Thirteen sailboats gathered under sunny skies and strong winds near Irvine's Landing July 2 for the annual Malaspina Regatta.
The sailboats left the starting mark just after 11 a.m., with skipper David Twentyman, in Boxer, leading the race, while Charlie Park's Frendy trailed behind the pack.
Partway through the course, the sailors couldn't find the Ackland Rock marker, after it had come off the rock and floated down the Malaspina Strait. Ian Wright in the committee boat and Tom Barker in B.C. Navigator agreed to change the course to go around Ray Lee Island, two miles north of the rock.
The trimaran Cariad Bach was the only boat in its class division and ended up going on its own course because it didn't pick up the radio message of the course change.
At the end of the first lap, Donna Bailey's Eureka rounded the Martin Island marker first, followed by B.C. Navigator and Frendy.
Because of the extra distance in the first lap, Wright and Barker decided to shorten the second lap, by going around the Hospital Rock marker then straight back to the finish line.
The wind ripped B.C. Navigator's sail during the race, allowing three boats to pass before the crew put up another sail. But B.C. Navigator got back in the lead and raced across the finish line first, at 3:34:47.
The boats were spaced out evenly throughout the race, except for Rolf Yri's Oceanus III and Paul Nattal's Silik, finishing one second apart in sixth and seventh place.
Richard Tyree's Kaumoana missed a marker, so he offered to retire from the race, but the judges kept him in.
The final boat across the line, Zorro Szabado's Starlight, finished at 5:30:53, before the 5 p.m. cutoff time.
The four classes of boats, of different shapes, sizes and speeds, were judged by different standards using a mathematical formula.
After judges calculated the race times, Gerry Reynold's Aloha III was the winner, followed by Frendy then Mike Lewis' B.C. Buoys. Skipper David Pritchard's Cariad Bach came in last place.
The winners in each of the class divisions were Eureka, Aloha III, Ray Phillips' Sean B and Cariad Bach. See the sports ticker on page C4 for full results.
After the race, the boaters met at the Pender Harbour Music School for a barbecue and awards ceremony.
The Garden Bay Sailing Club organized the 16th annual regatta. The club races every Saturday.
