{"id":69462,"date":"2019-07-02T20:49:52","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T00:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=69462"},"modified":"2023-05-06T22:55:17","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T02:55:17","slug":"adult-summer-camps-new-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/adult-summer-camps-new-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Adult Summer Camp\u2019s New Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/84313-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"J\/105 fleet\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/84313-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/84313-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/84313-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/84313.jpg 1500w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">The J\/105 fleet, which has grown in the Seattle area, is one of many classes being lured to the newly branded Point Roberts Race Week.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Jan Anderson<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>The future was looking grim for Whidbey Island Race Week. The annual July invasion of the quiet confines of the Washington island\u2019s Oak Harbor and Penn Cove was waning. What once decades ago numbered 150 boats petered to 60-something. Small boats couldn\u2019t get launched because the city wouldn\u2019t fix the crane. Bigger boats couldn\u2019t get into the marina because the channel wasn\u2019t dredged. National \u00adsponsors took a pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>It appeared the wind-delay water fights, shoreside volleyball and golf tournaments, epic bowling nights and bacon-offs in the campground would evaporate, as so many race weeks have around the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>But the soggy sailors of the Salish Sea had pulled the \u201cAdult Summer Camp\u201d from the jaws of death before and weren\u2019t ready to give up on it now. Race Week owner Schelleen Rathkopf and her advisory board decided a move to \nPoint Roberts in 2020 could spark a revival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Point where? Roberts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6sPSvjnq1-8' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve sailed here 30 years,\u201d says longtime Whidbey participant Charlie Macaulay, \u201cbut I\u2019ve actually never been to Point Roberts.\u201d He plans to sail next\u00a0year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>The name doesn\u2019t exactly ring a bell on the Pacific Northwest sailing scene, but it might well be the right place at the right time. The racing community knew a move away from Oak Harbor was coming, but conventional thought had it going to Anacortes or Port Townsend, already popular \u00adracing and cruising destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/8579-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Whidbey Island Race Week 2017\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/8579-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/8579-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/8579-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/8579.jpg 1500w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\"><em>Troublemaker<\/em> winning her class at Whidbey Island Race Week 2017.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Jan Anderson<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>The Point Roberts \u201csurprise\u201d is actually a very fitting move. The town is craving more visitors and an enthusiastic community is eager to make it work. In fact, it\u2019s much like Whidbey Island Race Week\u2019s beginnings. \nWhen boat dealer and chamber of commerce vice chairman Stan\u00a0Stanley started his race week in 1983, it was largely to generate excitement and commerce for the then little-known port of Oak Harbor. It generated that business for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Point Roberts is anticipating a similar boost. While it doesn\u2019t have the infrastructure of a naval-air-station town such as Oak Harbor, it does have beautiful campgrounds and Airbnbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>And there\u2019s already an away-from-it-all resort feel with parks everywhere and beaches galore. The famous race-week camping community will have several\u00a0options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>On the sailing aspect, Point Roberts has many key \u00adingredients to be a successful host. It has plenty of racing room for several round-the-buoys circles and options for longer-leg, cruising-class courses. Racing can be set up immediately outside the harbor, opening up the possibility for dinghy racing. The harbor is deep enough for TP52s and there is a 35-ton Marine Travelift and a 3,000-pound hoist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/63025-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Bat Out of Hell crew\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/63025-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/63025-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/63025-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/63025.jpg 1500w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">The <em>Bat Out of Hell<\/em> crew uphold the tradition of Race Week shenanigans.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Jan Anderson<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>The small port town is uniquely situated on the land south of the 49th Parallel on the tip of the (Canadian) Tsawwassen Peninsula, so one is either getting there by water from the United States or crossing a border. For sailors coming from the States that actually means two borders, getting into Canada, then crossing back into the United States. Organizers have anticipated difficulties arising from U.S. sailors with DUIs on their records not being able to get into Canada; the solution is a 15-minute ferry ride from Blaine to Point Roberts with no border crossings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Point Roberts presents a very different delivery from the various other sailing centers in the region. While Oak Harbor was a one-day delivery for Seattle boats, the 91-mile delivery to Point Roberts would take two days or a really long day for a big boat. On the other hand, Point Roberts is about 20\u00a0miles from Vancouver. It\u2019s an easy delivery from Anacortes, Bellingham and Victoria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Racers might also use Point Roberts as a starting point for a cruise after race week. The renowned cruising grounds of the Gulf Islands and Strait of Georgia beckon, and returning south through the San Juan Islands could be a fine cruise in\u00a0itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>One thing that will have to be confronted head-on will be the handicapping issue. While the Pacific Northwest is one of the original PHRF strongholds, for several decades now there\u2019s been a parting of the ways between PHRF-Northwest\u2014mainly in the States\u2014and PHRF-BC in Canada, and there can be small but significant differences in handicaps and a lack of cooperation between the two. PHRF handicapper Matt Wood anticipates that \u201cgood faith between both organizations\u201d will make it work. History, however, suggests otherwise. There\u2019s a growing big-boat fleet, and it\u2019s anticipated that ORC will have to be offered to attract the several TP52s that now call the Northwest home. And, of course, one-design fleets such as the J\/105s and Melges 24s have often used Race Week for their class events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>\n\n<p>One appeal of Point Roberts is it\u2019s not Whidbey\u00a0Island. After 37 years, the arena-type racing waters of Penn Cove was old hat for\u00a0veterans.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n<p>The Adult Summer Camp has cheated death already. Stan Stanley found the original sponsor with <em>Yachting<\/em> Magazine, so not only did Whidbey Island Race Week have money, but it had media exposure as well. Then came 1994, the year bean counters at Ziff-Davis decided Whidbey Island Race Week was just not making enough money for them and withdrew their support four months before the event. J\/Boats dealer Bob Ross came to the rescue with help from regional sponsors such as Fisheries Supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>One appeal of Point Roberts is it\u2019s not Whidbey Island. After 37 years, the arena-type racing waters of Penn Cove was old hat for veterans. There was the reverse-toilet-bowl \u00adcurrent and the lifts off the beach. Been there, done that. Because nobody has raced around Point Roberts, the newness of the challenge might be enough to attract some serious racers. And there are plans for serious dinghy racing, which could \u00adcertainly broaden its appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>On the social side of things, Rathkopf has aggressively changed Whidbey Race Week from its raucous-all-the-time reputation to a more family-\u00adoriented event with a sailing camp and special activities for kids, which will continue with Point Roberts Race Week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Over the years, the fleets shrank, harbors became shallower and hoists broke down; while Stanley and other Oak Harbor sailors shake their heads a bit about the move and Northwest sailors try to wrap their heads around new currents to learn, Rathkopf is taking a very positive outlook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPoint Roberts is the perfect venue,\u201d she says with the conviction of an organizer. Now it\u2019s up to the sailors to find out exactly where it is on the chart and how to get there.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pacific Northwest\u2019s once-glorious race\u00a0week relocates to start a new life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Kurt Hoehne","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20190702","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"159","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The J\/105 fleet, which has grown in the Seattle area, is one of many classes being lured to the newly branded Point Roberts Race Week.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Adult Summer Camp\u2019s New Home %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"5AM6NKDNJSX6XMCVZJLITKDNOU","arc_website_url":"adult-summer-camps-new-home\/","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[470,358,178],"class_list":["post-69462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-j-105","tag-pacific-northwest","tag-sailboat-racing"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}