If you grew up in Victoria, you probably remember many years of Swiftsure and assume it has been around forever. If you are new to the nautical city, perhaps you are wondering what all the fuss it about. In either case, read on to spark childhood memories or to learn about what you've missed. Either way, the voyage into local racing history will serve you well as you check out the racing action and accompanying events this coming weekend.
Starting with the first recorded yacht race in Victoria and right on up through the decades to the present day, recreational and professional sailors have been keen competitors, sharing their love of both the sea and of sea-going vessels powered by the wind. The first recorded sailboat racing in the Victoria area took place in the late 1850s between boats of the Royal Navy and the early colonists.
Interest in the sport grew in the following decades and, by 1930, six boats competed in a long distance race from Cadboro Bay around the lightship on Swiftsure Bank, at the entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait. Conducted under the rules of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, the race saw Claribel, a "skimming dish schooner", win by 7 hours. And so, the Swiftsure Lightship Classic Race was born.
While the Swiftsure yacht race was so named because its furthest most point is Swiftsure Bank, the bank itself got its name from the 19th century Royal Navy battleship that served as the Pacific flagship stationed at Esquimalt. The H.M.S. Swiftsure, 1870 to 1908, was the seventh ship in the Royal Navy to carry that name. The earliest ship of that name was launched in 1543 and was involved in action against the Spanish Armada in 1588. Now that's history!
In turn, the Swiftsure lightship station, which became the midway turning point of the Swiftsure yacht race, was established by the United States government in 1909 to mark the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The first vessel assigned to this station was painted yellow, with "Swiftsure" in large black letters on her sides. However, her relief ship, which filled in while the Swiftsure lightship was sent for her annual overhaul, carried the name "Relief" on her hull. So, should you have happened to notice rounding marks carrying both these name in photos from the Swiftsure Lightship Classic Race, you are very observant and now know the reason for what might have seemed a discrepancy.
Over the years the Swiftsure lightship endured much rough weather on this exposed station, and on July 1st, 1961, with almost no protest, the Swiftsure lightship was considered unnecessary and recalled, causing a dilemma for the organizers of the Swiftsure International Yacht Race -what to do without a rounding mark? Since that time, the Navy has provided ships equipped to anchor in such deep and unpredictable waters for just this purpose.
Whether you've followed Swiftsure over the years or have come to know of the race more recently, you might have noticed that no longer do all participating yachts race to Swiftsure Bank and back. While the long course, the Swiftsure Lightship Classic, still exists and still is considered by many to be "the" Swiftsure race, three other courses now exist.
In 1962, after considerable grumbling by skippers of boats too small to go to "the Bank", the Royal Victoria Yacht Club introduced a shorter course to Clallam Bay, some fifteen miles west of Port Angeles, and called it the Juan de Fuca Race. With increased participation in the Swiftsure International Yacht Race, and with only two courses from which to choose -one of 137 miles and one of only 76 miles -the Cape Flattery Race was born in 1988. At 100 miles, this new course length fell almost exactly half way between the longer and the shorter courses and proved very popular, attracting some of the very largest yachts.
Then, in 2004, taking into consideration the older yachts (not to mention the older skippers and crew members!), an inshore course of approximately 20 miles was added to the mix, for yachts designed prior to January 1975. This race has the attraction of returning the yachts to the inner harbour in time for a Saturday evening celebration, while all but the fastest multi-hulls remain in the straits, either on their way out to their rounding mark or back in to the finish line.
Now why, you might ask, is Swiftsure called an "international" yacht race? Well, first of all, as you might have noticed above, the Swiftsure lightship -the original rounding mark for the race -arrived on the scene courtesy of the United States Government. But further, Swiftsure has attracted yachts and sailors from Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii, from New Zealand, and even from Russia. In addition, from 1948 to 1950 the race started in Port Townsend and finished in Victoria. And, based on its reputation amongst racers, it truly is a race of international scope and stature -and we're lucky enough it have it in our own back yard, so to speak.
Speaking of our own back yard, over the years the Swiftsure organizing committee and the City of Victoria officials have explored various methods of combining land and sea during the Swiftsure "weekend". Starting in 1955, the Eaton's display window at the corner of Douglas and View streets was set up as "Swiftsure headquarters", where a large map of the racecourse was installed and the progress of the race shown by moving miniature boats across the map. As the race grew, this became a daunting task. But the event, and this way of graphically displaying its progress, was very much appreciated by Victorians. People used to line the sidewalks and sit at the curbs, and a strong feeling of excitement about the race occurred right there, in the middle of town.
