This is my account of the 2013 Swiftsure Race: short version: Korina Korina finished third in Division 2: and seventh Overall, beating Icon, in the long course Lightship Classic.

The long version started with a fresh bottom launch on May 17th, three pickup crew from Seattle; three from the Victoria vicinity, and six who had actually sailed the boat before.

Light air forecast for the race, a decent start unwind, then some spinnaker work going west, highly unusual A 0600 rounding with Jam and Mardi Gras in sight, and Night Runner, last year’s winner, Terremoto, and Family Affair just ahead with Different Drummer just behind.

It was a spinnaker strike at. the lightship, and a beat back to the Straight, highly unusual. We had some more breeze on the Canadian shore, while most of the fleet went to Neah Bay and then across, a better plan, it turned out. Sailing a slightly longer course put us still behind Night Runner and Family Affair, with Different Drummer, at our heels.

Much to our surprise, we heard Drummer retire at about 1800 Sunday. Eventually, of 164 starters in Lightship, Cape Flattery, and Juan De Fuca races, only 31 would finish. Naturally, Night Runner and Terremoto being slightly ahead put them through a nasty tide gate at race rocks, along with most all of the eventual finishers, but not us.

We decided to go outside Race Rocks at night; ended up sailing under spinnaker very slowly right at it for what seemed like hours, in almost no breeze, then peeled off to the Race Passage when the boat just would not go to the right to go outside.

There is an expression on the Great Lakes, maybe here, too, that the last boat in is called the Pickle Boat. I do not know why, nor have I ever been on one, up until the finish of the 2013 Swiftsure Race. About 0250 Monday morning, someone questioned, what was the race time limit? I’d thought it was noon Monday, but truth was, it was 0600!. At that point we were 8 plus miles from the finish, at 2.5 knots, which computed to a 0559 finish for us!

Naturally the wind soon died, and the projected finish shot up to 1600 at one point. Not to be deterred I pulled out a- smoke, a flashlight and demonstrated to the assembly that, indeed, there was wind, on the opposite Gybe. Gybe we did, and proceeded to 600 yards of the finish, then stopped. Four Canadians insisted I’d cross if I went to the left, toward Esquimalt; I went right toward Trial Island, then ghosted ahead and to the left across the finish at 0521.

Although perennial competitor Wyeeast was close behind, they could not make the line by the 0600 Deadline, making us the very last finisher and Pickle Boat. Never did I imagine I’d be happy to be the Pickle Boat!!

Our competition was stiff: Night. Runner won overall, Terremoto was only 37 minutes corrected behind them, and both boats had almost two hours corrected on Jam, the winner of Division 1. We had good fortune in having a great crew, very helpful before, during and after the race. At one point Monday AM someone commented "I have a winch handle ready for the first person to say start the engine"! No one ever even suggested we wouldn’t make it.

We cleared Customs in Pt. Angeles, and arrived back on Vashon Island Tuesday AM.

NOTE: Tide usually goes right to left at Victoria Harbor (Counterclockwise swirl).

Jon Knudson, Korina-Korina