Have you heard of the herd? The Cow Bay Regatta once again lives up to the hype as a fan favorite racing event of the year.
Cowichan Bay, British Columbia, is absolutely stunning with beautiful hills and mountains surrounding the bay. The geography also provides favorable conditions—as the land heats up, the wind starts to build—that’s when, as the locals say, “The doctor is in.” A crewmate asked if we were going to practice in the morning before the race. I grinned as I explained that there is no wind in the morning—that the calm, flat state of the water in the morning is one of the simple pleasures of Cow Bay. Instead of sailing, it’s an invitation to enjoy a quiet morning on our Airbnb deck watching the seagulls and, if you’re lucky, an occasional bald eagle. Or it can be a chance to enjoy some of the non-sailing fun to be found in the area.
I was fortunate to be a part of the Farr 36 Wicked Sister program for Cow Bay this year, as I was last year. The boat is owned by Jerry McKay and his lovely wife, Chona. After racing their J/130 in the South Sound, they are having a lot of fun with something a little sportier in the Farr 36. Jerry and I have been sailing together on and off for more than 20 years—he’s a longtime friend, and a good sailor with a big heart.
The crew assembled on Thursday night, aside from a pair of stragglers joining the next day. The good times with this superb group of sailors and people started immediately. Several, like Galan Potter and JC Bitseff, had sailed Cow Bay with me previously. Others I know through the Glory program, like Bob Pistay and Rob Lindley—both extraordinary sailors, fantastic teachers, and great friends. Another crew, Alex Shemwell, and Rob brought crucial Farr 36 experience to the team; Alex from trimming on sistership Annapurna and Rob on this very boat back when it was new. Energetic and dedicated Ian rounded out our crew.
Before the racing even got started, we were having a grand time on the water. Slightly north of Cow Bay is Cowichan Lake, where we went to while away a hot and sunny Friday afternoon, relaxing on rented one-man tubes and floating down a lazy river for a couple of hours. Rested and sunkissed, we were ready for some buoy racing.
The conditions for sailing in Cow Bay tend to be very consistent and steady with “the doctor coming in” around 9:30 or 10 a.m., and races starting at 11 a.m. Flat water is the norm for racing on Cow Bay, and the first race sent us upwind to Patey Rocks and then a leeward mark before the finish—a simple 10-mile course, one that we sailed several times throughout the weekend. 
Our class was a varied and competitive group of the fastest monohulls at the regatta, and as racing got underway we got a good sense of the fleet dynamics. We were the fastest rated boat in the group, but knew we were racing very well sailed boats including the J/111 65 Red Roses, J/109 Double Time, Aerodyne 38 Kairos, Flying Tiger 10 My-Tai, and the J/112e Mystery. As the first race unfolded in light to medium wind, the talented sailors on 65 Red Roses beat us to the weather mark, but once Wicked Sister turned downwind, we sailed faster and reached the leeward mark slightly ahead, finishing first; third after the time correction. The second race was in similar conditions and yielded similar results, though we corrected into second this time.
For Saturday’s third race, the wind picked up and Wicked Sister got to show a bit of her speed, as we ran downwind on plane at 16 knots with Rob working the vang like a kite sheet. We flew by wide-eyed sailors in the Martin 242 and smaller boat fleets. After a fast and fun spinnaker run to the bottom of the bay and a short upwind to the finish, we crossed the line at least four minutes ahead of the competition—our best race of the regatta, and a bullet to wrap-up a terrific Saturday on Cow Bay. 
Back at the dock on the 48-foot Grand Banks, Quest, owned by Bob and Andi Pistay, we relished the satisfaction of being first to finish in all three races for the day, even though we knew 65 Red Roses corrected ahead on the first two. Advil and Tylenol were on the menu for the sore and tired after such a full day of fun sailing in spectacular weather in a stunning setting.
Saturday night’s BBQ is a highlight of the event each year. Plump, juicy steaks grilled to perfection, with baked potatoes and salad (served out of a dinghy by my better half, Jennifer, at the request of the crowd!) accompanying the delicious meat options. Dinner was followed by a dance party with a DJ and lots of glow accessories this year. This is a regatta party done right!
Come Sunday, our crew may have been sore, but we were ready to go. We headed out as “the doctor came in” and we got into race mode. The first race brought us familiar results, second to round the upwind mark, first to finish, just not far enough ahead of 65 Red Roses to get the first-place pennant. The final race of the weekend proceeded similarly, but was the weekend’s best showing for Double Time, who took the race win and by doing so, they got us on the tie-break for second in class behind 65 Red Roses. All in all, we were very happy to have finished first in every race of the regatta, and a third in this competitive class was something to be proud of.
Of course, we were not the only class out there. An impressive group of fast multihulls assembled for some great racing—this year to contest the NW Multihull Championship. The wide ranging fleet had a rating band that spanned 99 seconds per mile under PHRF. In the end, the slowest rated boat in the fleet, Eric Pesty’s Geneva (the skipper and vessel of R2AK singlehanded record fame) would take the class win ahead of two boats that rated 93 and 96 seconds per mile faster respectively, F-85SR Mail Order Bride and F-9AR Redshift.
It was also a Fleet Championship for the Martin 242s, who had the largest class with 17 boats racing. Their hotly contested one-design group was topped by Robert Britten’s No Worries. Michael Clements’s Too Wicked and Alex Fox’s Crantini rounded out the podium.
Around the fleet, other class wins went to Paul Faget’s Left Coast Dart Ogopogo, Ron Turner’s Tartan 3700 Blue Shift, Paul Gibson’s Hotfoot 27 NVS, and Graham Heath’s Windward 30 Pitoraq.
The Race Committee had a busy couple of days with the maximum allowed 70 boats out on the water, but did an excellent job. The races were efficient and run without much delay, no time to dawdle with your sandwich with this committee!
Attending the Cow Bay Regatta is now an adventure that I excitedly look forward to annually. When I was asked to be on the planning committee years ago, I felt it was an honor and I happily accepted immediately, and it remains fun and rewarding to be a part of this event and group of people. Exposing my friends and fellow sailors to such fantastic sailing in a stunning setting along with all the many shoreside delights is a highlight of my sailing year. And that was especially true this year, as our rag tag Wicked Sister team had a fantastic time on and off the water! I encourage more boats around the region to come check out Cow Bay in the future. Once you do, you’ll be proud to count yourself as “part of the herd.”
Full results at: www.cowbay-regatta.ca
