OPENING DAY

Oh I'm getting behind again!  But the boat is back at Shilshole with a decent internet connection.

Recapping where I last left off, Saturday morning was when the big events started. Jodi took a kayak trip shortly after breakfast and promptly ran into quite a police presence at the entrance to the cut -- along with a number of boats.  She described it as 'a whirlpool'.  Spinning the kayak around, she stuck close to the western shore of Portage bay where the houseboats are.

After she got back we staked out a place just above the finish line to watch the races and the parade.  24 different races were run -- everything from masters events with '60 and over boats' to high school clubs competing against each other.  What other sport has 3 different generations at one event?

Racing in the Montlake cut is great.  I was fortunate enough to race there a couple of times and both Mom and Dad raced there as seniors.  My distant recollection was the noise nearly the entire distance.  First boats on on both sides then larger crowds lining the cut.  Of course when I raced, it was against the UW and the noise was well ahead of us.

After the crew races, the boat parade began.  The Canadian training sailboat the 'Oriole' set a spinnaker and did a run through the cut under full sail. She was followed by a couple of hundred boats in different categories.

After the initial boats had gone through, We noticed the skies were about to open up, so we went back to the club for lunch -- and then the rain started and intensified for the balance of the day.  We retreated back to the boats on zero dock.

It was a fun opening day.  We didn't see all of it, but we saw enough of it.

Here's another youtube video of the day.  (You may need a computer to view)