J/122E Joyride tops Vic-Maui Race
by J/Boats 23 Jul 2018 03:35 NZST
1-14 July 2018
Victoria to Maui International Yacht Race © Event Media
The Victoria to Maui International Yacht Race, hosted by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and the Lahaina Yacht Club, got underway July 1st. The 2,308nm course went from Victoria, British Columbia to Maui, Hawaii.
The lone J/Crew sailing the race was the gorgeous J/122E Joyride from Seattle, WA skippered by her owner- John Murkowski from Seattle YC. They are one of the most successful offshore racing teams in the Pacific Northwest.
In the end, Joyride took not only class I honors, but she also won the Vic-Maui Race Overall. Joyride finished at 0959 hrs in the morning of July 14th Saturday; completing the course in 13d 2h 59m and corrected out ahead by 3h 6m. This was Joyride's first Vic-Maui and adds more silver to the trophy room after winning the Round Saltspring Race earlier this year!
It was a gorgeous morning in Lahaina, and after hitting the dock to the traditional call of the conch shell and the welcome of their families, the Joyride crew then celebrated with a swim off the transom. It was all fun until one of the family threw in a bar of soap as a reminder!
"The trip of a lifetime and everything that was promised" is how John, navigator Bron Miller, and Alex Fox all described their first adventure across the Pacific. The only negative came from Bron, who described the plastic littering the ocean as more intense than he remembers from past trips - a sad reminder to us all.