Around 45 boats are due on the start line on Saturday, May 31 for the latest edition of the VanIsle 360 race. (Jeff Motley)

By Alex Rawnsley

start your sails

‘We really ran out of options:’ popular yacht race moving start line out of Nanaimo Harbour

May 31, 2025 | 6:24 AM

NANAIMO — A change in start line will mean a bit of a different look for a world famous race getting underway this weekend.

Around 45 boats will take the start line for the bi-annual VanIsle 360, starting and ending in Nanaimo between Saturday, May 31 and June 14.

Race co-owner Jeff Motley told NanaimoNewsNOW unlike past years, the race start will be out in open water on the eastern side of Saysutshun, instead of in the Nanaimo Harbour.

“With the harbor getting busy and the extra boats we’ve got now, we really ran out of options. The Port of Nanaimo has done everything they can to accommodate us…but in the past we’ve had to had the aerodome shut down for the sea planes, we’ve tried to delay the Gabriola ferry.”

Motley admitted the change was a “huge disappointment” but said the race’s growth combined with increased marine and flight traffic in the harbour left them with no options.

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Similar issues also prevented a Departure Bay start.

In the past, thousands had lined the waterfront to watch the large yacht sail out, however Motley said if conditions aren’t ideal the start can clog up the Harbour for too long.

“By moving it to the outside of [Saysutshun], now there’s lots of time to start, there’s a huge field out there to run a proper start line but it’s unfortunate we can’t get people from the Nanaimo waterfront out to [Saysutshun].”

Organizers did try and arrange something through the Saysutshun ferry, however logistics were a concern.

Hundreds of sailors will take charge of nearly 50 boats for the two week-long race which circumnavigates Vancouver Island.

Scheduled stops include Comox, Port Hardy, Ucluelet and Victoria, before returning to Nanaimo.

Motley said there’s a wide array of vessels taking part this year.

“We’ve got some very sleek TP-52’s, they’re the fastest racing boats here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve got a couple of them in the race. A lot of competitive boats, what they call J-boats. Royal Canadian Navy is competing with two of their boats.”

Motley added smaller, cruiser-class ships were also competing this year, including a boat built in the 1970s or 1980s.

Best vantage points out of Nanaimo will be at Piper’s Lagoon or Neck Point, however Mother Nature will determine how close to shore the ships get.

“A lot will depend on what’s happening that day…one of the things is whether or not Whiskey Golf is open or closed, the Naval weapons test zone and if it’s closed the boats will have to go further out.”

Typically favourable afternoon winds may also force vessels further out into open water.

More information on the race is available on their website.

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