Another Summit

 Shortly after I met my logger friend, Wayne Ratcliff, I convinced him to come with me to see another pair of friends, Carol and Joe, in the Bellingham area.

I loved the message on this trailer:"I go where I'm towed."

We had a lovely drive over there, July 27, catching the early ferry in Port Townsend, and arrived in time for lunch; a feast that Carol prepared. We still had daylight and Carol knew that Wayne would like going up on Mt. Baker. And further, it was an item on his bucket list, so off we went.

No one thought anything about footwear, and when we arrived at Artist's Point with me in my sandals and Wayne in his dancing sneakers, we were not daunted by over 10 feet of snow.

Here are the photos of that day including a stop at the Nooksack River Falls, which was just as impressive as the first time only I think it was a little bit warmer.

A man and his dawg... at Artist's Point, Mt. Baker, WA.

Wayne at the 'summit' of Artist's Point.

When I first moved to the Sequim area, there was an expectation that perhaps Carol was going to live there, too. Only she ended up in Bellingham instead.

Carol, right, pokes fun at Joe, left.

So we end up going back and forth visiting each other. Only now what was just two good friends has evolved into four good friends.

So first, there was Carol at the top of Mt. Baker. Then she invited me over to go up there (See earlier blog entries about that trip.) Then she got together with Joe and they made the trip up there. And now we've all introduced Wayne to this wonderful experience.

Joe and Carol at Artist's Point, Mt. Baker, WA.

Wayne practices the 'scissors' and 'vine' steps from dance class.

First on the Point is Carol.

Next, it's Carol and me on the Point.

Then it was me with Joe and Carol at the Point.

Now, it's the Four Communeros at the Point!

So what was the point? It's that through the remarkable process of thought and manifestation, dreams are being realized and it's all good!

Mt. Shuksan as we departed Artist's Point, Mt. Baker, WA.

Wayne at Nooksack Falls trail entry.

Peaches and I at the Nooksack Falls overlook.

This is the view from the bridge over the river,
looking down at the head of the falls.

Great meal to end the day in a roadside eatery.

Heading to the Coupevdlle Ferry Landing, the Olympics are
calling us home.

A long, but glorious day ends with a quarter moon over the
Strait of Juan de Fuca near Port Townsend, WA.

Third Race to Alaska Underway

Early setup and blocking of the road access to the Northwest
Maritime Center and Point Hudson Marina.

I volunteered again (second year) for the Race to Alaska (R2AK) and have to admit I was disappointed at the overall turnout. Not just the turnout for the Ruckus, the pre-race party, but the local public support (people wandering around and meeting folks) was diminished from the previous year.

It appeared to me that the race itself was lacking any Significant Sailors, those with regional, national or world-wide competitive skills to create a draw. Not that those who have elected to compete are Insignificant, not by any stretch! But for an event to have continued sponsor support and public support, there has to be interest.

Quote from the R2AK site: "It’s like the Iditarod, on a boat, with a chance of drowning, being run down by a freighter, or eaten by a grizzly bear. There are squalls, killer whales, tidal currents that run upwards of 20 miles an hour, and some of the most beautiful scenery on earth." 

It's sitting on a wet platform for hours on end, (or standing if you are going it on a SUP) with no engine, no resupply lines (or repair shops) for over 700 miles (whoever sailed in a straight line?).

Last year there were 15 world records established (or broken) and the reward for the winner is $10,000 cash, nailed to a tree, with a set of steak knives for second place and a sigh of relief for all the rest who make it. Out of 44 racers in 2016, 26 completed the course. Perhaps the locals are under-whelmed or had other things to do, but this is an amazing race by any standards.

I was on duty from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Chandlery (same as last year) and although we had some visitors, my impression was that we were lacking in folks who wanted to purchase R2AK gear (t-shirts, caps, pins, pocket flasks) whereas last year there seemed to be more demand.

Chart of the race course posted on the Cotton
Building gave everyone info about the race.

This year there definitely was better organization around the race itself, with plenty of good information for newcomers to learn about it and the racers. But the street was not filled with boats as it had been the year before, so it was a lot harder to talk personally to any of the racers in a casual way. And so it lacked the energy of "We're all gathered here to launch ourselves into this challenging event" feeling (in my humble, retired-PR, opinion).

In 2017 there were 64 entrants to the race, and of those 21 only had plans to go as far as Victoria. The tremendous gale  that blew up after the start (and all were forewarned of it's approach) and huge waves in Puget Sound eliminated at least 10 contestants for Ketchikan through various damages, (some of which may have been psychological as well as physical) although no one was lost at sea.

It was a battering that some will not care to repeat. (You can read about it here: R2AK.com)

Stand-Up Paddle boarders have my utmost respect.

