More Racing on Puget Sound: the South Sound
It is truly amazing how many racing opportunities sailors have on Puget Sound, and many of these opportunities have little to do with Seattle. Last time, we discovered racing in West Sound. Now let the incoming tide take us down past Gig Harbor and through the Tacoma Narrows. Believe or not, we found the SSSS, the South Sound Sailing Society which is “a boating club dedicated to sailboat racing and cruising on southern Puget Sound”.
Headquartered in Olympia and founded in 1971, the club hosts races, cruises, and sailing related speakers around the year. Most importantly, SSSS co-sponsors (with the Olympia Yacht Club) the popular Toliva Shoal Race which coincides with Presidents’ Day weekend in February and is part of the Southern Sound Series. The other three races in this series are: The December Vashion Island Race (sponsored by the Tacoma Yacht Club), the Duwamish Head Race (sponsored in January by the Three Tree Point Yacht Club), the Islands Race (March, Gig Harbor Yacht Club).
SSSS also sponsors both Spring and Fall afternoon race series as well as the South Sound Islands Series between October and December and the South Sound Inlet Series between January and March, in addition to Wednesday evening races, Jack&Jill Race and single-handed races, and a Spring Regatta (this year on May 17). In early April (this year the 5th and 6th) there will also be the “Maclean Memorial Races”, a two day event consisting of a race between Olympia and Gig Harbor on the first day and Gig Harbor to Olympia on the next (of course with a party in between!). Check out these races on the Web site.
Can this racing program compete with what is going on around Seattle or other parts of the Sound? One should think so!
