Round Whidbey... A race.
Darn Spell checker.. added an "M" where it should not be. Perhaps it is the reason we were thrown into the vortex and punished with multiple pointless circles around a non-point.
I was not about to lean over the side and check the spelling. We had only just met and in racing sometimes crew is viewed as ballast that at times should be jettisoned...
While the on course sailing is competitive the pre race meeting, raft up and dock time waiting for the Deception Passage timing/start time is convivial.
Crews arrive on Friday afternoon at the state park docks of Cornet Bay on the eastside of Deception pass. It is a "Who's coming around the bend now?" experience as the 11 boats arrived looking for dock space, competing with the fishing boats and cruisers transiting the area. Once all were rafted or tied to the dock and the greetings were exchanged, we headed ashore to share a BBQ Pork picnic provided by the Oak Harbor Yacht Club (race sponsor). There was the usual banter about prior races, recent retirements, new boats purchased and what's that on your spreader.
The entrants this year were an eclectic mix with speed in a J120, home built "Vertigo", a Bob Perry designed Valiant 42 who's motor had died and needed US BOAT Tow, Hayden Watson's Sleek but comfortable Catalina 30, and a couple of boats that carried a bicycles/kayaks/other windage additions that looked more ready for local cruising than racing. This is an all who show up inviting event. Requirements are proper safety equipment, the understanding that we are all out there together, and cautionary notice 'don't get caught in the Vessel Traffic lanes when the cruise ships or shipping freighters are transiting the sound. They will be doing 20 knots and will not be able to stop if you try to play chicken in their 'highway'.
After the usual jockeying for space on the line, the horn blew. We started about 10 seconds behind the fist boats, in clear air. Right off the bat the boats started to spread out with each captain choosing his route to the first mark. Some went West out into the Juan DFuca hoping to catch the main breeze and the currents around Smith Island. A strategy that pits more miles for the potential of grater speed. Some just went straight down the middle and a couple chose to stay closer to the Whidbey on the rhumb line from the start to Partridge Pt Green Buoy, a distance of 14 nm.
We rounded the first mark pleased with our route. We were within 2 miles of the half the fleet. We had good current, we had a breeze that was moving us along at about 4-5 knots and we were even with our competitors who had chosen to cross Admiralty Inlet and sail on the southern shore about 4 miles from our route.
It was sunny, we broke out the cookies delicious Ginger snaps and Chocolate chips, and jumped from one breeze ripple to the next moving with the tide towards our next mark Possession Point and the Sprint Line that identifies the first half of the race. It is a line 122.026.00 Longitude just west of Possession Point. All boats record their time crossing the line.
All was going well aboard Papillon until we crossed the rip near the Marrowstone Light. We could see another boat about a mile further down the Sound in what looked like calm water. So we tried to edge ourselves further away from the island thinking the tidal current and the little breeze puffs that came and disappeared would keep us moving south. But our luck ran out. The boat ahead passed slowly behind us caught in one of the many gyre that occur on the Sound.
No sooner had we passed him and smiled at our competitive accomplishment, the gyre's tentacles reached out and grabbed our butterfly. We found ourselves facing south east but heading north west along the Marrowstone island shore. Instead of moving closer to Seattle we were moving toward Japan. Nothing to do but sit and hope we could get spun out or a breeze might blow and let us sail forward... What is that saying about a butterfly flapping its wings? Well it was evident that we were going to be here for a bit, so time for a nap. I could hear the crew on deck trying all sorts of stuff. Raising the spinnaker, dropping the spinnaker, wing on wing with a whisker pole..... I awoke about 2 hours later. We had just come out of the gyre. We were sitting in the middle of the south bound lane of the VTS about 1/2 mile south of our previous location, and the crew had observed a NEMO mylar ballon that had floated out of the clear blue sky and landed not 25 yards from the boat. They were seeing if they could get the boat close enough to reach out with the boat hook and snag it. Sitting for 2 hours going in circles can have a strange effect on a boat crew. When I asked what was going on.... Our Captain stated 'Nemo is on our proper course and added an extra incentive to break free of the gyre.'
Nemo is still searching for Dori, for as I got back into the cockpit a puff of breeze appeared and we started to move. About only a 1.5 knots, but we were moving again in the correct direction and with a purpose.
We lunched, watched out for VTS traffic and jumped from puff to puff on our 30 mile crawl towards Possession Point.