That left 34 boats to go the distance. I say 'boats,' but five of the vessels are actually stand-up paddle-boards (SUPs) (3), a rowing vessel and a kayak (the first ever to take on this task) and nine of the rest of the boats are 20 feet or less in length. So almost half the fleet is made up of small boats. That in itself is challenging since it is hard to provision a vessel for even a week with so little free space and this could be a three-week journey.

I follow the race on the Tracker (located here: http://tracker.r2ak.com) and cheer for all the competitors because as a life-long sailor, I know it takes tremendous courage, stamina, resilience, and  hopefulness to do a long race, much less one like this. Here is another link for some updates by some of the racers firsthand: 48 North.

So I hope my readers will go to the R2AK website, get the tracker and follow some of these indomitable folks, comment on their progress, and give them the encouragement they will surely need to make it all the way to Ketchikan.

UPDATE: The third Race to Alaska was won by three brothers from Marblehead, Mass., as Team Pure & Wild/FreeBurd and the steak knives went to Team Broderna about five minutes later. It was a close and exciting finish by two awesome teams!!

I've had the blues...

But nothing like the blues I enjoyed August 6th at the Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival!!

I was fortunate enough to share them with a new friend and we walked from venue to venue after a lovely Thai dinner to hear some awesome performers.

The first on the list was Jimmy 'Duck' Holmes who plays an old battered acoustic guitar in the Bentonia school style of country blues. 

Jimmy 'Duck' Holmes in the Key City
Theatre in Port Townsend, WA.

Think of Jack Owens and Skip James and Henry Stuckey. 

Think primitive, dirt-down grit, folks blues. 

The feeling is key, and there were plenty of feelings about no-good wimmin and good or bad likker with some humor worked in.

Nothing fancy about the way Holmes delivered the goods.

But his white hair and skin stretched tight over old bones told the audience he knew what he was singing about.

We got front row seats and it was pure delight to watch him provide us with all the range of emotions that the blues can render.

The next venue was Standing Room Only in the Cotton Building for Corey Ledet on the accordion and Chaz Leary on the washboard presenting some Creole/Zydeco tunes which just got your feet moving, I don't care how little dancing you might do.

Ledet was born in Texas but eventually moved to Louisiana as his love of Zydeco pulled him in. You can hear the roots of his work and his mentors: Clifton Chenier, John Delafose with Wilbert Thibodeaux and The Zydeco Rascals.

Leary makes the washboard seem so easy, but he has received international recognition in acoustic country blues playing with a huge variety of bands like the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, The Iguanas, Tuba Fats, Royal Fingerbowl, the Jazz Vipers, The Palmetto Bug Stompers and Washboard Rodeo. 

Corey Ledet & Washboard Chaz Leary in the Cotton Building.

I had a chance to play the washboard with a group of Cajun Zydeco women performers last year in Port Townsend and I loved the rhythm of it all. Watching Leary made me realize how much farther I need to go to be even a little bit more proficient.

The American VFW hall was on the way back toward the theatre so we stopped in to hear Wendy DeWitt playing boogie-woogie and blues as if her pants were on fire and she needed to get the next measure done before calling the fire department!

Wendy DeWitt with Kirk Harwood, Dean Mueller and
Orville Johnson or Mark Graham.

There were lots of folks dancing and it was pretty loud, no places to sit to watch easily, so we opted to return to the theatre to catch the last bit of music from Steve James, but really aiming for the closer, Guy Davis.

We later wished we hadn't missed all of James' performance because his slide guitar was totally pro and no surprise because he is a recording artist with instructional books, DVDs and on line lessons of the cornerstone blues in the style of Bo Diddley and Howard Armstrong.

But Guy Davis didn't disappoint, either. With his six and 12-string acoustic guitars and his harmonica, he told us tales we might not want to hear but we couldn't stop listening, like his newest song "Sweetbelly," (not yet recorded but sure to be a hit) about a little gal who grew up thinking women were paid for by cigarettes.

Guy Davis, blues musician, teacher, song
writer, author and actor, gracing the stage
at Key City Theatre in Port Townsend.

Davis has been on major television and radio shows and you can tell that the influence of Blind Willie McTell and Fats Waller were not wasted on him. The son of Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, this musician, teacher, songwriter, author and actor gave us his all, right down to the work song about a man who "done gone."

Stories in song you didn't want to hear, but
couldn't stop listening to the end.

I was sitting next to an Australian engineer, name of Bandy, who works in Papua, New Guinea, but who had taken his vacation by coming to the NW to participate in this Centrum workshop and performance event.

Bandy said that Davis was an "exceptional teacher, pushing everyone to reach a little higher, dig a little deeper," and he was pretty thrilled to have come away with improved skills on his own guitar and harmonica.

I am so glad I was able to enjoy this evening of music and storytelling, because that is what the blues is about... telling stories; some good, some bad, some happy, some sad, to a collection of musical beats derived from different locales, the Delta of Mississippi, the Ozarks, the Piedmont and others.

