Neffy beats aRound the County

As in, arguably the most epic race of the year for many reasons. Allow me to summarize a few of these reasons should there be any skepticism surrounding this bold statement:

1. 'Round the County' is so aptly named because the race is, literally, around San Juan County.  So if right about now you're thinking "oh yeahhhhh, like the San Juan Islands, oh yeah those are beeeeautiful...oh and the ferry ride! Who doesn't love that ferry ride?" No one.  No one doesn't love that ferry ride. Know what's even better than that ferry ride?  Seeing the entire thing from a sailboat all day, for two days, with 6 of your closest friends. 
2.  The halfway point (and party) is in Roche Harbor, WA.  For anyone not familiar with Roche Harbor, it's a sleepy little picturesque village-y type place which I can only surmise has expertly figured out how to appropriately warn what I can only assume it the "usual crowd" to either avoid this particular November weekend altogether, or allow an appropriate enough heads up that only those in full appreciation of one of the best sailor parties of the year interrupting the usual gentle and, er, quiet vibe of such a place.  And it has a mausoleum.  Do what this information what you will.
3. It could very well be the only race all year you'll get to race with the beautiful Schooner Martha in all her splendor...under spinnaker or topsails she's, well, she's a very pretty girl and a downright expertly raced boat under any condition.  And we love her.  At 105, she's the oldest working sailboat in Washington State and the oldest living flagship of the San Francisco Yacht Club - even after having been declared a total loss and subsequently saved from a scrapyard in 1976.  If that doesn't make you all warm and fuzzy inside, you cold heartless bastard, seek help.

Day 2, from Canada. Photo Credit Patricia DeJoseph

Yes, I digress, admittedly there was in fact a moment during the second day's freezing wet beat upwind THE ENTIRE DAY during which I experienced an epiphany to the effect of, 'Ohhhhhh... yeah, okay, when people think we're crazy for being out here in November in the middle of the Salish Sea almost dragging out feet in the near-freezing water off the edge of a 30-ft boat in the pouring rain... I guess I understand where they're coming from."

 . . . but. . . not really though.

And also I would just like to say to those people living on whichever edge of whatever Canadian Island we sailed close enough to for a nice clear view of just what kind of modern home Canadian money can buy...HI.  Nefarious will likely be returning by your place of residence November 10th, 2013 sometime between 10am and 4pm.  Please feel free to deploy a care package from your cliffs of Moher to sail number #USA 53 containing the following:

(2) litres of high quality Canadian rum, appropriate for sipping between tacks.
(2) bags of Old Dutch potato chips, assorted varieties OK but MUST include ketchup. 
(1) huge bag of candy limited to items unobtainable in the United States. 
(1) appropriately-sized Canadian flag to fly off Neffy's backstay in appreciation.

Alternatively, tying said package to a mooring buoy at a depth greater than 20' marked by a flotation device with the words "KEEP AWAY - NEFARIOUS ITEMS INSIDE" is also acceptable.  Thank you kindly and I hope you enjoy our sailboat race.

2013: The year of the epic RTC sleigh ride.  Hmmmm, weather?!  It's time.

My PINK plea for GREEN.

Yes - it's that time of year again for me to impose the advocacy of my own endeavors upon my friends and loved ones.  I will be skippering the Pink Boat "Darwind" in the upcoming 1st annual Pink Boat Regatta - Seattle on September 9th, 2012 (and again for the 2nd Annual Pink Boat Regatta - San Francisco on October 14th, 2012.)  This is a charity event benefiting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation during which sailboats decorate themselves as ridiculously pink as possible and have fun rounding buoys for a few hours followed by a charity banquet.  What makes this genius is you can actually cheat to win by purchasing buoys for the cause which will increase that particular boat's chances at winning.  Oh yes.  My kind of pink party.

A many of you know I met Thomas Watson, captain of Darwind, while in San Francisco with Nefarious for the Farr30 world championship in 2011 and became involved in the effort.  The Pink Boat has partnered with BCRF with the goal of raising $1 million to support breast cancer research.  Thomas will be sailing Darwind around the world, solo and nonstop via the Great Capes, beginning in Seattle on October 1st, 2013 in a world record attempt to achieve this $1 million dollar goal.

In the meantime, The Pink Boat will be hosting a series of regattas to help further this cause...such as this one.

This year's regatta in Seattle is really significant for me for a number of reasons, the first and foremost being that unfortunately my own mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer in the year since the last regatta.  I hope she will be joining in Seattle (from Dryden, Ontario, Canada - and health-pending) after a double mastectomy and between rounds of chemotherapy treatment.  When I became involved in supporting this organization just over a year ago I had no idea that I would be essentially be helping to fund the same research responsible for the advances in medicine and technology which has allowed my own mother the excellent prognosis today which even ten years ago may have been a very different story. 

