This year its turned into a drift with many retiring!
I raced Zig Zag a 26' Thunderbird and retired from the inshore race. The winds at the start were pretty decent! I sailed from Cadboro Bay to the start at Clover Point to duel with 190 other boats for the line.
Every boat started on port and headed for Brotchie. I started near Clover but then zigged across to the left side before hoisting my spinnaker. Then to Albert Head to meet Martha a schooner in beautiful form heading for the overall win... we entered on port tack and nearly touched their boom on starboard!
(https://www.facebook.com/SchoonerMarthaFoundation)
from there we headed right across the waterfront and Trail Island to pass Discovery and lay Beaumont Shoal. The winds shut off after passing two huge tankers then tried to hoist the spin again but we died out... about 500 metres to Beaumont we weren't laying and saw others tack back only to continue heading up Haro! we headed in and caught the flood at Fulford Reef / Ten Mile and fired up the motor.
Saw a big boat run aground just past Ten mile but he luckily got off.
Wished they picked a better course to bring the action inshore! Clover/Brotchie/Fort Rodd back across through Trail Island and around to Cadboro Bay! We had fun and flew an Ocean Rodeo flag... saw many porpoise and it turned into a nice sunny day but without wind.
The JDF races don't look to be having fun out there today! Think I'll stick with the inshore.
Come out to the Royal Vic Yacht Club on Wednesday nights at 5-6 to get onto a boat for racing in the Oak Bay area this summer.. its a lot of fun

Some hard cores are just rounding Swiftsure now http://tracker.swiftsure.org/

I saw a couple boats with numbers still on them just north of sansum on my way back down from North Secretary this evening. One of these years I'll have to make the time and do the swiftsure.