Back on the Water

Well, after almost 3 years of being away from the water, I am afloat again! As most of you know I need to be near/on water - and I don't just mean the bath tub or a creek or something - I mean sailing on a boat on a large body of water, like the Columbia river or the ocean. Okanagan Lake is not, of course, the sea, but it is pretty big. When the wind picks up the waves feel and sound just like the ocean. I had been planning to park myself outside the yacht club and try and find a boat to crew on, but just by fluke I found out that a new friend's husband owns a Hobie 33 and he needed crew! So now every Wednesday night I race on the lake and have lots of fun. We generally come first - which turns out to be second after our handicap is taken into consideration. Oh well. Beer flows well, of course, and I am loving being out on the water again. The girls of my crew are a great bunch and we all get on well.

Our first weekend Regatta was in Summerland - about an hour south of Kelowna. By boat under motor-sail, however, it's 4-5 hours. We sailed in convoy with a few other boats to get there. We hit big waves and hailstorms, followed by hot temperatures and gorgeous sunny skies - perfect for cooling off in the water, and of course, obligatory water fights with the other boats. On arrival at Summerland Yacht Club, there were free Pina Coladas, and the delivery crews had more than their fair share of yummy cocktails. Giants Head Regatta, as it is known, was to start the next day so we had to pace ourselves. Needless to say, some were more successful than others!

Onboard our boat 'Celerity' was (left to right) Greg, whom we borrowed from a local Summerland boat, Skipper and owner Peter, Narissa, Leah, and Kristen. The long distance race around Rattle Snake Island was relaxed and enjoyable. The shorter races on Sunday were a little more intense and eventful, including shackles snapping open and sails flapping, capped off with running aground! Despite this we carried on racing and were surprised when we placed third overall!!! So it turned out to be a successful regatta after all! * Mush