Count Down To The Start Of The Fourth Cadillac Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race
June 9 - 2003

The Count Down is on !!!! Start Day, June 14 - 10:30 am, is fast approaching!!!! Skippers and crews are busy with final preparations, studying charts and planning strategies for this two week race circumnavigating Vancouver Island, Canada.

This years's race is sold out and is the biggest fleet ever with 35 boats ranging in size from the 102 foot HMCS Oriole to the 30 foot J30 Limelight. All divisions start together on one start line in Nanaimo Harbour, and if the 20 knot winds which have been blowing here for the past week continue, it will be extremely exciting. Of the 35 entries this year 18 have not participated in the race before and only three boats, Bob Diehl's Santa Cruz 52, 'Diehler', Jorgen Bysse's Cayene International 41, 'Karina' and Wayne Gorrie's, F9A Trimaran, 'Redshift', will have participated in all four Cadillac Van Isle 360's. The boats will compete in three divisions - two monohull divisions and one multihull division.

Rounding out the list of entries is Olympic and World Champion, Ross MacDonald, in his Dash 34, Vaca Loca. The talent onboard this boat is a hot team of Olympic and world class sailors including Eric Jespersen and Marcia MacDonald. Eric Jespersen, won this event in 2000 in his Jespersen 30, Myrrh.

Among other boats to watch is the beautiful Jespersen built, 40 foot McCurdy Rhodes, 'Aeriel', sailing out of Nanaimo Yacht Club. This is a very well sailed boat with a very experienced crew. These guys have been there, done that. Aeriel, hot off a division win in the recent Swiftsure Yacht Race, owned by Bill Malone, was Division winner in the 2001 Cadillac Van Isle 360. Ragtime, also fresh from a Division win in Swiftsure, and Il Pellicano a pair of Santana 35's, will also be duking it out on the course. Ragtime, owned by Paul Watson of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, competed in 2001 Van Isle 360 placing third in Division, and Il Pellicano is owned by the previous PRO of the race, Gord Shoquist. This should be some good racing.

Div 1, looks extremely competitive and it's anyone guess who will win. Two Santa Cruz 52's, Steve Crary's ,'Mystic', and Bob Diehl's ,'Diehler', are the fastest rated boats in this Division of keeners. The J120, 'Time Bandit', owned by Bob Brunius of Orcas Island, WA narrowly missed first place in 2001 and is sure to have a bone in her teeth this time. 'White Cloud', the Cookson 12m, owned by Steve Johnson and Dave Lynch from the Corinthian Yacht Club in Seattle, is a rather impressive looking 39 footer.

In the multihull division there's a bit of a "cat fight" shaping up. All six boats, two catamarans and four F31 Trimarans, are very competitive and each has a good chance at the hardware. The F9R Trimaran, "3F", otherwise known as "Flip, Flop and Fly (I don't care if I Die)", is the rebuilt "3D". "3D" gained notoriety in the 2001 Van Isle 360 when she capsized off the west coast of Vancouver Island triggering a dramatic Air Sea Rescue which made international headlines. The boat was subsequently purchased and rebuilt by Tim Knight, manager of UK Sailmakers Northwest, and Sandy MacMillan. UK Sailmakers has been a long time sponsor of the Cadillac Van Isle 360, however this will be Tim Knight's first "kick at the cat". Other multihull entries include the Formula 40 catamaran , Dragonfly, from Seattle; the radically modified F31, now stretched to 33 feet, Cheekee Monkee, from Bellingham WA; Redshift from Nanaimo; Bad Kitty a very fast 35 foot catamaran; and Sauterelle an F9A Trimaran from Victoria, B.C.

Refer to the race website www.vanisle360.com for a list of competitors, boat biographies and other information.


The Cadillac Van Isle 360 is a 580 nm (nautical mile) point to point race circumnavigating wild and rugged Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada from June 14 to 29, 2003. Sailed in ten legs the course provides inshore, offshore and overnight legs through some of the world's most challenging and beautiful waters.