Darwind on the water for the 1st Annual Pink Boat Regatta - SF

Secondly, I am the race chair representing both The Pink Boat as well as the Sloop Tavern Yacht Club in the organization of this event.  (Holy shit.)  What does this mean? It means not only am I raising funds to support Darwind, I am also looking for event sponsors and donations for our silent auction.  This means if you know anyone or any organization you feel may be compelled to become involved in such an effort, please contact me and I will inundate them with fancy official documents proving this effort is legit and explaining exactly what can be done to help us write the biggest check possible to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation this September 9th.

To my Seattle community: Sailors, I would much rather you sign up and participate in this event than donate to Darwind.  Seriously.  To my non-sailing friends: there are plenty of spots on spectator boats available as well.  Please come.  To EVERYONE: please share this & help spread the word!  Everyone should get to have no shame at least once a year.  I choose now.  HELP.

To donate (and help Darwind win!) please follow this link!


Many, many thanks to any who feel compelled to contribute. You all have my gratitude, along with that of the many hundreds of thousands of women to whom we already owe a even more disproportionate debt of gratitude for having inspired us with their strength and courage. 

Learn more about  The Pink Boat here: www.thepinkboat.org or help spread the word by 'liking' The Pink Boat on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ThePinkBoat




Much Love.
Ashley

Darwind accepting 1st place int the "DD" division - October 2011.

Neffy Dashes!

Newsflash, sailors.  Nefarious is the new proud carrier of the Port Townsend Dash record.  Unfamiliar?  It's the fastest elapsed time from Shilshole to Port Townsend, in a nutshell.  Read about it on the Pressure Drop Forum here.  Want more details?  You'll have to talk to the Cap'N...I'm just the lowly pit girl (read: boat beer bitch) and storyteller.  So, enjoy.  And sail fast.  Don' forget to sail fast.  Please break our record.  Seriously.  Read on.

The Nefarious Dash: Attempt 1.

All of a sudden, there it was: the Dash trifecta.  Big South wind.  Big ebb.  Big desire to throw some old sails on your Farr 30, round up your crew on short notice because you know they’re as crazy as you are, and head to Port Townsend as fast as you can.  Seattlite Nefarians confirmed the forecast holding up would mean hookie, ditching, dropping, cancelling any other plans by any means necessary to make boat time on Monday morning.  Tommy Watson, the Bay area honorary Nefarian, got the call mid-dinner Friday night that the Dash is happening! and landed in Seattle 6 hours later. 

Sunday evening the eager girl was splashed and loaded with a few old sails and the promise of speed before most of the crew would gather for food a la Chef Sandra and mental preparation.

“Should we take that bottle of champagne from the fridge on the boat tomorrow...?”

“No.  Lance brought one last Saturday on USA55.  We lost a winch handle overboard and ran aground.”

“Good call.  I’ll bring a bottle of Kraken instead.”

“Good call.”

 

“You guys.  Seriously.  We should watch The Perfect Storm tonight.”

“No we shouldn’t.  They never made it back.”

“Hmm...Captain Ron?”

“YES!!”

  
The forecast Monday morning from the breakfast table at Salmon Bay Cafe over bacon and eggs and more bacon for the Peterson Brothers had still been promising 45kt winds gusting up to 60.   Dan sat mulling over current wind conditions: "It's between 20 and 40 now, a little less wind on this end, a little more wind up there.  I don't think it's going above 40."  Although this meant potentially far less wind than Alex Simanis had sailed North in to break the previous record, it also meant light enough wind to fly the kite all the way up...which meant serious, serious fun.  "Well, they cancelled the Port Townsend ferry, so we don't need to worry about that...” Andy kindly informed the crew with a sly grin.  Translation?  Gale force wind: yes.  Traffic: no.  Perfect! 

A few short minutes to boat time were followed by a few longer minutes to launch time as Cap’N Dan made the wait call for Ray and his kite trimming skillz to climb down from the wintery mountain woodwork into Seattle and onto the boat.  In the meantime, Little Blue Dune Buggy’s skipper himself came to see Nefarious off to chase his own record- a testament to the sportsmanship inherent in a shared passion for testing the limit of boat and skill.  Um and speed.  Lots of it. 

And just like that, Neffy was off!  Spinnaker up, and ZOOM! to the middle of the channel, WEEE! towards Whidbey, HELL YES! around Point no Point, and- wait.  Uhhh.

Wtf?!  Is that a submarine? 

Yes.  A nuclear submarine, making it’s jolly way out of the Hood Canal with a handful of escorts and right on course to take Nefarious to stern with maybe a few hundred yards to spare.  Including a USCG vessel which had diverted to pay the dashers a ‘visit,’ so hey!  Jibe time!  Or, alternatively, jibe, broach, and winch the kite in by the last remaining sheet on the boat while reaching in to take a submarine to stern at a greater than 2,000-yard distance.  Whichever worked.  (The latter worked.)  The unplanned reach in towards Skunk Bay brought just enough time to rerun the sheets and guys before jibing North through the churning Hood Canal Log Grove.  There were little logs and big logs, oddly-shaped monstrosities and regular tree-looking things, jostling about at just the right speed to keep the game of sailboat Frogger alive for a little while longer. 

