Our friends at Blur Sailing and RegattaTV sent us these videos of the action at the finish of Tjorn Runt, an annual summer event that takes a large number of sailboats in close proximity to a great many very solid bits of the planet.

Tjorn Runt winner, the J/109 Blur. Photo by Bo Bergqvist

Tjorn Runt winner, the J/109 Blur. Photo by Bo Bergqvist



The first video, while very blurry, shows some boats having more success than others threading the needle through a narrow gap in the rocks. Although it may have been low tide, I suspect that this passage will no longer be recommended for boats with deep keels. One boat offers a technique that I don't recommend for slowing down in order to drop the spinnaker. Another shows how to use its keel as a depth sounder on both sides of the channel in one passage. Another shows in rapid succession how to hit the rocks, get clear, and recover a crewman who has fallen overboard.



This video shows an exciting sequence in which a boat with spinnaker overtakes a larger vessel at precisely the wrong moment, and neither crew is likely happy with the result. This is followed by a close call that, more happily, shows disaster narrowly averted.



By the way, Blur Sailing blogger Peter Gustafsson won his racing class as well. Good job, Peter.

—John Burnham

Written by: John Burnham
John Burnham is a boat owner, leadership coach, marine writer, editor, and champion sailboat racer. He is the former editor of Sailing World, Cruising World, and boats.com.