The 2022 Martin Marine Round Bowen Race set sail at exactly 10 am Saturday, June 11, as more than 100 boats took off from the Cove heading counter-clockwise around the island in one of the west coast’s largest mass start lines.
The wind was blowing hard throughout the morning and into the afternoon, leading to a unique phenomenon: a spinnaker start and spinnaker finish. Many long-time observers and participants of the race said it was a sight they’d seen very rarely, if ever.
The boat with the top adjusted time was the Lark, sailed by skipper Paul Arcoite from Fernie, with a scored finish of 4 hours, 1 minute, 43 seconds.
Bowen skippers who took part in the race include Allard Ockeloen aboard Seamist (4:22:33), Nigel Tunnacliffe aboard Voila (4:13:43), Bill Kitchen aboard Terna III (4:25:43), John Turner aboard Five Feathers (5:23:35), and Brad Hawthorn aboard Brigadier (6:07:11).
Full results by category are available on the Bowen Island Yacht Club website.
The race was followed by an after party on the USSC Marina lawn, with barbecue dinner and a live music performance by the band Black Molly.
