On a bright sunny Sunday afternoon, six boats set their sails and raced within the Prince Rupert harbour in hot pursuit of bragging rights.
Sailboat races in the area have been taking place since 1985, and on occasion sailors from Prince Rupert would go to Alaska to race there, or vice versa.
Cow Bay Marina manager Marty Bowles said that the enthusiasm for racing faded until a few years ago when he and a few sailors tried to revive the sport.
Bowles sets the course and keeps the times, while his wife skippers Wild Abandon. On Feb. 19, at 1 p.m. the boats lined up with five minutes to go. One boat — Moonshine — was slow to cross the start line as its skipper, Alfy Vince, was busy instructing his crew on their roles.
Although the other sailboats had a head start, it didn’t take long for Moonshine to catch up and move into first place with its bold black and white striped spinnaker (sail) captured by the light wind.
Moonshine recorded a finish of one hour and 27 minutes for first. Wild Abandon came in second and Footloose was third. There were two boats that didn’t finish the race.
The marina tries to organize a race at least once a month. This was the third race this year.
“The boats are always looking for crew. Anytime someone wants to get out there I’m sure someone can have a spot for them,” Bowles said.