Val Hillers couldn’t have asked for a more relaxing way to spend her Tuesday afternoon.

The Coupeville resident visited Seaside Spa and Salon for a pedicure then took her time admiring dozens of colorful sails that dominated the seascape in Penn Cove.

“I don’t know anything about sailboats,” Hillers said. “But I love the look of them as they move over the water.”

Whidbey Island Race Week is making its 33rd annual splash this week, drawing visitors to the island for competitive racing that is billed as the premier sailboat racing event in the Pacific Northwest.

The Oak Harbor Yacht Club and Oak Harbor Marina is hosting the event, which started over the weekend with a new youth sailing competition.

Big boat racing began Monday in Penn Cove and Saratoga Passage and continues from noon until 5 p.m. each day of the week through Friday.

The event becomes somewhat of a spectacle in downtown Coupeville, where the colorful sails can be spotted from various vantage points.

Curiosity seekers looking for an intimate lesson in sailboat racing on Tuesday flocked to the Coupeville Wharf, where boats travel precariously close to the dock and battled for position in an attempt to literally take the wind from each others’ sails.

Tuesday’s winds were excellent, said observer Rich Hays, a novice sailor who was in town for an annual family vacation.

“This is great sailing,” said Hays, who lives in North Webster, Ind., but is from Lynnwood. “It’s not often they can get in this close.”

Hays said his family vacations to central Whidbey have spanned five decades. The trips often coincide with Whidbey Island Race Week, so he tries to get to the wharf to catch some racing.

He knows all the sailing terminology and shared it with his two sons Tuesday.

“I don’t sail that much,” he said. “It’s kind of like an armchair quarterback.”

Vickie Chambers has had a front-row seat to Race Week for the past five years. She’s a hot dog vendor and owner of Coupe’s Last Stand, which is located at the entrance of the wharf.

“We can’t wait,” Chambers said. “Every year is so cool. This year is a little bit different. There’s such a fabulous wind that they’ve been busy racing.”