This race, sponsored by the Ventura Sailing Club, is a little different. Each boat is required to throw a bottle of rum overboard, then retrieve it, before sailing the race course. I was invited to sail on Just Whistle, a Catalina 42 owned by Nick with crew members Marc Ean and Bruce McKenzie.
We sailed over to Smuggler’s on Saturday and dropped the hook. The other boats were already there and included:
Three Little Birds
Spit Dog
Maine Squeeze
Wainui
Miserlou
Moonshadow (dropped out because Doug split his leg open in a fall)
The race on Sunday took place in ideal conditions, with 10-15 knots of wind from the south and sunny skies. our boat marched along at 7+knots and we finished in about 2 1/2 hours. The course was from Smuggler’s to Channel Islands Harbor.
