This was another wonderful Dance Away reunion. Aboard were Doug and Sydney, Bernard and Lois, Dave and Elaine, Ken and Judy, Ben and me. Elaine wisely opted not to sail back with us on Sunday preferring the sun drenched peace of their houseboat in Sausalito where we adjourned for after-race hors d'oeurvres. It was just a wall to wall delightful weekend.
On the first day, we started off with HDA division 5. Got a good start and stayed right all the way to the top mark. We rounded and proceeded with a rather sphincter tightening hoist (scary cuz we didn't practice before the race). Then the rest of the way to Vallejo our main objective was to stay out of the current. Had some tense moments when it looked like the boats that were out in the channel were passing us. They seemed to be bringing a new wind up with them. But all worked out and we finished with a fourth out of 21 for our division.
The next day was a completely different race. The goal was to stay in the current which was VERY favorable. It was amazing to watch how quickly the land was sliding by. The race was all to weather which meant white sails all day and not much to do for yours truly. However I enjoyed myself by chatting with the folks on the rail (a luxury I don't usually get). And as a bonus that meant that I had our four hot women all to myself. Yeah baby! Thanks to Dave's tactics, Bernard's driving, and Ben and Ken's trimming, we took first for the day. The next boat behind us finished a solid two minutes back uncorrected (second place was a full four minutes behind us corrected). I love sailing with these guys.
But the best part of the weekend was not our results (while those results were pretty sweet). It was getting to sail with this crew again. Over the years we have become much more than just crewmates. And there is the added bonus of becoming friends with their wives and girlfriends as well. Our lives have become intertwined off the boat. I consider myself to be very lucky to be part of this group. In addition to Judy and Sydney who are regulars on the Dance Away crew, this regatta we also had the pleasure of Elaine and Lois's company.
Elaine is Dave's wife whom I have known for years from back in an earlier Dance Away period and the Bloodvessel days before they were married. She's wonderful and it was a pleasure to finally have some time to chat with her. She gave us a tour of their houseboat (which you have to actually see to believe... I had trouble covering my envy). Elaine is an artist. Seems like I never get to spend as much time with her as I would like.
Lois is Bernard's "friend". She is a riot. I think this may have been her first outing on a sailboat. We tried to take her under our wing but she didn't seem to need much protection. It was more like she took us under hers. It was a real treat for all of us to have her along. I hope to have a chance to spend more time with her in the future.
Dave, Bernard, Doug, Sydney, Judy, Ken, Ben and I have raced together for years. Most recently we raced Dance Away last year in the HDA series for Doug's (now famous) "Gettin' the Band Back Together" season. Of course, we won the division but it was a squeaker. Early on it looked like we would dominate but Silkie kept whittling away at our lead and we ended up squeaking out the victory for the season by only one point. Phew! But the thing I most remember was how sad I felt when we were putting Dance Away away at the dock for what we all thought would be the last time. That was another reason why it felt so good to get out with these guys again for the Vallejo Regatta. This race was more of a celebration of our time together than it was an actual race. I know that I'm getting all sappy but that's the way I feel.
There are a lot of pictures here but I think it's okay this time...
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| Bernard, Lois and Ben chatting on our way out. | Trying to stay loose. | |
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| I didn't know that this was Lois's first time out. I figured that being Bernard's "friend" would mean that she was out all the time. She looks so casual here. | Ben trying to keep Lois all to himself. | |
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| Looking back at the fleet. | Elaine doing an imitation of the headless horseman as she struggles to get her gear off. |
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| Doug looking forward at those damn Uno guys. They kicked our butts today but we beat them pretty badly on Sunday. | Action shot of the afterguard as we pass under the Richmond Bay Bridge. Ken trying not to lose his sandwich. | |
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| Bernard, Dave and Ben... | Harp keeping the pressure on. | |
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| Spinnakers as far as we could see. Let's see if we can pass some of em. | Me in an idle moment. As Lois pointed out... it's all about me. | |
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| Lois ready for anything that comes her way. | ||
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| Sydney and Doug taking a break. | Those damn Harp guys continuing to put on the pressure. | |
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| Bernard, Ben and Dave doin' it all. | Me taking another break. Seriously... the Vallejo regatta isn't really a bow person's race. There's just nuthin' to do. A hoist, a douse, a few gybes in between... Sunday is even worse. |
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| The light air chute ready to go up. Well I had to stay busy doing something. | Looking ahead. You can barely see the East Brother's Lighthouse off in the distance. | |
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| Good grief! How can you guys be so calm? Harp is passing us! | Doug helping keep the main out. It was getting pretty light. | |
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| East Brother's Lighthouse. Donna and I stayed here at the B&B. See write-up in the vacations section. | Good gracious Bernard! They've almost got us! | |
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| Sydney analysing the situation. | East Brother's Lighthouse again. | |
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| Doug peeking out of the hatch. Is it safe to come out yet? | Ben, Ken and Dave's constant view. Actually I even trimmed a little. | |
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| Sydney and Lois kicking back as we approach Vallejo. | Ken Allison... the quiet guy | |
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| Finally, we put Harp behind us for good. | We have finished and now we're following Mojo into the raft up. | |
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| Here we are at the club... Bernard, Dave, Elaine and lucky me. | The jumble of the raft-up. The long string of campaign flags in the very middle of the picture marks where we parked Dance Away. |
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| Next day... Ken and Judy the total party animals recovering from their hangover. | It's kinda tightly packed in here. | |
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| On our way down the channel. It was white sails all day. | Dave picking our path through the mayhem. | |
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| Dave, Ben and Bernard pretty much had the cockpit to themselves all day. | ||
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| Smiles after the race. Doug getting to drive his own boat. | San Quentin Prison | |
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| Judy relaxing | ||
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| Ken and Judy on our way home. | Doug | |
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| One of my favorite pictures. Bernard, Dave and I have sailed together on various boats for well over a decade. We've won lots. Lost a few. Even been horizoned once or twice. But no matter what, I always consider myself lucky to get to sail with these guys. | ||
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| Damn that was good tequilla. My first Cazadores but definitely not my last. | Dave... stop it! You're such a show off! | |
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| Almost done putting the boat away and chatting with Dave and Ben. Usually putting the boat away is a pretty routine part of race day that you try to get done as quickly as possible. But now when I go out on Dance Away, it's always kind of a sad part of the day cuz I never know if this will be the last time. | Good race Bernard and it was great sailing with you. | |
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| I don't have many pictures of me so I had to put em all in here. |
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| return to sail |