They knew they had nailed the start of the race. When Chris Maas, a retired boatbuilder from Seattle, and his brother Alex, who used to make high-end carbon tillers, glanced backwards after the start of 2021’s Yellow Island Race in Deer Harbor, Washington, they realized they had opened a sizable lead over the fleet, which was still scrapping for a whiff of breeze.
They were racing , a tantalizingly elegant and wickedly fast 27-foot wood/carbon daysailer, which Chris designed and built at his home on Center Island, Washington. For the brothers, observing the boat’s performance in light and fickle winds was an object lesson in adept boat handling cut nary a wake as she ran away from the rest of the race fleet.
