_ Page BA, October 4, 1979- Sunday News

By KARL! BEGRICH It was 1200 0 Yclock. sharp,

The starting gun for the . wooden boat regatta ‘kept

quiet.

How could a race: begin, when over 50 per cent of the -participating boats were stili trying. to. squeeze - through _ the narrow opening of Port Townsend harbour? oo

We muncevered Schera- lee_between classy -sloops, -

ketches and schooners into a favourable position for the ‘race. At least we tried, but so many boats surrounded us

“navigation| when Scheralee wound .its way through the narrow seven-mile long ‘channel. _

The “genig - village La Conner was a welcoming stopover for a couple of

‘ hours. We browsed through

a variety of antique shops,

had lunch and waited for the & tide to be in our favour. We

motored under two bridges at the end of the channel. A misleading marker put us too close to shore. The depth- sounder indicated suddenly four feet. Only a sharp turn to port save us_ from grounding.

- that nobody could find the sommittes:boat, - a

on

The gun came ~unexpec- tedly,, at. 1208 o’ctock.

‘Skipper Brian Morse _

followed the general course, as it was explained | to. him ‘during the meeting at 1100 o'clock. But Scheralee . seemed to be the only boat that tried to follow the

_Treversed the engine, tried it _ - several.times, and the screw

_ the sight of any kelp.

The engine overheated. Our speed seemed to be reduced by.at least two knots

— long*sireams of seaweed dragged behind the boat. We

worked itself free. From now on we were more careful at

--designed—course.- Every- --—We left Anacortes to port .

other boat simply let the and found a quiet anchorage sheets go and enjoyed the. in Deepwater Bay on the fresh breeze’ abeam. I south tip of Cypress Island. couldn’t believe it. These Wild me. and barbecued - sailors didn’t give a damn chicken for dinner. We slept about any race. They were well.

just out to enjoy themselves. To hell with any

organized race. I had to laugh. [ve

never seen such disorganized sailors than this bunch of

salts — and everybody loved it.

~--Scheralee picked a private race against the giant schooner ‘Adventures’, and we cleaned her in that 10 knot breeze. But our victory lasted only a couple of minutes. The German sic ‘Blitz’ dashed past us like we were standing still. Colourful sails of all shapes and sizes tacked back and forth until 1600. The crowd ashore had ‘broken up by then, and it was time to hit for the docks. We sailed past the red marker that indicated the “Finish Line” and rang the ships bell. We had won the race - and nobody cared.

Monday, 700 o'clock. It was torture to climb out of the bunk that early - but the tides don’t wait. The needle pointed north, towards Deception Pass. Slack tide was at 1100 o'clock. Even though we made it in ime, a 3 knot current pushed un- noticeably to starboard and we had to increase the spin of the iron oar to pass the huge pillars of the two span bridge that crossed the scenic pass. We rounded the north ridge of Whidbcy Island, turned south into Skagit Bay and searched for the channel markers of the infamous Swinamish Channel. I realized the importance of coastal

WHEN DID YOU LAST CHECK UNDER THE HOOD?

The following morning Was another sunny day, but we could forget about any sailing. The wind was right up the nose, (nautical term). Time. was pressing and we had. to maintain course - 310

degrees: The rags stayed _-

‘around the boom. We motored between Orcus Island and Bellingham. The gourmet. chef felt that we were down. The engine drew on our nerves. Sausage rolls, scrambled eggs, hot chocolate and gingersnaps cheered us up. As a matter of fact, everybody crowded the galley, including the helmsman. Nobody noticed it until we were aiming straight for the rocks.

4

Bedwell Habour on South Pender Island, a quiet lost bay, was almost too beautiful to clear customs. I mean, somchow one doesn't want to be reminded that the law is with you at all times - when you want to be away from it all.

The wind changed to S.E. It felt good to be under sail again. This time wing on wing - all the way up the Trincomali channel between Galliano and Saltspring Island. By sunset we an- chored in Canover Cove on Wallace Island. We caught the ebb-tide through Porlier Pass next morning sailed for home. This seven day sailing adventure was almost too short. I had just gotten used to laying back!

RACING LESSONS

Learn how to race this year We offer a complete course of racing sinstructon by instructors who have won many topes Regisvation Bom Oct 31

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