A 580-nautical mile sailing race around Vancouver Island has attracted two Squamish residents set on proving their merits in the northwest seas. Both John Gugins, who will skipper the Red Clover, and Jorgen Bysse, who will man the Carina II, are participating in the Cadillac Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race Invitational Saturday (June 16) to July 1.
"It's more than a sailboat race, it's a total experience," said Bysse, whose been invited to race every one of the event's six years. "It's the thrill of racing, the beauty of nature, and you have a comradeship that you don't have in other races. If something breaks down, everyone comes together to fix it."
The eight Squamish Yacht Club members that make up Gugins' are thrilled to have been invited, said Gugins.
"It's one of the must-dos that we've looked forward to for a long time," he said. "It's a fabulous race with all the challenges of sailing around the island, and visiting the communities and seeing the Pacific Northwest geography, we're really excited."
The crew is doing the race for the first time but the sailors are certainly no novices to the sport.
"It's been a busy year," said Gugins. "We've done the Southern Straights and Oregon Offshore races, and just wrapped up Swiftsure. It's a great crew."
The Cadillac Van Isle racecourse is broken into 10 legs and participants can expect warm welcoming ceremonies from residents at each stop with cheering crowds and gala dinners greeting them at every port.
Starting in Nanaimo, skippers will navigate a one-day haul to French Creek, then onto Comox, Campbell River, Hardwicke Island, Telegraph Cove, Port Hardy, Winter Harbour. Ucuelet, Victoria, and a late afternoon start will point racers back up island to Nanaimo.
"We're going to have to really look at staying out of the windless passages, and finding the best direction," said Gugins. "It's going to be very tricky in certain parts of the west side in the open to go in the right direction."
Bysse, a long-time Swedish sailor, has lived in Squamish for three years and is the only skipper that has completed every race since it began in 1986 by fellow sailing buddies, Wayne Gorrie and Steve Knight.
A lifetime of experience means that Bysse isn't concerned about the challenges of the sail, but he admits it's not always an easy ride.
"Let's put it this way, I've broken a boom, a spinnaker pole, and I've been knocked down a number of times. It can be rough. It's serious out there."
Bysse said working with the currents can be a major race timesaver, but hard winds on the eastern side of the island tend to make things difficult.
"We had one big blow one year, it was blowing up to 65 knots - those are hurricane winds," he said.
Bysse will sail on his new 37-foot racer cruiser boat, which he has owned for less than half a year.
"It takes one to two years to get to know a boat, and I've only had her six months, so we'll see how it goes," he said, admitting his knowledge of boats is extensive after a lifetime on the water. "I'm one of those few people who bought a sailboat before a car."For more information on the Cadillac Van Isle 360, go to www.vanisle360.com.