In 1958, at a time when Swiftsure involved a roll call of all entering yachts and a sunset ceremony courtesy of the Sea Cadets in the inner harbour, the Friday night crowd for these opening ceremonies was estimated at 5,000. The 1983 version of Swiftsure marked the start of the "race week" concept, with inshore races held on Wednesday and Thursday and with Harbour Fest combining both Victoria Days and Swiftsure. This arrangement lasted until 1991. With a canned music rock concert offered, a crowd of 30,000 to 40,000 people were attracted to downtown Victoria, and perhaps the arrests for disorderly and drunken behaviour helped bring to an end to this once good idea!
Returning back to the Eaton's window as a "low tech" way of tracking the race invites an investigation into the technological advances employed by the Swiftsure International Yacht Race to determine and publish race results. The year 1973 marks the entry of Swiftsure into the "computer age", but results were slow to appear as information had to be delivered by hand to the University of Victoria and then laboriously key punched. Since Swiftsure's 1995 foray into the Internet, significant technological progress has been made, with race results electronically tabulated to the point of accurately predicting the winners even before all yachts have crossed the finish line. And, should Swiftsure obtain an interested sponsor and follow a growing but expensive trend, we just might see the use of transponders on all yachts entered into the race, thus allowing for continuous tracking and immediate production of statistics and calculation of race results.
Of course, no look at technological advances would be complete without reviewing the valuable role played by technology in keeping people informed about the progress of the race as it unfolds, and in bringing the "human side" of the race to the public.
It was way back in 1931, during the second Swiftsure yacht race, that the first known communications report was successfully transmitted, in this case from the Swiftsure lightship to the Gonzales Wireless Station. Swiftsure 1952 saw the first use of radio reports to apprise people of yacht positions and progress, as Humphey Golby went on the air to become "the voice of Swiftsure". In 1956 CKDA's news director, Andy Stephen, conducted a 32-hour marathon radio broadcast with reports every hour. Over the years, C-FAX radio has conducted live broadcasts of the race start and hourly race updates throughout the weekend, while CH TV and Shaw Cable have shot footage from boats at the start line and from float planes throughout the race to embellish their news broadcasts, thereby keeping the public informed in a timely fashion. And, the Times Colonist has used technological advances to get photos and stories from the water to the newspaper within a highly condensed period of time.
Added to official media efforts, starting in 2004 at the Swiftsure Information Centre at ship point, a group of volunteers has made use of a VHF listen-only radio, cell phone calls to skippers on the water, and computers for immediate input to report the race progress to the public, via www.swiftsure.org and Shaw Cable TV. This team also interviews skippers and crew members to write stories about their Swiftsure race experience -all in an attempt to bring home the human side of the race while the yachts and crews are still on the water and upon their return to the inner harbour.
As for the race itself, the lure of it remains the unpredictability of the winds and waters and, as is so often the case, a rewarding spinnaker run home that inspires racers to plans their return the following year before they even cross the finish line.
Make no mistake about the unpredictability of Swiftsure! While we often hear about the years virtually void of wind, known as "Driftsure" years, Swiftsure has offered its share of big weather and seas. In 1971, for example, six yachts were dismasted just after the start in 35-knot winds, with 44 yachts retiring during the course of the race. In 1979 some 130 yachts were knocked out of the race within two hours of the start, with two yachts colliding just off the start line and one of them coming very close to sinking. But through it all, Swiftsure has suffered just one fatality during its many years -a testament to the team of dedicated volunteers running a tight ship, the safety standards employed, and the skill level of the racers.
From May 28th to 30th, 2005, the Royal Victoria Yacht Club will host the 62nd running of the Swiftsure International Yacht Race, to continue the proud tradition of providing challenging racing that includes the return of many strong competitors, including some formerly retired classic yachts. Among these classics look for Circe, winner of the 1934 Swiftsure race. In 1969 she raced her last Swiftsure until she returned for the 60th Swiftsure in 2003, and again for the first Swiftsure Classics Race in 2004 to win the Wooden Boat Division trophy. And, of course, keep an eye on the Oriole, as she continues the tradition of recreational versus military sailing competition. The Oriole first entered Swiftsure in 1955 when she was 34 years young!
Asked why they return year after year to compete in the Swiftsure International Yacht Race, skippers and crewmembers always speak about the challenges of the race, the camaraderie, and the beauty and hospitality of Victoria and Victorians. We in Victoria carry a proud tradition of hosting this challenging and enjoyable race and related events. While no one can predict the race conditions, tradition would have it that we can expect a well planned event both on and off the water as Victoria welcomes yachts and racers from near and far to continue to make Swiftsure history.
Donna F. Randall is a transplanted Southern Ontarian who, ever since she can remember, wanted to live by the sea. Thanks to the winds of fate, Donna moved to Victoria, met herself a sailor, and has fallen in love -with sailing. With Donna's penchant for writing, she is thrilled to attempt make sense of Swiftsure for those not completely immersed in the world of yacht racing. She thanks the Royal Victoria Yacht Club for providing access to Swiftsure documents, including the Swiftsure Facts and Stats, as information sources for this article.