The Bandras Bay Regatta, in which Kievit and crew were entered, began on Thursday, March 22nd. The first event was to be a parade of participating boats, decorated to demonstrate the theme of the Regatta – Don’t Worry – Be Happy. There was to be a prize for the best parade boat and the video was to be placed on Utube. We were out to win.
We had an elaborate plan for the parade. David Hanson made great Don’t Worry + Be Happy signs to hang on the life lines. We flew all of our flags and burgees, including and most importantly the Fries flag and pennant. We had the rail BBQ going, smoking nicely and loaded with bratwursts. There were two one-liter bottles of Corona on deck that the two Davids were to be enjoying. (2 bottles salvaged from a trash bin & filled with tea!) We were trailing two kayaks behind the boat. Is that not a Don’t Worry Be Happy attitude when going out for a big race? And best of all, we had placed a big rubber boot in one kayak, attached to one fishing line. To a second fishing line, we had a twenty-inch fish we had begged off of one of the fishing boats. To each line, we had a separate line rigged to pull and make it look like there was something big caught to the line. Well, have you heard about the best laid plans of men and mice? In getting out of the dock and circling 30 minutes for our turn in the parade the kayaks and fishing lines got all tangled and we couldn’t pull either fishing line from the kayaks. We were so intent on getting the lines pulled that the judges didn’t even notice our bratwurst party. Thus, Kievit didn’t win the parade prize.
Nevertheless, we could now focus on the race. This is supposed to be a cruisers regatta, but there were many hardcore racing boats and crews in the mix. The wind was blowing like crazy. While in port, we had put the 150% jib on Kievit, knowing that she was fastest and pointed highest into the wind with this sail. After getting the kayaks and fishing lines all untangled and aboard and dumping the fire from the rail BBQ, we put the sails up. Kievit sunk her starboard rail deep into the Pacific and took off. We went searching for the Committee Boat that was to start the races. After some effort sailing around in the rough ocean, we finally found the Committee Boat and reported in for the race. We were placed for the competition in the “Plastic Classic Division”, which consisted of boats made of fiberglass and over 25 years old. There were a variety of boats form 26 ft. to 46 ft. with a wide range of handicap ratings in our group. For the conditions of the race, Kievit was under crewed, with just Marj and Dave and Ginger and Dave Hanson aboard. The race was set to course #6 which was about 12 mi long and had four up wind legs. Kievit sailed great, but the crew had a hard time finding the race marks and tacking the boat into the 20 knot wind. Dave Fries ended the last two legs with cramps in his forearms from cranking the big jib into place. Kievit was first to cross the finish line in our class by 3+ minutes: however, after the handicap ratings we were second by more than two minutes. Not a bad day for Kievit and a true cruising crew.
After the race, we immediately headed back to the marina because low tide was coming soon and the depth at the sandbar at the marina entrance was shallow and not possible for Kievit’s 6’6” draft. As we motored in the breakwater to the marina the engine alarm went off and steam started rolling from the engine compartment. The engine had overheated. We got into the harbor and tied to the first dock possible. It appeared that the water pump that brings seawater in to cool the engine had somehow malfunctioned. We let the engine cool for about an hour, then decided to move the boat to our assigned berth so that we could attempt to fix the problem. The next minute of activity is well described in the following “incident report” that we filled with our insurance.
#75982 March 22, 2012
The insured boat (Kievit) was leaving Dock A under limited power due to an overheated engine and the wind and tidal current pushing us against the Dock. We had pushed off, cleared the dock and were coming alongside, and well clear of, the boat (Island Wind) that was damaged. At this moment a rowing dinghy with four persons aboard, appeared in view, from behind the beam of the tied boat. To avoid hitting the dinghy, the engine on insured boat was cut back and we steered slightly left. At this time the wind and tidal current carried Kievit sideways toward the boat which was damaged. While there was no hull contact, the small barbeque attached to the port side rails of insured boat snagged and entangled the life line of tied boat which resulted in pulling the stanchions and bending the pulpit of the damaged boat. The entire incident, from leaving the dock to damage to the boat occurred within one minute and was unavoidable under the given circumstances.
Fortunately, our insurance is covering the damage to the other boat. We lost our BBQ and are looking for a new one. Also, we missed the free Tequila Party that occurred that evening. Bummer!
To Be Continued...this is only Day One of 3 day Regatta....!