This weekend is the Swiftsure International Yacht Race which is a long distance sailing race that starts and end in Victoria. There are a few different courses that go up the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards Swiftsure Bank, meaning all of these boats go directly past/around Race Rocks.

The wind and current was rough this morning and I don’t know much about sailing but it definitely didn’t look like a fun way to start a race! Before too long there were close to 100 (if not more) sailboats passing by and it was so neat to watch. Due to the race (I assume) the ferry MV Coho that travels between Victoria and Port Angeles had to detour and ended up closer to Race Rocks than I’d ever seen. Right as it was passing by, one of the racing boats ended up cutting in front of it. I’m not sure if that was purposeful or accidental, but it seemed far too close for comfort from where I was standing! That being said, everyone on both boats appeared to be calm, cool, and collected so its very possible that my perspective and a very zoomed in photo makes the 2 vessels look closer than they actually were. I’ll post them below and let you be the judge!

After from the race excitement died down and most boats passed by, I spotted another interesting vessel on the horizon…a submarine! I did some digging and I believe that this is an American nuclear sub that is based in Bremerton, Washington and if it’s not, then they sure look alike!