First entrant for the 2010 Vic-Maui signs in

by Vic-Maui News on 2 Oct 2009 The Vic-Maui race committee is pleased to announce the first entrant for the 2010 Vic-Maui International Yacht Race. Sailing for the Waikiki Yacht Club and skippered by Jim Innes, the first entrant for the 2010 Vic-Maui race is Red Sheilla, a Beneteau 49. Jim hails out of Surrey, BC and is the son of Vic-Maui's founder Jim Innes.

Filing Red Sheilla's entry papers early, Jim says that 'I've sailed on blue water passages between BC, Hawaii and the South Pacific several times. This will be my second Vic-Maui race and I'm very much looking forward to continuing the family tradition in 2010'.

The first Vic-Maui race was sailed in 1965. The race was a dream of Jim's father, RVYC member Jim Innes, who at that time was a Captain for Canadian Pacific Airlines. Jim apparently talked incessantly about the idea of such a race originating in Victoria and ending some 2308 nautical miles away in Maui. He 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 RVYC 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 race and the weather were typical for most of the races to follow. Westerlies in the Juan de Fuca Strait, left turn down the coast to about the latitude of San Francisco followed by a right turn with the northeasterly trade winds filling spinnakers and the downhill sun run to Maui. Three boats finished the race some 15 days later at Kahalui Harbour on the north coast of Maui with the fourth 'Tatoosh', having used the iron spinnaker greeting the three arrivals with Mai Tais.

During their stay in Maui they met up with the originators of what would become the Lahaina Yacht Club. Upon returning to BC waters both Jim and Lol proceeded to convince the RVYC and the newly organized LYC to jointly sponsor such a race and thusly the Vic-Maui International Yacht Race was born. The first official race was in 1968 with some 14 boats entered. It has been held every even numbered year since 1968 with 2010 being the 22nd race.

Jim Innes passed away on November 9, 2001 but the race goes on as part of his legacy.

The race entry deadline is January 31st, 2010. Please visit the race website at www.vicmaui.org for more information.