R2AK 2019 Wingnuts Out

Alex and I  tried again, made it farther,  and dropped out with dignity intact. We sat in Otter Cove at the north end of Discovery Passage for three days making runs around the corner into Johnstone Strait. Trial one gave us 15 knots and lumpy seas with the expectation of it building fast. We about-faced and ducked back into shelter. We tried again later under calmer winds only to have missed the tide and had difficulty making headway. Number three made the decision for us. With 25 knots of headwind and the full force of the current with us we ploughed through a series of standing waves which dumped water into the cockpit. We turned around to run with the 25 knots, but against the current and met another series of standing waves. We fell sideways off a face and landed on our side in the trough.  We both stayed in the boat and we sailed carefully and very slowly against the full force of the Inside Passage to the first dock we saw. We landed and clung on. It was a private dock,  but the caretaker was happy to see it being used and gave us permission to stay.

Our track of the three runs

Most everything was secured and stayed in place down below. A few loose books and my toothbrush were found opposite where they usually lived. That night we were slammed against the dock by swells coming down from the north and we were awake all night adjusting lines and fenders to keep the floating dock from landing on top of Village Girl.

By morning Team R2Ache passed us going north and Team Angry Beaver who won the race a week before sailed past us going south. We did the math and realized that the winds would need to work with us perfectly for the following 12 days in order to beat the Grim Sweeper (sweeper boat whose job it is to catch and disqualify.) We wouldn't be able to make the mileage so we bowed out for a second time.

The morning of Sunday June 16 we caught a south-flowing current and made it into Brown Bay with the help of a tug boat captain named Lundquist. Minutes after leaving the rollercoaster dock that morning we crossed paths with Team You Do Stuff or You Don't, the last boat in the fleet. It was an open gaff-rigger with one crew member. A few hours after our crossing he was pulled safely from the water by a local fishing boat. It is unknown whether his boat was lost after the swamping. Alex and I suspect he met the same standing waves which  send us running for safety.

Similarly Team Holopuni in a Hawaiian style canoe was rescued by the Canadian Coast Guard early this morning in Dickson Entrance near Ketchikan. They abandon their boat, but from their latest update the tracker is still working and they are planning a salvage.

Teams Wingnuts and Holopuni at the start in Port Townsend

Wingnuts ringing the bell in Victoria after stage 1