To Underdog

Wed Aug 6th

A fleet of Martin 242s

Or whatever the nautical equivalent is? Perhaps big fish small pond, small fish big pond may have been more analogous.

This last weekend, a long one as it was British Columbia Day on Monday, I was in Cowichan Bay on Vancouver Island with the some of the Fast Lane race team taking part in the Cow Bay Regatta. It was also the Martin 242 North American Championship, in which we were competing. Meanwhile Fred was playing in the 49th Sunshine Coast Open Tennis Tournament, which had competitors from Vancouver and further afield.

What an interesting weekend. In Gibsons, Team Fast Lane (TFL) as we are known, are leading the tables for both the Wednesday evening series of races as well as the Sunshine Coast Yacht Club Sunday races.

In Cow Bay, we had our asses handed to us on a plate, coming 20th out of 21 boats! It was a humbling and educative experience. We thought we were pretty good, not excellent but hoped for a place in the top third. Oh boy were we wrong. We were sailing against some of the top M242 crews in North America.

Bad Kitty

There were eight different classes of boat racing, a total of 70 sailboats (limited by the size of the marina), from a Soling (a former Olympic keelboat) through to a 60ft monohull yacht and monster racing catamaran called Bad Kitty. The different classes had start times five minutes apart and different courses. The fleet included a 150 year old sailboat called Dorothy in the classic class. It was a beautiful old wooden sailboat.

Dorothy

The Martins sailed four back-to-back races on each day starting at about 11.00 and coming off the water at about 17:00; without a break.

The social amenities on a Martin are limited to a bucket, so the trick is to not drink too much beer the night before or too much coffee before the start of racing. It was intense, hard work, both physically and mentally.

We were rafted up (moored to another boat) next to the fleet captain, who was a mine of useful and helpful information. He has been a great mentor since we acquired the boat in 2023.

By the end of the weekend we were in amongst the fleet, but not far enough up to improve our overall position. Three-handed, as one of our crew was away, materially increased our workload. Had we had a full complement it would have put us over the human weight limit mandated for each boat by the class rules. One of our team is a large fella, but a great sailing expert and tactician having been an instructor in his late teens.

The first race was two circuits of 4.2nm Course 1, all remaining races were one circuit. If it all sounds a bit samey, it wasn't. Each race had different currents and tides, even if the wind, known locally as the 'doctor' was consistent, if not a bit variable towards the last race of the day. Why the doctor? Local folklore is that it comes when you need it, though that may not be as true today as it was when it picked up the name years ago, given the pressures on today's health systems.

There were some hairy moments, the start line is like a dodgems area at an amusement park, the difference being you try to avoid each other. Despite the name I don't ever recall 'dodgems' being about avoiding other cars! We did so successfully , though that was not true of all boats.

My scary moment came when I was helming down to the final mark before turning to the finish line. Two boats had rounded the mark and were coming out on a starboard tack as we were taking our spinnaker down which slightly blinded us; we were also on a starboard tack, but upwind of one of the boats. This meant we were obliged to give way but the only route open to us was straight into the path of the second upwind Martin.

I'm still not sure how we avoided each other. We all had to alter course, but fortunately neither of the other two boats protested which could have had us disqualified!

Cowichan Bay is 42nm from Gibsons and our plan had been to tow Fast Lane over behind one of the crew's newly acquired and refurbished 30ft Boston Whaler, except its delivery was delayed. The other two in the crew decided to sail her over across the Salish Sea rather than pull our entry, which is not the easiest sail in a 24ft boat built for racing rather than cruising.

They are far more experienced sailors than I am and I was uncomfortable doing the trip with limited gear. So I went over by ferry with a fellow Gibsons sailor crewing on another Martin. Fast Lane motored over, only being able to sail for an hour because of light winds.

Both their transits took about 11 hours each. Their route out took them via Active Pass, the same channel that BC Ferries use for all their boats between Tsawwassen (South of Vancouver) and Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island, as well as serving the southern Gulf Islands. It was also a longer journey at about 52nm. Rather than play chicken with the ferries on the return journey they travelled back further North through Porlier Pass - a 41nm sail. All these passes have fast currents in between high and low tide (the best times to transit) which will often exceed the maximum sailboat speed, even with an engine running. At least they had wind on the return journey. I think they found it an interesting experience, but probably won't be repeated.

The first night drinks were on the dock amongst the fleet of visiting boats that filled the marina. It started an hour early and the beer was gone well before the scheduled finish! Thirsty work this sailing lark.

Salad Bowl

The morning of the first race started with a skipper's meeting (everybody goes) at the beachside gazebo on the first nations waterfront area. It included a moving speech by an elder of the Quw'utsun (Cowichan) tribe who talked about the local natural area, the fish and oyster populations that they had nurtured and now the victim of over-fishing.

The message was about respecting and enjoying the place you live. With few people unaware of the drive for reconciliation with first nations populations, it was a thought-provoking, welcoming and welcome perspective. We are are, after all, living here in the unceded territories of the first nations peoples of Canada.

The second night, the Cow Bay Regatta hosts organised a BBQ on the beach, on the same First Nations beachfront land. Steaks, with salads served from a dinghy, on proper plates with real knives and forks. Rather civilised and certainly well organised. Very Canadian.

Away from the racing, Cowichan Bay is a delightful small town at the end of a large deep water inlet, with Salt Spring Island sheltering the waters from the Salish Sea. The waterfront businesses were an eclectic mix of boat yards, cafes and art shops as well as a decent looking restaurant and an amazing bakery. It felt ungentrified, which made it all the more attractive. I'd like us to go back and explore the area a bit more. One property included an historical covered dock inside the building. Very much traditional architecture.

No shortage of steaks

Back on the Coast, Fred was having similar 'success' in the Open Tennis Tournament. She and her ladies doubles partner got a tough first round draw and were beaten 6.0, 6.0 on the Friday in 28 degrees heat. The consolation round on the Sunday was also lost. Competitively, not a great weekend for the Cronks in Canada.

On the bright side, the North Vancouver branch were over, along with friends and their daughter Hazel, Sebby's daycare 'girlfriend'. I only saw them briefly on the Monday morning before they headed back to Vancouver but what a delightful family and the sort of house guests who would be welcome anywhere. It is clear the two kids are good mates, even if every now and again there is the odd tiff.

Closer to home the two local juvenile Bald Eagles have definitely fledged the nest and are now frequently seen down by the beach crying out for food. Flying skills are improving though they have not yet learnt that Bald Eagles need to fish to eat.

On a completely different subject, do you have favourite books that you lend to someone and never get back? I am terrible at remembering who I lend books to and then get cross when I want to reread something or lend a book to someone else and cannot find it. I think I need to start a library system and check books out with fines for late returns. If you have any of these:

Places in Between by Rory Stewart

21 Things You May Not Have Known About The Indian Act by Bob Joseph

Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard

please put it in the post, anonymously is fine!

Ros is now back in NZ after her six weeks in Canada and the last 10 days at Crankworx, the mountain bike extravaganza in Whistler. May she be back soon.

Our current focus in now organising our trip out of Canada before the end of September to get our Super Visas extended via a passport stamp. Probably a day trip down to Seattle or Portland.

What a palava!