A crowd of onlookers enjoyed perfect conditions on the Campbell River waterfront and at Discovery Pier on Monday to watch the sailboats of the Black Press Van Isle 360 yacht race come in under full sail.
After a short delay from Comox, the boats set off at 9:13 a.m. Approximately five hours later the first of the yachts to complete leg 3 crossed the finish line at Discovery Pier. Leading the way into port for the night was Icon.
Most boats worked the beach close to Vancouver Island upwind all the way to get out of the current. The wind backed, and the boats approached Campbell River with their kites flying.
After a few of the big boats finished, however, the wind started to die, and it was almost glass by about 4 p.m.
Once in the channel between Quadra and Campbell River, the wind picked up a little more and the boats were helped by a few eddies off the beach.
Unfortunately quite a few boats didn’t finish the leg and many retired.
The sailors were then hosted for dinner at the Rip Tide Pub and the Discovery Harbour Marina provided moorage for the night. Tuesday morning they set off for Hardwicke Island and another feast hosted by Marine Harvest at one of their salmon farms.
From there the race continues Wednesday to Telegraph Cove and then tomorrow they’ll set off for Port Hardy before continuing round the end of Vancouver Island and setting off down the west coast of the Island.
Follow the race at vanisle360.com or on Facebook and twitter.