by Top Hat » Fri Aug 01, 2014 6:29 pm
Nice write-up, John. Thanks for that and for the kind words about Reservoir Dog. And thanks for your advice regarding beefing the boat up for the event.
Every few weeks I come across another article written about this year's race and it's like I'm there again.
The event was so much freakin' fun! From the schizo winds (high and low) to the navigation to the people...great times! If it wasn't for the crappy long-distance drive to get there and back from Denver I would sign up again in a second.
One quick story y'all may enjoy: On day three--the long day--my crew (John Rudden) and I tied up at Snoopy's marina to grab a deli sandwich and a cold Coca-Cola (we didn't bring a cooler) and poop in a proper toilet (instead of disgracing a hastily dug beach hole, as we had been doing along the route). I grabbed the trash bag out of the cuddy and handed it to John on the dock to dispose of in a dumpster. Later that evening while anchored at Paul's Mott, exhausted after beating and reaching for about 11 hours, we began unloading the boat to set up camp. John was usually the unloader (wedged uncomfortably in the cuddy, legs sticking out) so he would pass me bags and I would transport them to the beach. He pulled out the other trash bag, which was supposed to be filled with our MREs for each nights' dinner and discovered it was actually the trash. In my haste at Snoopy's I had handed John our food thinking it was the trash bag. John was so rightfully pissed off. For the rest of the event we would have to eat only from our snack bag. There was plenty to eat--John stocked it well--but energy bars, jerky, crackers and canned tuna got old pretty fast. Thankfully on the last night, around the picnic table, the event coordinators grilled off a bunch of extra food that would have otherwise gone to waste, and we gratefully enjoyed turkey sausage and some baked beans. My wife, knowing the situation, was kind enough to meet us at the finish line at Magnolia Beach carring styrofoam boxes full of hamburgers and fries.
1982 O'Day Daysailer II, #10892, "Reservoir Dog"
2012 Laser, #200559