Downtown Sailing Series 2007 Season Opener

Left to right: Carol Brower, Jim Herman, L.B. Day and Mark Brower racing on Mark's boat Calculated Risque in the season opener of the Downtown Sailing Series

They Threw a Party and a Race Broke Out!

There has been a lot of discussion lately in the sailing press about how to get more people involved in sailing in general and racing in particular. The Downtown Sailing Series held on Seattle's Elliott Bay is succeeding in doing just that. By placing the emphasis on fun, the event attracts new boats to racing and new people to sailing.

The Downtown Sailing Series is organized by Elliott Bay Marina, and takes place Thursday evenings during the summer. For the season opener, I raced on my friend Mark Brower's Tartan Ten, a flush-deck, 34 foot racing boat designed by Sparkman & Stephens. Also in the crew was Mark's significant other, L.B. Day, his brother Carol, and long-time friend Jim Herman.

There are only two classes in this race: racing and cruising. Handicaps are not used to correct elapsed times as they are in serious races, so everybody knows it's just for fun. We did the first start for racing boats at 7:00 p.m. The wind was about 10 knots from the northwest, not quite far enough aft to fly a spinnaker, so we sailed on a reach with the genoa toward the first mark. The view was spectacular. We were racing toward the skyline of downtown Seattle, with Mount Rainier showing off to the south. Behind us were the Olympic Mountains, and we were surrounded by beautiful sailboats.


The fleet racing in the Downtown Sailing Series with the Seattle skyline as a backdrop

As the fleet approached the first mark, we had to hang a left and do a detour around an anchored grain ship, but that just made the race more interesting. As we rounded the fist mark, we hoisted the spinnaker to go faster downwind, and I had managed to connect the sheets to the spinnaker through the lifelines so it would not hoist properly. Carol scrambled onto the deck to help me get things sorted out, and we were on our way.

After the next mark, we did a nicely executed spinnaker douse and headed back upwind, with gusts of 12 to 15 knots heeling the boat over too far, so Jim was busy on the mainsheet traveller keeping the boat on its feet.

After the final mark, we had a short downwind leg to the finish and thought briefly about hoisting the spinnaker again, but it sounded like a lot of work so we passed since this race is just for fun. Other boats did fly their kites, so we were treated to some nice views as they crossed the line.

Kyrnos Crosses the Finish Line Under Spinnaker


Thursday! Thursday! 64 Sailboats!
Is this a drag race or a sailboat race? It can be hard to tell at times because of the unique rules of the Downtown Sailing Series. Boats need to finish by 8:30 or they are listed in the results as DNF - Did Not Finish. If a boat needs to motor in order to finish by the deadline, that's just fine. Really. The object of this rule is to get everybody to the party on time! There are hilarious drag races with boats motoring as fast as they can toward the finish line in order to get to the party before the line for hot dogs, beer and wine gets too long.

We placed 14th out of 25 boats in the racing class. If they had been using PHRF handicaps, we would have placed much higher because the boats that finished ahead of us were for the most part bigger, faster, and way more expensive. We definitely won on a SPD and FPD basis - Speed Per Dollar and Fun Per Dollar. Prizes in the Downtown sailing series are not awarded for your finishing position. They are randomly drawn out of a hat. If you don't win one week, your name is left in the hat for following weeks, so the more times you race the greater your chance of winning a nice sailing gear bag full of goodies.


Hanging Out at the Party After the Race



The party after the race is held at the Seattle Yacht Club outstation at Elliott Bay Marina. Thanks to some generous sponsors - Bank of America and Trinchero Vineyard - the party includes free wine, beer, hot dogs and snacks. A crowd of a couple of hundred people hangs out at the party as the sun goes down over the Olympics. For the season opener and the final race of the season, there is a live band.

Dancing the Night Away




For more information about the Downtown Sailing Series, visit http://www.elliottbaymarina.net/

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