An increasingly popular race on Penobscot Bay is a pursuit-style race that takes place over a weekend. Thirty-five boats made the starting line of the Penobscot Pursuit Regatta in Rockland, Maine last weekend. The race started on time at 11:00am with the first (slowest) boats on Saturday just off the Rockland breakwater. The faster boats then started afterward between 11:00 and 12:15 and made their way up West Penobscot Bay over a roughly 25nm course that was mostly downwind. The fleet finished just outside Belfast Harbor with the majority of the fleet within 20 minutes of each other. A very nice 10-15 knot southerly wind helped the fleet make the journey in just over four hours. First boat to cross the line was KAHIKI, a J/24 skippered by Ken Russell at 15:00:27. All boats arrived at Front Street Shipyard to a wonderful meal, live music and plenty of refreshments provided by Rising Tide Brewing Company. On Sunday, the story was a bit different. The Race Committee postponed onshore immediately at the first timed radio transmission. Fog and light air were preventing an on-time start. The fleet made their way to the rendezvous point of Turtle Head near the north tip of Islesboro Island but after more lack of wind and some fog, the Race Committee decided to move south towards Seal Cove off Islesboro. The race committee was able to start the sequence around 1pm with a course of about 14.5nm with the last boat starting just past 1:40pm. A nice 5-8 knot southerly had filled in the bay, however, it wouldn’t stay and by the time most of the fleet had made it near Camden, the wind had shut down to 2-3 knots. Most boats kept moving and didn’t give up, however, and after about an hour of very light wind the evening sea breeze kicked up and brought the fleet home to a bell off Rockport Harbor which was the next mark of the course. With the unstable wind and a very late afternoon in progress, the race committee shortened course at the Rockport Bell with boats finishing between 5 and 6pm. Racing Class 3 saw Russell’s J/24 KAHIKI taking another second to win the class. For more Penobscot Pursuit Regatta sailing information, visit http://www.penobscotpursuit.org/.