the 2008 Rock Hall Weekend
Friday 20 June - 3
pics mostly by Uncle Al
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Not much wind about half an hour before our scheduled 11 AM start - and what there is, seems to be coming up the river from the right.
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There are actually no fewer than three ...
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... Log Canoes entered in today's race.
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Tony has a gander downriver, in which direction about one knot of tidal current is now flowing as well, a matter that makes ...
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... paddling the 100 yards upriver to the start line a bit of a chore - particularly in something like this ...
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... Chesapeake 20! Note how far downriver Tony has already drifted.
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Looks like John and his numerous crew have #19 set to travel.
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Between tide and wind, Uncle Al's attempt at a short paddle upriver from the ramp to a dock space resulted in this unintended and ...
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... very much unappreciated side-drift into the home of this pair of fledgling ospreys.
If I had been looking to illustrate the words and baleful and malevolent, their look would have served.
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I do believe that red flag was one end of our start line. No more start pics after this, since a brief camera fiddle near the line gave the tide a chance to push us into a position from which we could no longer lay the line, and the camera was quickly cursed and forgotten. By the time we had tacked back up-current through a mass of starboard boats, we ended up starting a good two minutes late!!
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Just over half way to the mouth of the Chester River: The usual head winds have filled in to the extent that
Nick and I can usually both sit on the windward deck. No other boats are close to us - behind or ...
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... in front. So it seemed to be a good time to haul the camera back out. It must have been perfect Chesapeake 20 weather as their leaders were pulling away from us at a good clip, unlike all the previous years, when we had given them a pretty good race. We speculated that with their tall masts, the 20s were perhaps reaching an area of stronger, steadier upper wind that we never got.   - click here for full-size pic
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We did give Bill West and his team in #88 a good run for a while though.
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For Nick and me, the good news is that we know that there are no Wayfarers ahead of us,
and a number of boats in this shot have to give us time - depressing - for them!
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I believe that's Jim and Mark Heffernan (far right) running a good 2nd among the W's.
And two Chessies (dark hulls) plus a Log Canoe that we're ahead of!
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We may or may not have treated ourselves to a beer round about this time. I can't quite recall. I could ask Nick, I suppose, but ...
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... he's busy steering while I take pictures.
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After the Race, pics taken from shore - at this time I know I'm having a beer - to be chased with a few Dark 'n Stormies!!
Richard Watterson heads for the beach with his first race under his belt, one that he very much enjoyed, he says.
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Textbook stuff here: Mary gets the main halyard uncleated and clear while Richard luffs head to wind.
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As Richard removes the rudder, Tony and Mary could be modeling for Grant Wood's American Gothic.

Of course, Mary's lovely smile ruins the effect, and you'd have to pretend Tony's beer is a pitch fork, but the look on Tony's face is right.
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Port Tack too comes rolling in with ...
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... Andy Douma (waving) and Mark Banyai. It's a lovely soft, sand bottom here, but it's still good to get the rudder up before it hits.
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