Off to the races, but no rush: Downtown Sailing Series kicks off

Looking at the dozens of other sailboats drifting by on Elliott Bay, Craig Davey and wife Mari Benson-Davey were all smiles.

Davey grew up in Australia and had sailed on lakes but never saltwater, and his wife had never been on a sailboat.

"I've always wanted to do this," Davey said. "I'd love to get my own boat and sail back home someday."

The Lake Stevens couple was among the several hundred people out for the first night of this year's Downtown Sailing Series. Every Thursday evening during the summer, 70 or so sailboats gather off the Elliott Bay Marina breakwater for what has become one of the more popular boating events on Puget Sound.

At first glance, the series looks just like any other sailboat regatta. A tightly packed group of boats jockey for position, an air horn sounds and colorful sails unfurl, propelling a parade of vessels along the Seattle waterfront as spectators watch from hotels and condominiums.

But that's about where the comparison ends. Because what makes the Downtown Sailing Series different is that it isn't much of a race at all.

In fact, for many skippers, the point isn't to win; it's to have fun.

Take a closer look and instead of highly trained crews you'll mostly see boats packed with people who couldn't care less who's ahead or behind. Performance wear? T-shirts and shorts. Crew members are more likely to be holding a glass of wine than a jib sheet.

And if the wind dies, no worries — racers are allowed to crank on their boats' engines and finish the 90-minute race under power.

Dwight Jones, the general manager of Elliott Bay Marina, launched the idea of the Downtown Sailing Series in 2004. Jones was tired of hearing sailors tell him they were relocating to Shilshole Bay because it was more sailboat friendly. Jones looked out over his sprawling marina, saw all the masts and decided he was going to do something to change that impression.

He knew the success that Lake Union's Tuesday night Duck Dodge was having in getting boats out for a low-key race and figured there was room to do something similar along the downtown waterfront. So he sat down with racing gurus Bruce Hedrick and Tom Rutten of Northwest Yachting magazine to hash out the details.

Mastering the intricate rule of sailboat racing can take years — and can be intimidating to novice sailors. That's why Jones and crew boiled it down to just three primary rules:

• Don't hit anyone.

• Finish by 8:30 p.m.

• Have fun.

The first race that June drew 34 boats. Within a few weeks, 70 boats turned out.

"That's when we knew were onto a sure thing," Jones said.

Bruce and Bobbi Campbell are veteran racers and unofficial Seattle sailing ambassadors; the pair regularly invite strangers out to sail on their Catalina 36, Evergreen Dreams, during the Thursday night series.

For the season's first race in early June their boat was fully loaded including four sailing newbies. As Bruce took the helm, Bobbi was busy in the galley, passing up platters of cheese and crackers, nuts, an assortment of beverages and her signature dish — deliciously mustardy deviled eggs.

About 10 minutes past the starting line, the race committee's powerboat pulled alongside and a crew member clambered to the side deck, carefully passing a plate of eggs over to cheers from both boats.

For Bobbi, who grew up sailing on Hood Canal and started racing in 1995, inviting people aboard is a way of sharing an activity she loves.

"Sailing is such a great community," she said. "We really feel it's important to show how wonderful it is to be out on the water. That's why I feel great about taking people out."

Davey and Benson-Davey got a ride on the Campbells' boat by submitting their names on the Seattle Boat Show website, run by the Northwest Marine Trade Association. Through its Grow Boating initiative, the association matches aspiring sailors with boats participating in the Thursday Downtown Sailing Series and races held Friday nights on Shilshole Bay during the summer.

For many sailors, Thursday evening really is just an excuse to take friends and family out on Elliott Bay to enjoy a little sailing, watch the orange light dance on the windows of downtown skyscrapers and then gather for free hot dogs and drinks back at the marina.

The after-party is a major part of the race's appeal. Every week, the staff of Elliott Bay Marina serves up about 450 hot dogs, a couple kegs of beer and cases of wine, paid for by a few business sponsors. As the sun sets, hundreds of people sprawl out on the lawn and mingle along the marina's main walkway.

And the race is not just for adults. Many families bring along their kids and teens, who help crew.

Joining the crowd after the season's first race, Irv Alpert was having a good time catching up with friends and listening to live music.

"I enjoy all our races throughout the year, but I really look forward to the Thursday night races," said Alpert, who lives on Mercer Island and races his J/130 all year. "You get out, you see everybody, it's not a long race and then you go have a hot dog and have fun."

The series has become something of a spectator sport for downtown dwellers.

For several years, Anna Cashman and her husband watched the races from the rooftop deck of their Belltown loft, joining their neighbors for what became a regular Thursday gathering. When the couple moved to Queen Anne, Cashman missed seeing the sailboats on Elliott Bay.

So one Thursday night last summer, the couple walked over to Betty Bowen Viewpoint in Marshall Park on the west side of Queen Anne. To their delight, they discovered that a group gathered at the park every Thursday to picnic and watch the races.

Though they're not sailors and know little about boating, they love watching the sailboats.

"It's so beautiful to see and so iconic Northwest," Cashman said. "As an onlooker from the shore, just to be able to see the boats with the colorful sails against the backdrop of the mountains, it's very peaceful. It just looks so beautiful."

Deborah Bach is the editor of Three Sheets Northwest (threesheetsnw.com), a local online-news partner of The Seattle Times. The site provides news, community and resources for boaters in the Northwest.