2016 Vic-Maui Yacht Race - Seven adventurous teams lead early entries

by Vic-Maui International Yacht Race on 26 Apr 2015 Seven adventurous teams lead the early entries for the 2016 Vic-Maui!

Red Sheilla

“Red Sheilla” is the first boat to enter the 2016 Vic-Maui! Red Sheilla previously competed in the 2010 and 2012 Vic-Maui's.

In July 2016, Red Sheilla skipper Jim Innes will sail in his fourth Vic-Maui, following the pioneering course sailed by his father JG (Jim) Innes in 1965.

The first Vic-Maui was sailed 50 years ago in 1965. The race was a dream of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club member JG (Jim) Innes who at that time was a Captain for Canadian Pacific Airlines. Jim convinced three other skippers to start with him off Brotchie Ledge in 1965. With Jim in his Lapworth 36' 'Long Gone', there was Lol Killam of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club with the 45' sloop 'Velaris', Ron Ramsay of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club with the 45' ketch 'Norena of White' and Boo Paskel from Seattle Yacht club with his 73' ketch 'Tatoosh'.

The 1965 race and weather were typical; Westerlies in the Juan de Fuca Strait, a left turn down the coast to about the latitude of San Francisco, followed by a right turn under the North Pacific High and a gybe with the Northeast trade winds filling spinnakers for the sunny run to Maui.

'Long Gone' won the first Vic-Maui with a time of 15 days, 6 hours and 55 minutes. Records have been broken many times since 1965. The current record holder is 'Grand Illusion', skippered by James McDowell of the Lahaina Yacht Club, who completed the race in 9 days, 2 hours and 8 minutes in 2000, beating out the previous record of 9 days, 19 hours and 36 minutes set in 1996 by 'Pyewacket', skippered by Roy Disney.

Kinetic
Kinetic, a Beneteau First 47.7 sailing for the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and skippered by David Sutcliffe, is entered in the 2016 Vic-Maui.

Kinetic's home port is Vancouver. David hails from North Vancouver, BC. Kinetic sailed in the 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2014 Vic-Maui races. Kinetic sailed in the 2005 Van Isle 360 race and in the stormy 2005 and 2010 Southern Straits races. Following the 2006 Vic-Maui, Kinetic sailed onward to Australia, completed the 2006 Sydney Hobart race and then sailed home, a round trip of over 17,000 nautical miles. Kinetic's 2010 Vic-Maui overall race-winning crew included five adults and four teens, and Kinetic's 2012 Vic-Maui team squeezed out another division win. Preparing for the 2016 Vic-Maui, Kinetic will sail in the Southern Straits, Oregon Offshore, Swiftsure and Van Isle 360 races.

This will be Kinetic's sixth ocean race to Hawaii. It is also the Half Century mark for Vic-Maui. We're in it for the challenge, adventure and teamwork, and the great people and parties in Lahaina!

Salient
Salient is a Beneteau First 40.7 from West Vancouver Yacht Club. Skipper Brad Marchant and the technical team at First Yachts Services Inc. have been assisting many Vic-Maui participants in preparing their boats for this fantastic race for over a decade, and as such are inspired to get in on the action for this epic Half Century event!

Salient will have aboard an international team of passionate sailors including one of Maui’s own, Bo McKuin, who is looking forward to sailing into his home port in July 2016. Salient and her crew hope to inspire other Beneteau First 40.7 owners to a fleet race to Maui!

Let the winds fill in. Safe travels, everyone.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour and catch the Trade Winds in your sails.” Mark Twain

Kraken
Kraken is a Beneteau First 40.7 sailing for the West Vancouver Yacht Club. The boat's racing history extends from Southern California and Mexico where she was raced under her former name Sorcerer IV, to the Vancouver area where she has been racing since her arrival in 2013. Kraken will be participating in the 2016 Vic-Maui as well as a number of the qualifying races such as Southern Straights and Swiftsure in 2015 and 2016.

Kraken's Krew consists of Skipper Mark Malecek, family members Annette, Karl and Alex, and local sailors Darryl Thomas, Brahm Martz, and Tony Neumeyer. All of the crew share in the commitment to pursue adventure and are presently taking up the challenge of planning, preparing, training, and team building. The group is looking forward to the adding the 2016 Vic-Maui to their list of successful accomplishments, and to the party on the other side of the ocean that they have heard so much about.

Miles
Hailing from Vancouver, BC, 2016 will be Miles' first entry into the Vic-Maui International Yacht Race. Her crew has a wide variety of experience; including extensive Vancouver area racing around the cans, Vic-Maui qualifying races and various other offshore racing and cruising. Miles (skippered by Andrew Buttjes) will race in Southern Straits 2015 & 2016, Swiftsure 2015 & 2016, as well as other distance races in preparation for the 2016 Vic-Maui.

Several of Miles' crew knew Don Byrne -- long-time Vic-Maui Communications Officer prior to his passing in 2002 -- and consider it an honour to be competing in this race that Don put so much of his heart and soul into.

While the Miles team will be charging to Maui as fast as possible, they are sure to find some time along the way to listen to some great music (including Miles Davis, of course) and hopefully catch a few fish.

Ion
Ion, a Beneteau 43 from Nanaimo, BC and skippered by Bill Jones, is ready to take on the challenge of racing to Maui and sailing back safely in 2016. The skipper is a veteran of five Van Isle 360’s and several Swiftsures and Southern Straits races. Score three Oregon Offshore adventures as well, and a Vic-Maui seems the obvious “next step.”

While only one member of the crew has done the Vic-Maui race before, the team has been practicing hard and Ion's preparation for the event has been evolving over the past couple years.

Turnagain
2016 will be Turnagain’s second trip to Maui. After an exciting race and delivery back to the mainland in 2014, it was easy to be “talked into” racing again in 2016. The entire crew are looking forward to another great adventure sailing to Maui. Some close competition and the parties in Lahaina were a highlight of our race in 2014 and we are expecting that the 50th-anniversary race will provide even greater competition. Turnagain (skippered by Travis McGregor) will be participating in the Oregon Offshore 2015 and 2016 as well as the Swiftsure 2016 races in preparation for the Vic-Maui 2016 race.

The 2016 Vic-Maui International Yacht Race is open for early entries

Online entry for the 2016 Vic-Maui is now open at Official Notice Board and Online Entries.

The early entry time window runs from March 15, 2015 to September 15, 2015; the final entry deadline is February 3, 2016.

The Notice of Race has been published for the 2016 Vic-Maui International Yacht Race. It is available for download: click here for Notice of Race.

Appendix A to the Notice of Race has also been published. It is available for download: click here for NoR Appendix A.

Vic-Maui is celebrating the Half Century mark in 2016. We invite you to join us!