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.
Most of us build up a lot of anticipation for our group’s annual solstice sailing adventure in the middle of June - be it the Spirit of Admiralty race in two legs with layover at Baranof Warm springs in the odd years, or the Admiralty Island Rally (AIR) on the even years which has traditionally followed the same course, broken up with evening anchorages all the way around the island. Both events cover over 200 miles of sailing territory with the broad spectrum of tides and weather, scenery and wildlife, that one may expect in Southeast Alaska. The Spirit is a more formal race, with crew w
Starting at 10:00 a.m between the committee boat and the North light on Portland Island, sail north up Lynn Canal. Rounding Bird Island, either direction, Skipper’s Choice. Finish in Favorite Channel on an imaginary line bearing 195 magnetic to, and within ½ nautical mile of the north light on Portland Island.
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.