A team of students from Victoria is proving that one doesn’t have to be well-established in age or finances to compete in world-class yacht racing.
Beats Per Minute, an Olson 30 that sails out of the Victoria Yacht Club, is about to take part in its second Van Isle 360.
The biennial yacht race circumnavigating Vancouver Island starts in Nanaimo on Saturday (June 10).
Beats Per Minute is skippered by Eldin Miller-Stead.
“I think we’re all under 22 now,” said Miller-Stead. “We’ve had the boat a few years now and we’ve been racing a lot. We’re usually the youngest team out there, everywhere.”
Miller-Stead, who bought Beats Per Minute with a friend in 2013, describes the Olson 30 as a quality but economically built racing boat that young people with limited budgets can purchase and be competitive.
“It probably wasn’t the right decision at the time, financially,” said Miller-Stead. ”We did split all the costs so it wasn’t that bad and then people who sailed with us pitched in a little bit as well, so it all came out in the end.”
For big events, like the Van Isle 360, each crew contributes an equal amount toward the costs; the skipper estimated cost for logistics and safety equipment for this boat in the event at about $12,000.
“We did this race in 2015 and we had really limited shore support,” said Miller-Stead. “We didn’t really have anyone helping us and we invested most of the money into the safety equipment, but now that we have the safety equipment this year that money is going toward food and necessities, but we’re still running on a shoestring budget.”
Miller-Stead is a machinist studying mechanical engineering at University of Victoria. His crew includes a junior geologist, a paramedic in training, a heavy duty mechanics student, another engineering student and others.
The boat is sponsored by UK Sailmakers and Miller-Stead said crews from other boats showed a lot of generosity to the Beats Per Minute crew in 2015.
“It was our first event and it was the windiest Van Isle on record, so it was really tough on the boat and everyone and it was really hard,” he said. “This time around we know exactly what to expect and we’re a lot more prepared.”
Miller-Stead estimates Beats Per Minute finished near last in the 2015 race, but the boat hit its stride in 2016, taking first place in its division in the Swiftsure International Yacht Race. This year Beats Per Minute took third place in the Patos Island Race and first place in the Southern Straits event.
“It was really, really good going this year, so hopefully we can carry this momentum into Van Isle … That’s what we’ve been focusing on, getting the whole team together to try and have a really competitive result,” Miller-Stead said.
The Van Isle 360 yacht race is expecting 32 participating boats this year.
The sailboats will gather in Nanaimo harbour and the race starts Saturday at 9:45 a.m. The first leg is Nanaimo to Comox. The arrival time back in Nanaimo on June 24 is to be determined.
For more information about the race, please visit www.vanisle360.com.