative sports reporting. Wells is the Executive Director of the Greater Victoria Sport Tourism Commission.
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