Red Sheilla Sailing

Race History Vic-Maui is celebrating the Half Century mark in 2016. The first Vic-Maui was sailed in 1965. The race was a dream of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club member JG (Jim) Innes who at that time was a Captain for Canadian Pacific Airlines. Jim talked for years about the idea of such a race originating in Victoria and ending some 2308 nautical miles away in Maui. He convinced three other skippers to start with him off Brotchie Ledge in 1965. With Jim in his Lapworth 36' "Long Gone", there was Lol Killam of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club with the 45' sloop "Velaris", Ron Ramsay of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club with the 45' ketch "Norena of White" and Boo Paskel from Seattle Yacht club with his 73' ketch "Tatoosh". The 1965 race and weather were typical; Westerlies in the Juan de Fuca Strait, a left turn down the coast to about the latitude of San Francisco followed by a right turn under the North Pacific High and a gybe with the northeasterly trade winds filling spinnakers for the sun run to Maui. Three boats finished the race some 15 days later at Kahalui Harbour on the north coast of Maui. The fourth boat "Tatoosh", having used the iron spinnaker, greeted the three arrivals with Mai Tai’s. During their stay in Maui they met up with the originators of what would become the Lahaina Yacht Club. Upon returning to BC waters both Jim and Lol proceeded to convince the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and the newly organized Lahaina Yacht Club to jointly sponsor the Vic-Maui International Yacht Race. The second Vic-Maui was sailed in 1968 with some 14 boats entered. Bill Killam's Porpoise III swept the fleet first to finish and first on corrected time. She took 17 days, 6 hours and 50 minutes. The race, heralded as a FUN RACE has encouraged both the ardent racer and the cruiser-racer. It has been held every second year since 1968, with 2016 being the 26th Vic-Maui race. The number of entrants has ranged from as few as 4 to as many as 37 boats. The elapsed time record has been broken many times since 1965. The current record holder "Valkyrie", skippered by Gavin Brackett and sailing for the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, completed the 2016 race in 8 days, 9 hours, 17 minutes and 50 seconds, crushing the previous record of 9 days, 2 hours, 8 minutes and 27 seconds which was set in 2000 by "Grand Illusion", skippered by James McDowell of the Lahaina Yacht Club. JG (Jim) Innes passed away on November 9, 2001 and Vic-Maui continues as part of his legacy.

Red Sheilla Training

Red Sheilla delivery trip from Lahaina Maui to Captain's Cove Marina (home) July 30 - Aug 15, 2012.