As RC looks out at the fleet battling very light winds at the west end of Juan de Fuca Strait, a little explanation of the situation is probably required.

 

Claiming that going for lattes caused them to start 4 minutes late on Monday, Ben Homsy’s Amun-Ra is now one of two boat that have leapt forward and are now reaching south along the Washington coast. But viewers need to be aware that Amun-Ra and Patrick Fenton’s Outbreak, along with Bruce Townson's Millennium Seagull and John McCarthy's Annie M are in the Vic-Maui Lahaina Class, a less competitive section that allows the use of engines (albeit with big handicap adjustment to applied after they finish). Clearly the two front runners have decided that getting out of the Strait was worth taking the engine use handicap.

 

And it appears that the fastest boats in the Vic-Maui fleet have retired - two are back in Victoria, and one is in Port Angeles. But viewers again need to be aware that Vic-Maui 2022 has two separate race starts. Doug Baker’s Peligroso, Gord Wylie's Phoenix and Gib Black's Lurline do not start until Wednesday at noon. It is expected these 3 will catch the fleet sometime before Maui, but weather will dictate how soon that will happen.

 

And speaking of weather, the fleet is hoping for some. The series of small low pressure zones keeping Victoria damp and cool have played havoc with winds in this early stage of the race. Getting out of Juan de Fuca Strait is proving difficult, but there is promise of improvement further down the course.

 

So before social media starts making silly conclusions, let the race develop over the next couple of days and see what happens.