SYC Protection Island Race - 3 Weeks to Go
Pacific Northwest Yachts racing on the Puget Sound in front of Mt Baker. Dennis Pearce Photo
One of the most historic sailboat races in the Pacific Northwest takes place this year on April 29th when Seattle Yacht Club runs the Protection Island race. The 80 mile race runs from Shilshole Bay north out of the Puget Sound and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, around Protection Island, and back. Competitors are expected to complete the race before the 30 hour time limit expires.
In 1912, CW Wiley, the winner of the first Protection Island race, would have just barely made the current day time limit, covering the distance in 29 hours and 23 minutes in his sloop ‘Bat’. In those days the race was reported as 120 miles, possibly because it started and finished further south in Elliot Bay instead of Shilshole Bay, or maybe miles were smaller 113 years ago. We don’t know much else about the first edition of the race, and it is possible that it wasn’t CW at all, since his son George Wiley was known to be the owner of ‘Bat’ and CW’s boat was ‘Henrietta’.
Also unclear due to lost records is the fastest time to sail the course. We believe the fastest time for the race was set in 2017 by Lou Bianco’s ‘Crossfire’ at 8 hours and 42 minutes. The fastest time, also referred to as “line honors”, goes to the boat that finishes first. The Protection Island race is contested among boats of all shapes and sizes, so the first to finish does not necessarily determine the winner of the race. But it is pretty cool to go over the line first.
These days we would say the winner of the race is determined by AI. AI does not think it is fair that the biggest boat always wins, so it came up with a formula to calculate a winner using adjustments for how fast the boat should go. After applying such mathematical fixes, the corrected time is calculated, and the boat with the fastest “corrected” time wins the race. In 2023, William Weinstein’s ‘Terramoto’ had the best corrected time and won the race. Last year the first boat to finish was Alan Lubner’s ‘Zvi’, which are the new owner and name for, you guessed it, ‘Crossfire’.
The Protection Island race, run every other year by Seattle Yacht Club, alternates years with the Smith Island Race. These races could be thought of as tune ups for the biggest distance race in our region, the Swiftsure International Yacht Race held every year on Memorial Day weekend. This year the Royal Victoria Yacht Club will host the 80th running of the race since 1930. The race course starts outside of Victoria harbor and runs 137 miles out the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Swiftsure Bank and back.
The Swiftsure could be considered a tune up for two northwest boats: Philip Dean’s ‘Rush’ and Tolga Cezik’s ‘Lodos’ who are sailing in these races will then sail down to Los Angeles to compete in the 2025 TransPac race starting on the 4th of July weekend and finishing at Diamond Head, Oahu, Hawaii.
For more information: Contact: Jay Leon, Press Officer, 206-909-4800
About Seattle Yacht Club
Seattle Yacht Club is incorporated for the purpose of encouraging yachting and boating of all kinds, and the development of the recreational marine advantages of the Pacific Northwest.
Founded in 1892, Seattle Yacht Club has prevailed over the rough seas of wars and endured the battering winds of economic storms since its shabby beginning at a rickety boathouse dock. Along the way, the Club has adapted to our changing culture over the decades and centuries. Today, housed in its elegant Mainstation on Portage Bay, the Club is one of the premier yachting organizations in the world. Its Clubhouse and moorings, 10 Outstations, services, and social activities are second to none, and its financial position is strong. SYC is one of Washington State's oldest and most enduring institutions and in 2010, the National Register of Historical Places listed the SYC Mainstation as a historic resource.