One careful depth-conscious rounding at Marrowstone point later and- gasp! - the finish line was in sight!  Yes!  Four wipe-outs, three wind directions, two tattered sails and one submarine diversion later, the question became whether having the red buoy in sight in any way translated to actually reaching it with the half hour or so left on the clock.  “Seriously guys...” Cap’N Dan rallied his Nefarians.  “Let’s just not wipe out anymore and we should be fine...”  The boat responded shortly with a hard broach during a sudden heavy gust, as if to roar:

I AM NEFARIOUS!!

I SHALL HAVE MY FUN!  

THIS IS BUT CHILD’S PLAY!  WHERE IS MY WIND??!

PFFFFT.

And just like that, the the mighty Nefarious recovered gracefully and took a final reach into the buoy, surely pleased with herself, and carried her sailors to victory with ten minutes to spare.  Hugs were exchanged, Krakens of rum released from their bottles, and bouts of laughter spilled over into the bay.  She made her way into the marina for a short repose as 8 happily soaked sailors paid a visit to Sirens for a pint or five or lost count.  As Cap’N Dan and Tommy took one for the team to transfer Nef back in the same wind (now on the nose) that had brought her, the rest of the crew tumbled into the ultimate post-dash comfort ride. A ride which Wendell had not only graciously hauled himself to Port Townsend in just for the occasion, but had brought along his own thoughtful sailing advice at no charge: "You know, the one thing a boat's always gotta give way to, is a pedestrian."  So true, Wendell.  So true.

The record-breaking attempt may best be summarized by the Cap’N’s demeanor whilst Nefarious found herself less than upright.  Although he would later exclaim, "It's a little disconcerting when the boat's laying on her side and we're going five knots,"  it was Sandra who would ultimately expose the truest nature of the experience.  “Every time we broached, I looked over at Dan and he was grinning ear to ear.”  Undoubtedly a statement suited to vouch for every sailor on Nefarious that day, or any day, right down to the Kraken waiting for it's victory release at the finish.

The Neffy Dash crew (starboard to port): Brad Peterson, Andy Vatter, Sandra Stark, Tommy Watson, Cap'N Dan Randolph, Yours Truly, Ray Hines, and Scotty Peterson.  Go team!

Neffy does Birthday.

As in, what better way for Cap'N Dan to celebrate turning 29 for the umpteenth time than to bring the well-loved Neffy gun to the winter Goosebumps knife show on Lake Union?

Answer: No better way.  That is the best way.

Bottom line is, you can cry if you want to...or you can take your Farr 30 to a beer can race in the pouring rain. 

And then maybe you could get run into by a Moore 24 at the start line...poor girl...Nef & her gelcoat took one for the birthday team.  Thanks Nef!

And then you might also get lucky enough to take the lovely Schooner Lavengro to stern while she's out on the lake looking particularly fabulous...

And then, after bagging the wet bullet in near-freezing temperatures, you sit around a fire solving nothing with all of your favorite people and realize it's a nice thing to live in Seattle and be surrounded by those to whom the Seattle passive aggressive "Yes! We should totally hang out!  Next Sunday at 3pm?" crap simply does not apply. 

Sailors, man.  Sailors.

Sailors and people who can stand sailors.

They're the BEST.

Winter beer can races in the freezing rain aren't fun?  Hm.  Not sure what you mean.

And then came 2012. Nefariously.

In with the old, out with the new!

Wait, actually- scratch that.  My 2012 philosophy is, decidedly...

If the old was good, KEEP it.  If the new is good, KEEP it.

That's it.  Period.  If you can read between the lines, then it reads something like:

DON'T KEEP IT IF IT SUCKS. 

Simple!  Here are a few steps I've found especially useful in making such a transition.  Disclaimer: I cannot guarantee that anyone in particular, or at all, will gain any value whatsoever from my own musings.  Carry on.


STEP 1: Acknowledge the positive and honor it appropriately.

Umm...so...like, mental note, right?  Moment of silence?  Quiet reverence?

Pfffft.  Get a freaking tattoo!  YES!

Act shocked. 



STEP 2: Keep (insert something you love here) Sailing.

How about a gorgeous New Year's Day sail on Elliot Bay with all of your favorite sailors?  Huh?  Maybe throw in a little 3rd place at Duwamish Head on a beautiful January morning?  Does that count?  Neffy got the gun (which is just so little kid-ish exciting!) but Dos and Brio beat us out fair and square for the lead on this one....congrats to them both!  (...official results...)


STEP 3: Throw caution to the wind.  

Appropriately-punned expression intended.  I can live no other way than to greet whatever may be carried in with the breeze... and since 2012 has started with some very serendipitous winds, I shall keep my fingers crossed for a gale and weather this storm with gratitude and a smile.  Plural.

Cheers, friends.  Sail true.  Happy year.

Salty.