LEG ONE - NANAIMO TO FRENCH CREEK

June 11, 2005 - Nanaimo, B.C. - Leg one of the Cadillac Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race got off to a great start in Nanaimo Harbour. The 37 boat fleet saw winds of approx. 4 knots over the start line. The boats rounded Gallows Point into a building westerly breeze which peaked at 20 knots. The wind had been blowing hard in the Strait all morning leaving a choppy sea. The boats who stayed on shore did well, boats who went out did not. In this leg local knowledge paid off. White Cloud, a Cookson 12 M, barged the pin end of the line but Time Bandit, the well sailed J120 would take no prisoners and pushed them over the line. Time Bandit went on to win the start but Bad Kitty lead the fleet out of the harbour. White Cloud pushed over the pin end twice Lawndart, the Santa Cruz 50 owned by Bill Allan of Nanaimo, sailed for the first time after a complete refit to a spectacular second place finish beating Flash, the OD 48, over the finish line by a scant 9 seconds. The 72 foot Davidson, Cassiopeia, skippered by Gary Shoenrock managed to outsail their -73 rating to take first place. Despite their unconventional start, White Cloud sailed a great leg to complete the podium in Div. 1 in Third Place. In Div. 2, the Jespersen 30, Myrrh, owned by Michael Kalahar, sailed a brilliant race finishing hot on the heels of Div. 1 boats to take first place. Aeriel, probably the most beautiful boat in the fleet, owned by Bill Malone of Nanaimo, placed second with Hushwings, placing third. Div. 3 saw the Formula 40 Dragonfly correcting out in first place with an elapsed time of 3:23:29 and taking the first to finish white flag. Despite hitting a rock and splitting their daggerboard, Cheekee Monkee managed a second place finish. Even though Bad Kitty suffered a foward crossbeam connector failure in the bumpy upwind connections, they still managed to place third. Repairs to Cheekee Monkee and Bad Kitty have been completed and both boats will be in fighting trim for leg 2. click on image to view larger image click on image to view larger image