Just last year I delighted in Maria Muldaur's visit to Port Angeles, sharing the roots of her creative life in folk and blues. It seems to be a theme in my own life with the Seeger family introduced at the Woodstock Country School in Vermont carrying me along its own river of discovery with this current group of artists. Great evening. Wonderful companionship. Remarkable performers. Does it get any better than this?

Race to Alaska 2016 (Pre-race mostly)

Port Townsend's Pope Park statue was the center of the pre-
Race to Alaska Ruckus.

Last year I was intrigued by the Race to Alaska (2015) a race of non-motorized vessels without any additional support from Port Townsend, WA, to Ketchikan, AK. I read about it and became interested enough to follow it from beginning to end. The winning boat, Elsie Piddock, did the race in less than a week.

As a former ocean racer on AVIVA (my 45-ft. Hunter Legend sloop), I was able to extrapolate the conditions from reports by contestants, videos and photos, weather reports and the tracking devices on each boat.

So I decided to volunteer this year, to be a little closer to the action. I have no desire to be close enough that I can feel the very cold salt spray from the waters of Puget Sound in my face, so working as a volunteer in the Chandlery at Northwest Maritime for the pre-race Ruckus was a good choice.

And after finding a parking space (that takes a considerable bit of time in Port Townsend when there is an event these days) I still had time to walk around and look at all the various types of watercraft that people were going to use for this second race.

There was everything from a stand-up paddle board to an 8-person catamaran, which included skiffs, kayaks, scows, monohulls and a Boston Whaler Harpoon. There are all women crews, all men, mixes and two fellows who left their wheelchairs on the dock.

This screenshot of the tracking of the race shows Team Mad
Dog way ahead of the rest at 8 a.m. Winds were dying, but
not before they caught their lift and flew across the sound
with speeds of 18 knots at times. They won this part.

I had a chance to speak to some of the crew members of various boats and in their words felt the excitement I used to enjoy of imagining the start and the race ahead. I do miss it, for sure. But part of being safe is knowing when it is time to do something else on a regular basis, like walking or biking.

Competitors are prepping for the race the next day in this
Port Townsend marina. 65 boats (watercraft) entered the race.

Wednesday was a bit cool but mid afternoon the sun came out for awhile. 

Then by six p.m. when the Ruckus was in full swing, the promised front arrived with cooler air and by 7:30 p.m. it was showering everyone. I doubt anyone had to be shooed away from the event for staying too late.

Thursday was cloudy and there was enough wind to get everyone off at the start, except for five boats that for some reason or other did not get to the start within the proscribed 'golden hour.' 

You can visit R2AK.com for videos and replays and listings of all those signed up and those who were eliminated or withdrew.

The challenge that any race on the water faces is how to keep the spectators happy. And a race of 750 miles over water that is bordered by bears is even more difficult. But the tracker system provides a way to 'watch' a team's progress and thus stay involved to a degree. You can find the tracker here.

(For your information, once the race is completed, the tracker will no longer be operational.) 

Apparently the tracker developed some kind of glitch and stopped giving information mid-afternoon on Thursday, creating some anxiety for followers.

If a vessel has a large number on the bow, it is in the race.

Team Mad Dog Racing won that first stage with a Marstrom M32 catamaran sporting a red hull, a clear sail and three crew members. If you look in the photo (second in sequence) above, you can see the boat almost in the center. 

I have posted a bunch of photos (most have captions) for your enjoyment.

If you are interested in more about the race, please go to the links posted. And thanks for stopping by.

Vessels in the slips are generally contestants.

The general level of excitement on the docks was high, for
the participants and the followers.

The fellow in the wheelchair is a competitor on Team Alula,
one of three leg-challenged crew members on a 27-foot
Corsair trimaran. They are racing to Alaska.

Team Hodge came in 53rd in the Stage One race to Victoria.
When we were racing and didn't place, we would say "It
took X boats to beat us!" They finished and that's something!

Team Alula prepping for the race. They are #7, a good number.

Team Nordica finished in Victoria, too.

If I was going to buy another boat, I'd seriously look at the
Seascape 18. They were 24th across the Sound.

All by yourself...

Noddy's Noggins only planned to do Stage One and they did
it, coming in 45th. Impressive as it looks like something for
the Owl and the Pussycat.

It's the rowboat on deck that is competing... No. 60. They were only going to Victoria. Not much room for food, water.

The only stand-up paddle boarder did make
it to Victoria. Not my way to go there.

Excellent Adventure is a Montgomery 17.
They are going to Alaska.

Navocean had to withdraw after the start.

All kinds of boats entered the race; I think this is #11. If it is,
this boat did not finish the first stage. No shame in trying.

The 'Minions' of the R2AK... we think we are important (LOL)!