PORT TOWNSEND — The 34th annual Classic Mariners’ Regatta ended on a high note with sunny skies and consistent winds for Sunday’s final race.
“It was about as good a day as it gets for sailing,” said Brian McGinn, skipper for Sparkle, the overall second-place finisher for Sunday’s Admiralty Inlet race.
Coming in just before Sparkle was Pacifica, and the schooner Martha came in third overall for Sunday’s race. All three boats finished in the top five last year, with similar weather conditions.
The three stayed close to each other throughout most of Sunday’s race, according to Heidi Eisenhour of the Northwest Maritime Center, who sailed on Sparkle.
“It was a little nerve-wracking to have these big boats on either side of us,” Eisenhour said.
Only 15 boats were registered for this year’s Classic Mariners’ Regatta, which is an annual weekend event that brings out wooden boats to compete in three races near Port Townsend.
This event is presented by the Wooden Boat Foundation and Port Townsend Sailing Association.
According to Barb Trailer of the Northwest Maritime Center, the race was quite a bit smaller this year, with only 15 boats compared to the 24 vessels that entered last year.
However the year before saw another turnout of about 14 vessels registered, according to Trailer.
“It comes and goes,” Eisenhour said. “It used to be much bigger 20 or 30 years ago, and we’d like to see it get back in the 50 boat range.”
The Regatta kicked off Friday with a rowing race for wooden row boats.
On Saturday, sailors participated in two races around Port Townsend Bay. Unfortunately cloudy skies and light winds made the race a fairly slow affair.
Sunday the sun came out just in time for the race’s start at noon and winds were much more consistent.
“All the boats got to stretch their legs today,” said Alex Spear, who has skippered in 32 of the 33 Classic Mariners’ Regattas since 1984.
Racers are given a final score based on all three weekend races.
This year in Division A the winner was Sparkle, followed by Pacifica in second and Lucky Star in third. Martha came in fourth out of the four vessels that raced in that division.
In Division B, Vito Dumas, skippered by Spear, took first, followed by Second Wind in second and Toadstool in third out of seven boats in that division.
Division C only had two boats racing and Gracie B took first, followed by Sorcerer.
Four of the Port Townsend T-Birds raced in this year’s Regatta and Boreas took first in that competitive division. Thatuna took second, followed by Tzieu and Knot Raven.
In the overall standings, out of all 15 boats that competed over the weekend, Sparkle took first place, followed by Pacifica and Lucky Star.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
Wind blows the sails out on one of the boats participating in the final race of the Classic Mariners’ Regatta on Sunday. (Cydney McFarland/Peninsula Daily News)
