This is the third since i started writing this blog 18 months ago; more than i thought i would. I suppose it’s no surprise given the challenging coastline around here but it still remains tragic.
Richard gentru’s body was found this week along the Brooks Peninsula. He was a liveaboarder from Port McNeil. His boat was a 45 foot, 50-year-old tug called the Gabriola.

Here’s a pic of the Gabriola:

My god, look at that hull! Can you imagine taking that vessel around Cape Scott and into the open Pacific? The northern tip of Vancouver Island and the area around Brooks Peninsula has a fearsome reputation for hurricane force winds and huge seas. I don’t know this fellow’s skippering experience but what an awful risk. The cause of the wreck is unknown as this is a very remote area; it could have been anything from equipment failure to unexpected weather conditions.

At any rate it’s another terrible loss of a local mariner and our thoughts go out to his family.

On another more hopeful note, we are going to be participating in this year’s Variety Club Boat for Hope. We will be taking disabled children around the harbour two Saturday’s from now. Myself and friend and his kids and Fainleog will be dressing up in pirate’s costume.

If anyone has a pirate’s costume/tricorn hat that they could lend us for this even it would be much appreciated as trying to find something like that at this time of year is gonna be tough.

I can’t believe we weren’t in it this year. the problem is it’s not advertised, i’m damned busy and next thing you know it’s in the papers as happening next weekend. It’s kinda hard to mark in the calendar a year in advance.

The best place to watch the race is off Beetchy head in East Sooke Regional Park. The wind was blowing a strong westerly – probably over 20 knots, and the yachts were sailing close-hauled across Becher Bay. Just before the rocks they tacked, and you could hear spars banging and sails flogging they were so close.

With some of them it was poetry watching the ease with which they wnet through stays, with nary a hitch or a check in speed. Very unlike when my sweet wife does it; she likes it nice and slow

You coiuld also spot the rusty fellows, with sails all over the place. One fellow came damn close to climbing onto a reef; the gusts were strong enough to create weatherhelm that overcame helm control and force it’s head to windward; he waited too long before tacking, and since the gusts were coming from the reef, they kept blowing his head towards us and he had precious little lee room. He eventually had to drop his headsail and it seemed to jam halfway down ’cause there it sat for a long time flogging away as he headed out into the Strait. Even with no headsail to speak of, he was still heeling at 45 degrees at times. Too much main. I felt sorry for his troubles as i know what it feels like when things get away from you.

And then a fog bank blew in!

I don’t know what the regs are in the case of bad weather but it gave me a shudder. There were 200 boats going hell bent for leather, many very closely packed together, and the fog was the proverbial pea soup. The boats just vanished when they went into it. I was watching and a lot didn’t have radar. If i had been out i think i would have say to hell with it; I have radar, but i can’t control what the 70 footer without it, is gonna do. We watched several close calls even before the fog drifted in.

Dukin’ it out

A lot of guys were running with storm jibs. A few even had reefed mains. We watched as several folks changed headsails before coming around Beechey Head.

Oh-oh…

Going, going…

Gone!