To promote the appreciation of sailing and foster a community and culture committed to advancing both sailing and sailing education in the Juneau area.
The race last Saturday started at 10am on the line made between Thalia, serving as Committee Boat, and the Marmion Island day mark. Weather called for light breeze of up to six knots and possibly rain. After a few weeks off due to the AIR, the sailors were itching to get off land, wind or not.
We’d like to extend an invitation to the SEAS membership to come out to the Island Pub this evening after GOTB @ 8pm to informally welcome home the skippers and crew of the boats that participated in the Admiralty Island Rally (AIR).
The crew line-up was as follows:
Quest: Chris and Louise Miller, with Wade Rogers as crew
Surprise: Anthony and Laurie Crupi, with their children Eli and Serena as crew
High Noon: Sean Boily and Sarah Lewis with young son Axel, and little dog Archer as crew.
Day 1: The 2014 AIR fleet of three; Surprise, Quest, and High Noon convened at Marmion in the early morning of June 21 and very little wind, elected to motor south until they found it - off Limestone Inlet approximately halfway to the evening mark at Holcomb Bay. That zephyr lasted a couple of hours and all were motoring across a sheet of glass by Midway Island. Ice was found and safe anchorage was located at Holcomb where Quest invited all aboard for a shared meal and desert as well as stories of adventure. I think it was a first for many of us to be on a boat that can so comfortably seat 7 adults and three kids around a table. Surprise set a crab pot.
Day 2: Calm, with the excitement being that Anthony caught numerous crab in their single pot and had a promise of a shared catch at day’s end. We all motored southward towards Pybus bay in a steadily intensifying rain, with little sign of wind until the Brothers Islands, where those who were motor sailing were surpassing hull speed with a following sea as they entering Pybus Bay. Many whales were seen that day. Pybus Bay anchorage at Cannery Cove was quiet with only one other cruiser in sight. Sean put an empty bucket on the aft deck for the night and was amazed that it collected more than 3” of rain in a mere 7 hours at anchor!
The forecast for Saturday morning’s Admiralty Cove race start was 90% chance of rain and a 10 knot Southeasterly breeze. SEAS racers motored down the Channel to the start line with a steady downpour of rain and not a breath of wind (except the kind a moving boat creates). As the 4-boat fleet of Loa’a Nalu, Haiku, Thalia & Optiminium gathered at Marmion Island for the start, everyone was suited up for the conditions and smiling at a nice breeze. Lyric (WR), serving as Committee Boat, would build anticipation for the start by voicing ‘5-second’ countdowns prior to each timing mark & hitting the horn on a couple others. As boats tacked back & forth below the line, the ripples on the water filled in along the Marmion end of the course and into Stephens Passage.
