This year’s Fourth annual Howe Sound Downwind Challenge (HSDC) will be held Saturday July 26th from
Porteau Cove to the Nexen lands in Squamish. The course is an exciting surfing run with amazing scenery
featuring the Squamish Chief and the rest of the sea to sky corridor. July and August feature some of the best
and most consistent winds running up towards Squamish as the valley heats up during the day. The course will
finish on the sandy beach at the Nexen lands, and will be wrapped up as last year with a post race party at the
Howe Sound Brewing Company. Come join us for an exciting day of racing, which will see paddlers
racing fresh, and not exhausted from a grueling OC6 race the previous day. Please refer to www.fcrcc.com/howe [1] for more information.
Note that all paddlers will race en masse, men and women, at 1.00pm.
This event features athletes from the northwest racing solo outrigger canoes. The canoes are characteristic in
that they feature an outrigger on the left side of the boat for added stability. The boats are approximately 7meters
long and weigh approximately 12kg. The sport has a huge following along the Coasts of Canada and the United
States, Hawaii, Polynesia, Australia and New Zealand (among others). For more information on the sport of
outrigger canoeing: www.canadianoutrigger.com/links.cfm [2].
Event Organizer:
Steve Palmier: H: 778 892 2480
Schedule of events:
11:30am Registration Opens (Porteau Cove)
1.00pm Men and Women Combined race start (Porteau Cove)
2:30-3:30pm Race finish (approx) (Squamish)
4.30pm Howe Sound Brew Pub for Burgers and Awards!
Entry fee:
$30/person
Includes registration, post race buffet at the brewpub, and door prizes.
Directions to finish:
Travel north on Highway 99 from Vancouver to the town of Squamish. Turn left off the highway at the
main set of traffic lights (at the McDonalds) onto Cleveland Ave. Go 2 blocks, turn left, 1 block, and turn
right on Logger’s Lane. Follow this road to a beach at the end of the road (It’s at the Nexen lands with
sandy launch and lots of parking!!).