|
Alaska
1000 Cruiser Navigation Contest
On
Saturday, June 12, the fleet left Shearwater in a
downpour of rain and 15-25 knot winds to move to
Rescue Bay on Susan Island via Seaforth Channel, Reid
Passage and Mathieson Channel. Despite the wind
and rain, the trip was relatively smooth, except for
the ocean swells near the entrance to Reid Passage.
No race today.
Sunday,
June 13, the fleet moved to Khutze Inlet via Jackson
Passage, Finlayson Channel, Hiekish Narrows, Tolmie
Channel and Graham Reach. Winds were light, but
the heavy rain continued. The fleet anchored in
Khutze Inlet and immediately set their crab and prawn
pots. A beautiful anchorage that is well worth a
return visit.
On
Monday, June 14, we stayed in Khutze Inlet and the sun
actually came out in the afternoon. Everyone
took a dinghy caravan trip up the Khutze River about a
mile and a half, then meandered around in the smaller
tributaries where the river dumps into the bay,
looking for bear. No bear sitings, but a
beautiful way to spend an afternoon.
Tuesday,
June 15, the fleet moved from Khutze Inlet to Lowe
Inlet via Graham Reach, Fraser Reach, McKay Reach,
Wright Sound and Grenville Channel. The weather
started with low clouds and light wind, then turned to
sunny skies with northwest winds of 15-20 in Grenville
Channel. The fleet anchored for the night in
Lowe Inlet and prepared for the last 2 legs of the
Nanaimo to Prince Rupert race.
Wednesday,
June 16, Leg 6 of the race was a short 10.4 nautical
mile course up Grenville Channel. The ebb
currents were running around 4.5 to 5 knots, so the
scores for Leg 6 were nothing to brag about. A
couple of fairly decent scores, but nothing to write
home about. Some boats were as much as 23
minutes late on this short course.
Leg
7 was a continuation of Leg 6, with a 20.8 nautical
mile race up the last of Grenville Channel, and into
Ogden Channel, finishing near Gibson Island.
Once again the currents were very strong, but from the
wrong direction and the scores showed it. A
couple of relatively good scores, but most were in the
20-35 minute error range.
Not
surprisingly, most contestants used Leg 6 an Leg 7 as
throw out legs.
From
the finish line, the fleeet moved on to Prince Rupert
in very rough and sloppy seas. The wind picked
up to the 20 knot range from the northwest and was
meeting a very stron run off from the Skeena River.
Everyone was very happy to arrive in Prince Rupert.
Thursday,
June 17, was a lay day for siteseeting, provisioning,
and the awards banquet for the Nanaimo - Prince Rupert
race. Everyone gathered at Breakers Pub for a
great dinner, some libation, and the anouncement of
the winners. Below is the results:
Place Contestant Boat
Name Club Score
1 Chuck
Silvernail Solmar Bremerton 0.82420
2 Don
Larson Tewasi
Port
Orchard 1.26983
3 Owen
Ritter Outbound Bremerton 1.42466
4 Bob
Gautschi Sirena Airport
YC 1.59011
5 Ken
Klett Klettitat Queen
City 1.64545
Tomorrow
morning, bright and early, the fleet will run Leg 8
from just outside Prince Rupert to Green Island Light,
just east of Dundas Island.
From
there, the fleet will move on to Ketchikan via Chatham
Soound, Dixon Entrance and Nichols Passage.
Weather forecasts are for light westerly winds for
this, our longest crossing since the start.
In the event of foul weather, the group decided
to shorten the days cruise plans and duck
into Brundige Inlet on the North end of Dundas Island.
Everyone is hoping for fair weather so we can make the
entire trip.
|
