An interview with Angela Krisinger about the Seattle Yacht Club's 2024 Grand Prix Regatta
by David Schmidt 22 Oct 2024 16:00 BST
October 25-27, 2024
Annapurna works their upwind game at the Seattle Yacht Club's annual Grand Prix Regatta © Jan Anderson (janpix.smugmug.com/)
If you race keelboats and live in the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle Yacht Club's Grand Prix Regatta should be on your radar. The annual event, which is taking place from October 25-27, 2024, regularly attracts the most competitive teams and boats in the area, and typically offers two days of windward-leeward racing and one day with a longer race.
To call this event an area classic is a bit like saying that Seattle has a reputation for rain.
The "Grand Prix", as it's commonly called, offers racing for boats with ORC and PHRF-NW certificates, as well as multihulls and One Design keelboats that are at least 24 feet LOA (with at least five entries).
Tides, mountain ranges, and wind-convergence zones often play a role at this event. Catch a clear-weather window and you can expect stunning views of the Olympic Mountains to the west, the Cascade Mountains to the east, plus Mount Rainier to the south and Mount Baker to the north; catch a rainy weather window, and you might get a good taste of what racing sailboats is like in the Pacific Northwest's rainy season (read: character building but still really fun).
I checked in with Angela Krisinger, the SYC's regatta chair of the 2024 Grand Prix Regatta, via email, to learn more about this competitive Pacific Northwest regatta.
What kind of entry numbers are you seeing this year? Also, how does this compare to other recent editions of the regatta?
Our numbers are trending to be in line with previous Grand Prix regattas. The Grand Prix is one of the area's most popular races and the entry numbers reflect that. There is a lot of racing energy in Seattle right now because of the [recently concluded] J/24 Worlds and the extended beautiful weather is keeping folks on a water a bit more. I think this will be one of the top years for the Grand Prix!
Are most of the entered boats from the Seattle area, or are you also seeing entries from other ports of call in the Salish Sea and beyond?
We have a few boats that will be coming down from northern waters, across a few different classes. The TP52 Shadow, from West Vancouver Yacht Club, had a great showing with the big boats during the [spring's] Tri-Island series, and we're hopeful for another exciting few days with that class.
We see several boats from the South [Puget] Sound that make the journey up, as well. Here's hoping that the tasty beverages at the after parties make it worth their trip!
Based on the entries, what class (or classes) do you think will offer the most competitive racing this year?
The J/105s in Seattle is a very competitive one-design class, and it's fun to see how they stack up against each other, particularly at the start, however the ORC boats always put on a good show!
What kind of racing format will this year's event use? For example, will it be all windward-leewards, or will there also be a longer race (or races) that feature off-angle sailing?
Traditionally, Grand Prix is a series of windward-leeward races where we modify the course throughout the day based on current and conditions. Also, we incorporate one distance race —on one of the days, but we like it to be a surprise.
Weather-wise, what kind conditions can sailors expect to encounter on Puget Sound in late October? What are the best-case and worst-case weather scenarios?
Just when you think you need to pull out all of the foulies, Seattle surprises you with 60 degrees and sunshine! That was the case for the Grand Prix last year! However, the year before, the weather was quite spicy. It all comes down to the wind.
Best-case scenario is that we have a healthy blow from either the north or the south. During that time of year, you can see 15 knots from the northwest on Friday and then six knots from the southeast on Saturday. That's one of the attributes that makes this race so special!
Puget Sound is notorious for its big tides. Do you see local knowledge playing a big or small role in the regatta's outcome?
We are expecting a big tide change during the races this year. Watching your SOG as you cross tide lines will be even more critical than usual.
What kinds of post-racing/onshore entertainment can sailors look forward to?
We've got some good stuff happening after the races! We'll be partnering with our friends at Corinthian [Yacht Club] for Friday night beers and on Saturday, SYC will be bringing pizza to Corinthian to feed the crews. On Sunday, we have a pretty special dinner planned for all of the racers at the Seattle Yacht Club's Mainstation... a little surf and turf, dark & stormies, and some live music.
It's the one day a year where sailors take over the entire building and it's a pretty fun evening!
Can you tell us about any efforts that you and the other regatta organizers have made to try to lower the regatta's environmental footprint or otherwise green-up the event?
We are happy with our efficient new mark set boats, use of PDFs, and compostable serving ware for Friday and Saturday.
Is there anything else that you'd like to add about this year's Grand Prix Regatta, for the record?
Seattle Yacht Club is so grateful to the entire sailing community for their ongoing support of our regattas, particularly the tradition of the Grand Prix. It's wonderful to team with the other clubs in the area so that Seattle sailors have lots of options to get out on the water. We hope that the Grand Prix swag and dinner will reflect how much we value each and every participant, and [we] look forward to many more Grand Prix races in the future.