DNF

After a seven and a half hour drive + ferry ride across the Straight of Juan de Fuca, we were back in the marina where we had left Wave Dancer. The place was hardly recognizable compared to when we had left it two weeks ago. Previously where there had been mostly empty docks with maybe twenty race boats. There were now over one hundred and eighty race boats in full regalia. 

All those boats don't sail themselves and the crew members alone totaled over twelve hundred people, not to mention the two hundred volunteers and the many spectators that came out just to check out the boats. Needless to say the docks were bustling, and the previously quite Inner Harbor of Victoria had taken on a county fair like quality. Live music and booths along the waterside were selling everything from hot dogs to henna tattoos to whales carved out of driftwood. The atmosphere made the event feel like the whole town was coming out to support the race.

The sun was out and the wind was up, we and the other hundred and eighty sailboats headed out to make the eight o'clock start.

The Schooner Martha

Waiting for our turn at the starting line, we were honored to have the one hundred and seven year old schooner boat, Martha cruise by with all her sails up. Martha was one of two large wooded sailboats to enter the race, the other being the HMCS Oriole. 

Those ships that were built and sailed long before the invent of GPS, VHF radio, EPIRB locating beacons and reminded me of the sailors that came before and the skill and fortitude it took to take a large wooden leaky boat out into the unforgiving oceans of the world.

Adrienne tailing.

We got off to a good start and with a little over twenty knots of wind and we were well on our way to the turn around mark that was located at the last bay along the Northern Washington Coast before entering the Pacific Ocean. 

As the sun slid over the edge of the ocean the winds weekend little by little. By midnight we had traveled fifty miles to arrive at the turn around mark. With little to no wind teasing our sails we were stopped dead in the water at one point before the faintest breeze moved us along.  

All through the night we ghosted ever so slowly making our way back to Victoria. Any hopes of the morning sun bringing freshened winds with it were quickly doused. The day was spent keeping the spinnaker sail barely full of wind, if it wasn't for the tide currents going our direction we might have been going backwards. As you can see below the water is about as flat and glassy as your going to ever see it out there. 

Flying the spinnaker in a whisper of wind.

As evening drew closer the winds didn't change, but the tide currents did. We were now almost at a dead stop even though there was a hint of wind filling the sail and when you looked at the water passing under the boat it felt like we were moving in a forward direction. That was until you looked at the shore and noticed that the scenery hadn't changed for the last three hours! 

This won't come as a surprise to any of you that were following the race tracker, but after hearing the forecast that predicted no significant wind over the next twenty four hours and hearing over the VHF radio over fifteen of our competing sail boats one by one retire from the race. Just before dark, we decided that we should strike the sails and retire from the race. 

Earning ourselves and at least forty other boats the official race placement of DNF (Did Not Finish)

~J~