Leg 10 Cadillac Van isle 360
June 30/03 - 1900 hrs.

Spectators were afforded an awesome view as the final leg of the Cadillac Van Isle 360 got underway off the Ogden Point Breakwater in Victoria. The wind was light and on the nose and to the delight of the hundreds of spectators, the pin end on Ogden Point, was the favoured end. While the water is deep here, the breakwater itself is an ominous obstruction and several boats were forced into near collisions with it and with each other. Protest flags were flying and Ross MacDonald's, Vaca Loca, was penalized according to the 20% rule.

Time Bandit, the J120, sailed by Bob Brunius was one of the unfortunates who was forced onto the breakwater with her boom almost wiping out a few spectators in the process. With the very light wind and current, it took several attempts and at least five minutes for the boat to clear herself, but eventually the main was backwinded and the boat backed off the concrete barrier with a huge cheer from the spectators The crew of Time Bandit were extremely composed, but then with 100's of onlookers, film crews and photographers all watching your every move and yelling free advice, they didn't have much choice.

Once again this last leg through the Gulf Islands which is wrought with hazards, currents and many, many options for courses, proved challenging. The light breeze faded in the evening forcing many boats to anchor to stop their regress. Bad Kitty, Mystic and Cheekee Monkee caught the tail end of the flood at Porlier pass and just managed to squeak through. These three boats found light breezes out in Georgia Strait and finished before 0800 hrs. the next morning. Dragonfly and White Cloud managed to make it to Dodd Narrows Saturday morning, finishing before noon. The rest of the fleet was left to wallow in a windless sea making their way to Nanaimo by every imaginable route. Lordelpus managed to make it through Active Pass and was the eighth boat across the finish line.

Havoc, the C&C SR33 who lost her rudder of the west coast had had a crude replacement rudder fashioned in Zeballos but managed to make it to the start line in Victoria, only to miss the drop dead finish time in Nanaimo by 1/2 hour. The Havoc crew showed true sportsmanship and tenacity and crossed the finish line under sail even though they knew it would not count in the end. 21 boats managed to finish this last leg.

The final awards presentation was held on Newcastle Island in Nanaimo Harbour and was a fantastic wrap up to the whole event. Many boats asked for the 720 flag to be flown. (For those who don't know, the 720 flag means twice around). Earl Charters, the medic onboard the HMCS Oriole, once again performed a traditional hoop dance, talk about an aerobic workout, this guy is awesome.

Leg 10 winners were Mystic, Steve Crary's Santa Cruz 52, with the Cookson 12M, White Cloud, taking second. Vaca Loca's penalty knocked her from 3rd into 6th place, and accordingly, no third place finish was awarded. Crossfire finished fourth.

Div. 2 winners, were Lordelpus in 1st place, Il Pellicano scooped second and the C & C 35, Meltemi, was third.

Div 3 winners were Cheekee Monkee, Bad Kitty, andDragonfly respectively. Cheekee Monkee was first to finish this leg winning the white flag for leg 10, Mystic crossed second and Bad Kitty was five minutes later.

Overall Scores will be posted momentarily, look for updates on photos, boat logs, etc. coming soon as well. Refer to www.vanisle360.com for more information.

June 30

Overall winners for the Cadillac Van Isle 360 are as follows:

Div 1:
First Place - Vaca Loca, Ross MacDonald; Second Place - Crossfire, Wayne Cross - Third Place, Evolution - Daryl Homan

Div 2:
First Place - Lordelpus, Matt Wagstaffe; Second Place - Ockham's Racer, Ron Jewula; Third Place - Il Pellicano, Gord Shoquist

Div 3:
First Place - Cheekee Monkee, Kim Alfreds; Second Place - Redshift, Wayne Gorrie; Third Place - Flip, Flop and Fly, Tim Knight

Fastest Elapsed Time -Cheekee Monkee

Tomorrow's leg starts at 1000 hrs off Amphitrite Point, and takes the crews down the Graveyard of the Pacific, to Victoria. For full results and photos see www.vanisle360.com

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.