2 years ago, the brave crew of Dent de Lion sailed 3/4 of the way around a big fucking island in the 'Round Whidbey Regatta before giving up in the wee hours of the morning, calculating that we couldn't reach the finish line by the time limit given the shitty conditions (read: no wind, opposing current, Cap'n Ron having a calorie crash in the cabin, and Miller starting to very publicly miss having sex with his wife). So we motored back to Everett and called it a race. Sometime between the time we went to sleep and when we woke, the remaining boats on the course caught a miracle southerly breeze and finished in Oak Harbor with hours to spare.
After that we vowed to not abandon any more races.
And then came yesterday. Race #2 of the Mid Distance Series started off with a ghost of an easterly wind, the threat of heavy rain, and at least two hung over crew members. After it took us two hours and 5 miles of actual sailing (both forward AND backward) to reach the first mark (only .8 miles from the start, by the way) GVB was sure it was time to cash it in. But wait! This is the NEW 'Lion ethic, and besides, we were in first place by at least 40 minutes, since we were the only ones to have reached the first mark...So we drifted on, caught a few little zephyrs and managed to get to the second "mark" of the course: Hat Island. With a 7 hour time limit, we needed to average at least 5 knots to make the shortened finish line...no way. Still, we pressed on. We suffered this far (I counted 5 spinnaker sets with 2 different chutes...sailing in no air is hard damn work) so we were going to sail that tub across the line...With the time limit rapidly approaching as we willed our way around the island, a little miracle: the race committee had the brains and balls to shorten the course at the east edge of the island. The only two boats left in the race at this point finished, with the 'Lion comfortably in front on corrected time.
Fuck Canada. It's Like a Whole Different Country!
After the "race" I was planning to drive north to Vancouver to join Cap'n Ron for our annual SunRun fiasco. I love this race, but the foot just isn't up for it yet, and for the first time in my life I listened to the voice in my head that said "don't do it, man. Don't DO it!"
I didn't do it. I moped back to the 305 and opted instead to hang with The Colleague for the night. Who knows where the voice in my head came from, but listening to the news on the way to The Castle last night validated my bailout. Listen to all of the threes in this traffic report:
"3 car pileup on I-5 north of Everett. 3 lanes blocked. Significant backups."
"At the Blaine border crossing: 3 hour wait getting into British Columbia"
Fuck that. Still, it would have been fun to race with the Cap'n, who went out and averaged 7:13 per mile. He was over 10 minutes faster than last year. Stud. Next up for the Cap'n is the Vancouver Marathon. I'm going to put my money on race time well under 4:00 for the Cap'n. After that? I plan to beat his ass to Portland in the STP.
Ride? Ouch
Today was a beautiful Seattle spring day. Cool, sunny, and not a breath of wind (see yesterday's race conditions only add sunlight). So while The Colleague and Second Daughter of Colleague went to some ballet spasm, I fired up the Fuji and did a loop of the high rent districts of Woodway, Richmond Beach, and Innis Arden. Fighting some sort of sore throat/upper respiratory thang lately, so the climbs were pretty painful. Still managed a nice 1:20 minute ride with a couple of kick ass climbs mixed in for good measure. Add that to the time at the gym this evening, and it was a nice 3,000 calorie exercise day.
Which Reminds Me...
Before I broke my foot in February:
169 pounds, averaging over 30 miles on the road each week.
Since I brooke my foot:
182 pounts, averaging just over 30 martinis each week.
Time to step up the training...
Aloha
We're out this week for Kokua Festival. We will be buying carbon offsets for all of you who aren't flying a commercial airliner over the Pacific to go to a "green" concert for Earth Day. Ummm....
Mahalo for reading.
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