Summer’s week-long sailboat racing funfest is North Sound bound and kicks off Monday. The new venue provides fresh course options to go with all the event’s great traditions.
The event that is summer’s sailboat racing centerpiece for so many boats and sailors is getting ready to launch! Race Week gets underway in its new venue of Bellingham this Monday, and it’s shaping up to be a terrific week on and off the water.
The new location provides ample opportunity for exquisite racing and fresh courses in what will be excitingly unfamiliar surroundings for many participants. The fleet will be assembling as you read this, with sailors greeting old friends and meeting new ones on the docks and ashore. As always at Race Week, there will be tight racing competition but even more camaraderie on the water. Of particular note is the big contingent of J/105s, a fleet of J/70s, as well as a class of Melges 15s, in addition to the many boats who will be enjoying top-class handicap racing (both PHRF and ORC).
The Sailing Instructions for the event have been released, and confirm that all the planning and preparation ensures it will be an awesome week. Up to three races may be contested each day, and the instructions provide details for the popular pursuit-style distance race.
Of course, the racing is just one aspect of Race Week’s perennial draw—its slogan is “Race, Party, Play” after all! You can check out the full schedule for yourself, but the week will be bookended by opening and closing parties at Bellingham Yacht Club. And the famous post-race parties from Monday to Thursday will take place at Fisherman’s Pavilion (Gate 5) with live music (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) spanning an array of genres from the WhiskeyDicks, the Mike Bell Duo, Nikki and the Fast Times, and fan-favorite ABBAGraphs. Before and after the scheduled Race Week activities, the city of Bellingham will provide no shortage of marine services, restaurants, and nightlife. Just don’t stay out too late, racing starts at 11 a.m.
As Race Week begins this new era in Bellingham, it also continues many of the traditions that have made it the event of the summer for decades. Plain and simple, you don’t want to miss Race Week, this year or any year.
Title background image by Jan Anderson.
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