It may be sitting at the Squamish Yacht Club now, but soon the Red Heather, manned by a team of eight locals, will be racing through the waters of the Pacific Ocean competing in the Swiftsure, the Oregon and Vic-Maui International Offshore Yacht Races, all taking place this summer.
The local crew consists of skipper John Gugins, tactician Cliff Wood, sail trimmers Peter Hotston and Caitlin Gugins, navigator Derek Smith, and foredeck crew Dave Rathlef, Dave McPhee and James Retty.
The team has worked with the boat for a year and a half but its racing experience goes back 20 years. Their three races this summer will take them along the Oregon coast back to Victoria, from Victoria to Sooke and back, and their biggest race will take them from Victoria to Maui in (hopefully) 12 days.
According to the skipper, the Red Heather crew will have to sail smart this summer to succeed in their events.
"We will be trying to make the best decisions based on weather data and wind reports," said Gugins. "We make these decisions on an hour by hour basis."
To prepare for the race the group will be working on the boat every weekend and practicing their sail handling, changing up and down from bigger to smaller sails.
"We have 18 sails, each different sizes, so we will be practicing using them all, in the most efficient way possible," said Woods.
Gugins said the opportunity to race adds competitive excitement to the yachting experience.
"It's a great thrill to drive a boat down wind and surf a wave," he said. "The whole crew coming together for the common goal is really fun. You are competing against other crews and vessels but when you finish there is quite a bit of camaraderie."
