The weekend was shaping up to be a great one. After the wet and cold July, the crew of Haiku was really looking forward to some sunny sailing, a beach party, and some great camaraderie on the hook at Ad Cove. The forecast called for some light westerlies, which, as every Juneau sailor knows means there will be some decent breeze on the backside of Douglas, and probably some sunny weather.
After one of the wettest July's that anyone can remember, August arrived along with the sun. Just in time for the August 3, Skipper's choice.
The second Skipper's choice race started off with a choice: there was a beautiful westerly blowing out from around the backside of Douglas, but further down the course there was a strong easterly coming out of Taku Inlet, and a calm convergence zone in between. Surprise and Shoreless both chose to start at the Marmion Island end of the line and stay high to keep out of the convergence zone.
As the skippers met on the dock, the forecast and conditions seemed to foretell of an inauspicious beginning to the 2023 SEAS cup races for SEAS. The forecast called for 5 knots of wind in Stephen's Passage, building to a possible 10 knots in the afternoon. As all Juneau sailors know, this usually means it MIGHT blow 5 at some point during the day.
Indeed, motoring down Gastineau Channel toward the Marmion Island starting point for the backside of Douglas race, the forecast seemed accurate. The channel was grease. It was flat calm, with teeny-tiny ripples near Marmion, but no indication of better breeze.
Well, 2020 sure has been a downer, but these sailor's aren't going to let that stop them from having some fun. The board met, and discussed how, in light of Covid-19 and social distancing, to hold the 11th SEAS Cup season kick-off race. So, they decided to kick-off the 2020 season by having a socially distant race. Boats could only be single-handed or crewed by people who lived together.
As the Saturday approached, the short-handed skippers began to look at the weather, and the forecast was calling from 10 knots and 2 foot seas, which every sailor in Southeast Alaska knows means: "It might gust to 10 somewhere at some point." So, the boats were expecting a long day of floating around alone on a lonely sea, a kind of metaphor for 2020.
Someone, Lori I think, mentioned that she had heard that morning that the national weather service was calling for potentially some westerlies later in the day, so the call went out over the radio, "Let's do the back side of Douglas". It really is the only one of the three choices for the Skipper's Choice. So, it was decided. We were going to race from Marmion to Pt. Hilda and back.