The traditional February memorial race through the islands was particularly sporty this year.
I think we’ve all heard the saying, “We put it up and God takes it down!” During the 2025 edition of the Anacortes Yacht Club Girts Rekevics Memorial Foulweather Race on February 22, there was plenty of that. God might just decide to rip it in half in the process.
It was a sporty year, but it isn’t called the Foulweather Race for no reason; and happily the breeze was going the right direction. There was a healthy registration list, and nearly all of the boats made it out to the starting line despite the big wind forecast.
On my Santa Cruz 27, Wild Rumpus, we reefed while we were still inside the marina and never shook it out. On the opposite extreme, we were the only insane people who hoisted the spinnaker at the start. And we didn’t need divine intervention to make our kite decisions, we put that thing up and down ourselves many times before our early arrival in Friday Harbor.
As usual, all boats started together in Fidalgo Bay on the third Saturday in February. Winter winds are usually from the south, and this year was no exception. It was decisively a run for most of the race, and definitely at the start. Being somewhat sane, we started on the starboard jibe. Others in the fleet shared our strategy, and it was a tad crowded a few minutes into the race. Eventually someone was going to spook the herd and we would all have to jibe for Guemes Channel, with a handful of boats sailing wing-on-wing and lasting a bit longer on starboard. There were a few threats in the area and we decided to douse for the first time prior to our jibe. My son Dylan took his usual spot on the bow, this time clipped in. Kite down, pole down, jib up, pack the kite, run the gear to the other side, kite up, repeat as needed!
Guemes Channel was a bit calmer and more and more kites went up. Neptune claimed a few kites and one halyard, but on we went. Rosario Strait was actually fairly tame that morning, considering the breeze. And despite a couple close kite crossings, and some white knuckle driving (I mean, it is really early in the season) we made it to Thatcher Pass without too much drama.
Steve Orsini on the Beneteau First 35 Black Arrow might have put some fear in my heart at one point, but they kept it rudder-side-down and the kite in one piece. Our heroes on the Baltic 39 Pangaea and Burns 49 Sir Isaac just put up the big genoas and powered through without any of the kite nonsense that the rest of us insisted upon and kept up just fine. The last brave boat to keep up the spinnaker was the crew on the Carrera 29 Loose Cannon skippered by Dagny Kruger. They would fly past, wipe out, recover and go again, with gusts well into the 35 knot range, and well past any thought that I had of hoisting. Neptune claimed both their kite and their halyard in the last big puff before the corner of Lopez Island ferry landing, but they were still right there next to us for the rest of the race.
On Friday night before the race, I had been making noise about how your finish only counts if the kite is up for it. My son Dylan was fully on board with this and was pushing for a hoist to the finish in San Juan Channel. I probably should have listened, and maybe we would have made up the two minutes that we needed for the overall win. Nonetheless, I was pretty ok keeping the kite cozily tucked into its bag.
Though last year’s new course record still stands (Nige Oswald and crew completed the course on his F25C in less than 2 hours in 2024), it was almost certainly the fastest Girts on record for the fleet as a whole. It would be hard to get there much faster without a much bigger boat or more hulls. Many boats finished the 18.5 mile course in about two-and-a-half hours and we all started piling into the Friday Harbor guest docks in short order.
Many thanks go out to the volunteers at the San Juan Island Yacht Club, who came in a few hours early to open the bar and feed us an early dinner with smiles, as always. The evening ended with a survivor party at the local bowling alley, and then a totally calm Sunday motor back home. Congratulations go out to John and Ann Bailey on Sir Isaac, winning the Shorthanded Division and the race overall. Vince Townrow and crew won Division 1 with their J/105 Kinetic, and Wild Rumpus took Division 2. John Sanford also sailed shorthanded and won Division 3 with his Beneteau 265 Callientè. Congratulations to everyone who braved the appropriately foul weather, and had a fabulous time. See you next year!
Photos courtesy of Michael Beemer.
