One of the region’s newest and fastest growing sailboat racing events is Royal Vancouver Yacht Club’s three-day Salish Sea Regatta. A Seattle sailor in attendance this year described it to 48° North as, “My new favorite race.” Here’s the story from this great event.

On Friday, September 11, Royal Vancouver Yacht Club began its 6th annual Salish Sea Regatta with over 30 boats on the start line, including many of the region’s fastest sailboats. After its inaugural run just a few years ago, the race has now hit its stride; with 2026 being the most successful event yet.

It is said that timing is everything, and in the case of the planning of this race, that is true. In 2021, when I served as Fleet Captain at Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, Commodore Peter Wealick and club members PC Bob Matthews and Jim Allan came forward with an interesting plan: why not host a race between the club’s outstations? The concept was to hold it in early September, after Labor Day, which would mean the outstations would be empty of cruisers. It would also mean that cruisers could join the race. What was unplanned but fortuitous is that the colder September weather also brings back the wind from the doldrums of Vancouver’s summer, as systems and thermals start to kick in again. And hopefully, the sun holds on as long as possible. A tour of the sea before autumn sets an optimistic tone for the shorter, colder days to come.

This magical concoction of wind, sun, empty outstations, and boats freed from the lugubrious weight of cruising forms a potent mix, drawing sailors back to the excitement of competition and camaraderie in the most beautiful waterway in the world. The race’s 85-mile format is simple—the 42-mile Leg One starts Friday morning off Vancouver Harbour’s Point Grey bell buoy and heads to Pender Harbour half way up the Sunshine Coast, with boats spending the night at RVYC’s Garden Bay outstation. Leg Two starts Saturday morning at a virtual start line west of Thormanby Island and heads to RVYC’s outstation in Silva Bay—22 miles away on the south end of Gabriola. Boats overnight at RVYC’s sandstone Tugboat Island. Leg Three sees the boats return to RVYC Jericho to finish off the breakwater, and is 21 miles long. A second, shorter course runs for PHRF-rated doublehanded boats from the bell buoy to Tugboat and back, starting Saturday morning. Both courses feature plenty of whales and dolphins to distract focused sailors.

Leg One for the full course started with a fast downwinder, with easterlies urging boats west, building from 12 knots of breeze at the start to 16 knots as we approached Gibsons. The Division 0 fleet—composed of the faster rated ORC boats, ranging from the storied Riptide 35 Mk II Longboard to the Andrews 77, Mach II—legged out, wisely working their way close to shore for the current push. They were followed quickly by the Division 1 and 2 boats. It was a drag race down the shore, and it paid to stay close to land. This entire fleet was divided roughly into thirds between Division 0,1 and 2. The TP52s in Division 0 and other thoroughbreds disappeared over the horizon quickly, finishing the leg in four and a half hours. Line honors and corrected division 0 victory went to the Gibbons family’s GP 42 Zulu 5, with Division 1 and 2 winners John Polglase’s Riptide 35 Longboard and Matthew Stranaghan’s Farr 30 War Canoe arriving two hours later. All boats were at the dock by 4:00 p.m. leaving plenty of time for a swim in the warm waters of Garden Bay Lake, a Dark ’n Stormy on the dock, and a festive rib dinner on the packed deck at the charming outstation.

Sailors were roused early Saturday morning for the early start off Thormanby Island. Motoring east to the start with a coffee while watching the sun come up over the island, everyone’s thoughts turned to which way would pay. In years past, current and wind have accelerated through Welcome Pass to give huge gains in going the slightly longer route than the direct route from the start across the sea. The forecast was for a westerly, but the placid waters on the start line made it anyone’s guess when that westerly would kick in. The boats quickly divided into three camps off the start—the gamblers who headed to Welcome Pass, the mid-pack who split the difference and sailed slightly east but kept west of Thormanby, and the pack who stuck west hoping to catch the first of the westerly. This year, splitting the difference was the right call, as these boats caught the wind the earliest and were launched decidedly downwind, finishing in 3 hours. Dan Sinclair’s Andrews 77 Mach II took line honors in Division 0, with Zulu 5 correcting to first place. The Division 1 corrected win went to Tolga Celik’s J/111 Lodos, and Division 2’s winner was War Canoe.

Leg Two honored its reputation as the race’s most exciting leg, with boats absolutely sending it downwind in a building breeze, threading between the jagged sandstone shores of Commodore’s Passage. It culminated with a quick finish and douse in the lee of Tugboat Island, before the raft up on the welcoming docks at RVYC’s outstation. Shenanigans quickly ensued with short course doublehanded Laser racing for the young and energetic in the lee of the dock, with plenty of vocal encouragement from team members dockside. A sure sign of a race’s success is a lineup at the BBQ, with crews jostling and sharing and carousing at dinner. All guards were decidedly down when Tom Sitar hosted prize giving and the raffle, which seemed like an endless stream of generosity from the race sponsors. Every boat walked away with gear and smiles.

Sunday’s race started with a modest easterly just north of Tugboat Island, with crews testing their Code Zeros before the start in the hopes that they could carry their sails high enough to some advantage. The fleet split into two groups almost immediately—those who held on with their Codes sailing deeper angles west, and those who went to whites and pointed high into the oncoming easterly to sail the shortest course. This latter, eastern fleet made the right call in this case and arrived at the Point Grey Bell buoy soonest, with the boat who sailed deepest having to tack back into English Bay.

Hubris bit hard on the Code Zero fleet, whose early advantage disappeared as the lee of Point Grey favored boats who could sail the shorter course. The easterly stayed long enough in the Bay to permit the faster boats to finish decidedly, the breeze then faltered and sputtered for the Division 1 and 2 boats, who knocked about becalmed for an hour while a weak westerly mounted a failed push into the bay. The brisk east wind eventually filled in and restarted the race for the remaining fleet, with short tacks up the Jericho side carrying the boats across the finish. Division 0 line honors on Sunday went to Mark Cloutier and Pat Dion’s RP 55 Scatteraction, with Zulu 5 taking the corrected win. Division 1 and 2 wins went to Tavish Minielly’s J/111 65 Red Roses, and Mathew Stranaghan’s Farr 30 War Canoe.

This race does not disappoint—tight competition, incredible venues, and great organization by volunteer members and race committees made it very memorable. Special thanks to regatta chair Tom Sitar (who also placed second in Division 2 on his J/109, Serendipity), our race committee John Culter and Michael Shepard, and of course our dedicated outstation managers at Garden Bay and Tugboat Island. Special thanks to our American friends who joined us. The fleet included four boats from the Seattle area, two TP52s, Steve Johnson’s Mist, Dorr Anderson’s Mayhem, Tolga Cezik’s J/111 Lodos, and Phil Calvert’s Beneteau First 45 EOS.

Planning is already well underway for the 2027 edition, and you’re invited to join the fun and become part of this exciting new tradition that is the Salish Sea Regatta. 

Full race results and next year’s registration: https://www.royalvan.com/salish-sea