Swiftsure International Yacht Race: Fleming's Coruba leads 3 wins for Seattle yachts

VICTORIA, B.C. — Rob Fleming's Coruba won the Swiftsure Lightship Classic, leading three Seattle skippers to victory yesterday in the 60th Swiftsure International Yacht Race.

About 200 yachts participated in the two-day event over four courses.

Seattle skippers also earning victories were Pat McGarry's Dragonfly in the Multihull Division of the Cape Flattery Race and Charles P. Burnett III's Bandolier in a record performance in the Cape Flattery Unlimited.

Arne Hammer of Orcas Island skippered Norn to victory in the Juan de Fuca Light Division.

Fleming's Coruba won Swiftsure's premier event by about nine minutes over second-place Jam, skippered by John McPhail of Gig Harbor. Coruba's unofficial time was 21 hours, 43 minutes.

Two Seattle boats — skipper Jim Roser's Icon and skipper Marda Phelps' Marda Gras — ended up third and fourth.

Times were fast despite light early winds. "The weather redeemed itself at the end," Swiftsure chairman Bill Conconi said.

Nick Banks, Northwest racing icon from Victoria, B.C., and the crew of Dragonfly, the first boat to finish this weekend, called it one of the best Swiftsures in recent years. "Lots of spray, happy crew and a 3-1/2 ripper home," Banks said.

SWIFTSURE INTERNATIONAL YACHT RACE

Swiftsure Light Classic — 1, Coruba, Rob Fleming, Seattle; 2, Jam, John McPhail, Gig Harbor; 3, Icon, Jim Roser, Seattle; 4, Marda Phelps, Marda Gras, Seattle; 5, Rage, Steve Rander, Corinthian Yacht Club, Portland.

Cape Flattery Race (light) — 1, General Hospital, Andrew Verhoeven, Vancouver; 2, Swept Away, Louis Bianco, Seattle; 3, Time Bandit, Robert Brunius, Orcas Island; 4, Midsummer, Stig Osterberg, Port Townsend; 5, Snakeyes, Scott Wilson, 3 Tree Point.

Cape Flattery Race (heavy) — 1, Smoke, Don Sargent, Victoria, B.C.; 2, Winds of Time, Steve Clark, IYC; 3, Riva, Scott Campbell, Portland; 4, Tsumani, Sean Bethune, Seattle; 5, Opus, Joe Da Ponte, Vancouver, B.C.

Juan de Fuca Race (heavy) — 1, Corvus, Tom Kerr, Seattle; 2, Sisu, Jack Tillmans, Vancouver, B.C.; 3, Dreamscape, Garry Parenteau, Point Roberts; 4, Loadestar, Glen Mitchell, Vancouver, B.C.; 5, Contagious, Peter McComb, Vancouver, B.C.

Juan de Fuca Race (light) — 1, Norn, Arne Hammer, Orcas Island; 2, Morphine, Brad Butler, Port Madison; 3, Woodstock, Mike Woodward, Victoria, B.C.; 4, Mirage, Stan Perkins, Hood River.

Cape Flattery Race (multihulls) — 1, Dragonfly, Pat McGarry, Seattle; 2, Red Shift, Wayne Gorrie, Nanaimo, B.C.; 3, Sauterelle, John Green, Victoria, B.C.; 4, 3rd Movement, Patrick Spearing, Victoria, B.C.; 5, Bad Kitty, Karl Uthoff, Victoria.

Cape Flattery (unlimited) — 1, Bandolier, Charles E. Burnett III, Seattle; 2, Jeito, Tom Huseby, Seattle; 3, Occam's Razor, Rick Reynolds, West Vancouver, B.C.; 4, White Cloud, Dave Lynch, Seattle; 5, Incantation, David Ratner, Vancouver, B.C.

Unlimited Jan de Fuca — 1, Ariel, Robert Van Den Driessche, Victoria, B.C.; 2, Light Scout, Don Gillingham, Victoria, B.C.; 3, Etoile, Bob Matthews, Vancouver, B.C.; 4, Kahuna, Eric Nelson, Tacoma; 5, Magic Bullet, Nigel Martin, Victoria, B.C.