Sunny skies and light winds: those were the conditions at the start of this year香蕉视频直播檚 Swiftsure yacht races 香蕉视频直播� trials that, for 80 years, have pitted sailors against each other in long-distance, often gruelling tests of skill, endurance and grit. 

Toting telephoto cameras, binoculars and foldable chairs, hundreds gathered along Dallas Road in Victoria on Saturday, May 24 to watch the participating yachts set sail. Each of the 98 boats, which range in size and style, from catamarans to monohulls, are taking part in one of three races: the Lightship Classic (138 nautical miles), the Cape Flattery Race (100 nautical miles) and the Juan de Fuca Race (75 nautical miles).    

While the latter two competitions take between 10 and 15 hours to complete, the Lightship Classic can span anywhere from 24 to 36 hours. 

Named after the Swiftsure Bank at the entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait, the races began in 1930 to test the skills of sailors in Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria. Today, they have grown into international attractions, drawing racers from around the world. 

Many of this year's the participants gathered in the Inner Harbour the night before the race, where they took the chance to rest, undertake last-minute preparations and chat with fellow contestants. 

Monica Nehls was one of them, who, sat atop the Mata Hari, a monohull registered in the Lightship Classic, detailed her excitement about the hours of sailing ahead. 

香蕉视频直播淭his will be my first overnight race, first offshore race, first race with a crew that I'm not very familiar with,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚'm really excited to see what it's like and test my mettle.香蕉视频直播� 

Nehls also made predictions about Saturday香蕉视频直播檚 weather, explaining the Salish Sea might not offer sailors much wind. 

香蕉视频直播淚t'll be a bummer if there isn香蕉视频直播檛 actually enough wind to see us through quickly 香蕉视频直播� it can get a little bit boring,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淏ut sometimes that's better than it being too spicy.香蕉视频直播� 

Victoria sailor Brent Jacobi, who sailed on last year香蕉视频直播檚 winning monohull in the Lightship Classic, strolled around the Inner Harbour, admiring the dozens of boats on display. He explained the lack of wind in the forecast might advantage some sailors. 

香蕉视频直播淟ight winds help the smaller crowd because when there's lots of pressure, the big boats just rip around the course and they're done,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淚t'll even the playing field a bit.香蕉视频直播� 

For those racing in the longer event, much of the competition happens when spectators can香蕉视频直播檛 see them. 

香蕉视频直播淪ome nights you have surprisingly good visibility if there香蕉视频直播檚 not too much cloud cover and there's a moon out,香蕉视频直播� Kirk Palmer, the event香蕉视频直播檚 chair, told Black Press earlier this month. 香蕉视频直播淚f it's cloudy and it's kind of dark and the visibility is poor, you're blasting along and you basically can't see anything.香蕉视频直播�  

Jacobi expressed a similar sentiment. 

香蕉视频直播淣avigating and steering a boat by the wind at night 香蕉视频直播� your eyes get blurry,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淵ou can only do that so long, so your shifts have to be short. You can really lose track of where the boat's at and what's happening because if you can't see land or anything, it's tricky.香蕉视频直播�   

The shorter races end in the Inner Harbour as early as 7 p.m. on Saturday, while the Lightship Classic yachts are slated to sail in on Sunday morning. Race officials in Esquimalt will keep track of boats crossing the invisible finish line between McLoughlin Point and the Ogden Point Breakwater.    

As for which boats will get there first, the competition is wide open, according to Jacobi. 

香蕉视频直播淚t's a mixed bag of boats this year,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淭here are no real hotshots.香蕉视频直播� 

But one thing香蕉视频直播檚 for sure: the winning sailors will have a lot of celebrating to do.  

香蕉视频直播淲e were exhausted,香蕉视频直播� said Jacobi, recounting his 2024 win. 香蕉视频直播淚t was a 30-plus hour race and pretty light winds at the end, so it was a struggle to get back after getting shit handed to us pretty hard at the beginning.香蕉视频直播�  

香蕉视频直播淲e had a bowl of chili down here on the dock and a lot of rum. I think I came home a little bit lit,香蕉视频直播� he added. 香蕉视频直播淎 lot of people on the dock are our friends, so that was even better.香蕉视频直播