Awesome first day on the VanIsle360. Off the dock by 8 with a fresh breeze blowing in the harbor at Nanaimo. Greg was on the helm for the first start of the race and he did a nice job of starting in clear air at the committee boat. Only a few boats in front of us that peeled away quickly to make room for us.

An hour in things had calmed down considerably and our navigator had plotted us an excellent course plan that took us on flier away from the rest of the fleet. Soon thereafter the wind took a holiday and we spent more time drifting than sailing. Fortunately it was a flooding tide which kept our speed over ground at just under a knot, but in the right direction.

By mid afternoon, after lunch and several sunscreen applications, the wind began to build. Soon we we’re seeing a steady 18-20 kts with gusts to 25. Our finish line forecast had been as late as 3am but this wind brought it down to 9pm.

We finished just before 9pm in 3 place for our division. We corrected up to 2nd for a great day. Then it was a 2 hour motor to Comox, while eating a fine meal prepared by our onboard chef John.

Special shout out to our navigator Eric for all the recommendations. It made a huge difference in our performance and you got lots of kudos on the dock. Thanks for being with us, even though you’re not getting sunburned in the process.

Looking forward to Day 2!