Here’s the route for 2018. The Raid proceeds from south to north. Click on legs (orange = a.m.; purple = p.m.) for more details. Click upper right corner icon to view full-size chart.
The course & schedule
The 2018 course traverses the northern Strait of Georgia from French Creek (just north of Nanaimo) to the edge of Desolation Sound (where summer water temps are comfortable). On most days of the Raid, the fleet will race (or cruise) through two legs: one in the morning; one in the afternoon. Here’s a text-version of the daily schedule:
Day 1. 20th (Mon)
Leg 1. Start at French creek marina, Vancouver Island, race to Sangster islands. 8nm
Leg 2. Sangster Island > Long Bay, Jedediah Island. 8 nm
Day 2. 21st (Tue)
Leg 3 Jedediah > Finnerty Islands. 8 nm. lunch
Leg 4 Finnerty Islands > Tribune Bay, Hornby Island. 10 nm.
Day 3. 22nd (Wed)
Leg 5 Hornby Island > Millard Beach, Denman Island. 12 nm
Leg 6 Denman Island > Sandy Island. 8 nm
Day 4. 23rd (Thu)
Leg 7 Sandy Island > Savary Island. 21 nm
( a big day, so an early start and a brown bag lunch, served underway)
Day 5. 24th (Fri)
Leg 8 Savary Island > Spillsbury Point, Hernando Island. 8 nm
Leg 9 Hernando Island > Shark Spit, Marina Island. 8 nm
Day 6. 25th (Sat)
Leg 10 circumnavigate Marina Island. 9.5 nm
Leg 11 bonus secret mystery leg……
Day 7. 26th (Sun)
Leg 12 Shark Spit 32nd Full Moon Regatta. 9.5 nm
Boats will typically raft together for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and will either raft up at anchor for the night with the motherships, or go ashore to camp.
The daily cycle of Salish Sea glee
- 07:00 boats and crews raft together for breakfast
- 08:00 skippers meeting
- 09:00 start the morning leg
- Boats race under oar, or sail, or pedal or paddle, until the designated spot
- Lunch served on the motherships
- Afternoon leg starts shortly after the slowest boats arrive
- Crews then race to the predetermined spot for the evening
- Spend the night either:
- at anchor, alone with their thoughts and blisters
- rafted with the motherships, sharing stories of the days triumphs and losses
- camped on the beach, communing with B.C’s rugged wilderness, and the intertidal zone
The days will dawn bright and full of promise, and the cycle will be repeated. A score will be awarded for each leg according to the order of finish (1 for first, 2 for second…) The boat with the lowest score at the end receives eternal glory, and a nifty prize…