Boating Portland

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This week we sat down and talked with James W. Christensen, winner of the Inaugural Oregon Offshore International Yacht Race, now in its 40th year. Jim and his crew sailed aboard a Morgan 30 named “Destiny”. There aren’t many written records of the race, so we asked Jim a few questions about that first Oregon Offshore 40 years ago.

(BP – Boating Portland, JWC – James W. Christensen)

BP – Hi Jim, thanks for taking time to speak with you.

JWC – My pleasure, it’s been a long time since that race…..

BP – How many boats sailed in the first Oregon Offshore?

JWC – I think about 15, I’m not sure of the exact number.

BP – who were some of the other boats competing that year?

JWC – Jack Gainer in his Cascade 36, another Cascade 36, our Morgan 30…we were in the lead pack most of the race…

BP – Who did you have as crew?

JWC – Dave French, my brother Duane Christensen, my son Curt, Mike Biermann and Gary Douglass

BP – Who organized the first race?

JWC – The first race was mostly organized by Jack Gainer and Dave French. They had been offshore before and we all sort of talked each other into doing that first race. Dave French gave us a lot of confidence that we could do it, and it would be a lot of fun, so we did it.

BP – What was the course?

JWC – Astoria to Newport.

JWC – It was kind of a loose start off of Astoria, as everybody knows, we had to time the start with the tide, then, once we were outside, we all just took off.

BP – No race committee or start boat?

JWC – No, we started around noon and finished at about 2:30 in the morning.

BP – How did you handle watches?

JWC – That first race was sort of a sprint, and we had a lot of adrenaline, I don’t think anyone slept, if they did, it was just briefly down below….we didn’t stand watches.

BP – What type of special safety or navigation equipment did you carry?

JWC – We carried a life raft and we had an emergency rudder. We didn’t have any navigation equipment other than an RDF (Radio Direction Finder), Compass, Radio, Knot meter and depth sounder. That was before the days of LORAN or GPS, we also didn’t have radar, it was really expensive for a boat that size. If it was foggy and we were near the beach, we listened for waves and watched the depthsounder...hearing waves crashing on the beach was usually a good sign to head offshore a little further....

BP – What was the wind and weather like?

JWC – Because we were heading south, it was mostly a reach and a downwind run. At the end of the race it turned light and southerly, and everyone had a bit of a tough time finding the mark.

BP – What? Why?

JWC – None of us had been there before except Dave and it was dark and a little foggy; we weren’t sure if Gainer went around the mark and he wasn’t sure if we did, but that’s all water under the bridge now…..

BP – Who finished first?

JWC – We caught Gainer at the mark and rounded ahead of him, he sailed outside quite a ways, but he beat us to the finish….we corrected out to first in class and first overall for the race.

BP – What type of sails did you use for the race?

JWC – Most of the boats were older IOR or other heavy boats. We used our ½ oz. & ¾ oz spinnakers, our staysail, blooper and drifter near the finish.

BP – What did you eat?

JWC – Honey Baked Ham & Beans

BP – What do you remember most about that first race?

JWC – Just the challenge of sailing offshore, and we had good wind and relatively calm seas…everyone was a little apprehensive about sailing offshore at first, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Dave French was a big factor in keeping us motivated, he was very enthusiastic about that race and it went a long way to keep us all “up”.

BP – Did you race any other Oregon Offshore races?

JWC – Yes, we sailed in the first five races. When the races went north, we had bought our Morgan 36 “Aggression” and won the northern version with that boat; we last did the race in 1981 aboard the Mull /Wilderness 40 “Horizon”.

BP – Any plans to do the Offshore this year or in the future?

JWC – No, not now…I’m playing a lot of tennis and spend less time racing these days (Author’s Note: JWC lives outside of Oregon now).

BP – Do you still own a boat?

JWC – (Laughs) Yes, I have the Wilderness 40 Horizon still, a NY 36 we spend some time cruising on, and ‘Turkey Wings”, a “winged” Kiwi 35. Too many boats, not enough time…..

BP – Any final thoughts about those early Oregon Offshore days?

JWC – One thing I’m sure hasn’t changed; the race is won or lost depending on which side of the strait you choose. Choose the right side, you’re golden…but choose the wrong side and it could be a long race! The middle never really paid off for us, it was either Oregon shore or hug the Canada side, depending on the winds and tides....That race always tightens and changes in 3 places primarily: 1) At the turn, 2) In the Strait, and 3) at Race Rocks.

BP – Thanks for sharing your memories about the first Oregon Offshore race!

JWC – My pleasure.