Three days ago we started seeing a lot of boats coming into the bay. At first we thought it's simply spring is here, but after a couple of near misses while they were trying to pick up the mooring balls we got curious. I remembered something about a race and sure enough that's what everyone was coming in for. Watching them try to moor would have been funny if they weren't so close to us. One boat actually drifted into the can of the boat behind us. We decided to "hang out" in the cockpit while they were coming in. After our less than organized arrival in Newport back in December, I felt a lot better watching these new arrivals some what less than graceful attempt to moor.
Friday morning was the beginning of the race. I don't race, but I get so excited to see them all out there. There were over 200 boats this year, and I understand that this is down from years past. Someone in the crowd said people just don't want to go to Mexico with all the problems down there. I find that funny, because all our cruising friends in Mexico find just the opposite. They love being down there and feel completely safe. That just means better anchorages for us and them when we finally get there. I hate a crowded anchorage. I personally think it's the economy. We see more and more boats for sale here and fewer people heading south than in years past.
Back to the race, after making sure all our neighbors got off OK (meaning no damage to Reisender), we grabbed the cameras & binoculars and headed over the the Balboa Pier to watch the race begin. It was spectacular to see that many boats with sails up and ready for action. We watched them tack back and forth getting in place for the starting line. The race is approximately 150 miles and will take around a day to day and half to complete. At the time of writing this 3 boats are already in taking roughly 20 hours to complete the journey. For my non-boating followers that does not mean they won. It simply means they are FAST!!! All boats are not created equally and the differences in length, displacement, and sail area are all taken into account and the times will be corrected for these factors and the winner will be announced after all boats are in.
Scott and I looked on enviously as the first group headed across the starting line. Scott did the Oregon Offshore several years later and he would much rather have done this race. Only one night out and the days were warm and sunny compared to the Offshore, which was 3 nights and bitter cold the entire time. That's the difference of sailing Southern California and the Washington Coast.
We've certainly been active the last couple of weeks, I think spring fever is upon us and we are excited to be back in the boating mind set. We are excitedly sketching our plans for the summer and finally down to Mexico.
Cheers! and We miss you all!
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