RC Report
A View from the Water
I think the first Toliva Shoal Race was 1971. I know the first Invitational Toliva Race, that is the first where we have invited boats from down Sound, was 1972. I have an entry form. That would make this, the 2001 Race, the thirty-first Toliva, or the thirtieth Invitational Toliva. However the weather, snow, kept us from starting one year.
The Toliva Shoal Race went off this year without a problem. The weather was a concern on Friday because of the snow, but it melted away by Saturday. The race was started at 1000 at Olympia Shoal. It was shortened at the Toliva Shoal due to light winds for a 19.4 mile race. Judi Kruller, the Race Manager, made a good call to stop the race there. 85 boats paid entries and 75 finished. Of the ten boats that did not, seven did not start and three did not finish.
The first boat to cross the line was Dragonfly, a multi-hull, at 1501 hr. First on corrected time is Dreamspeaker. Flying Circus got second OA and Courageous got third place.
The dinner party Friday night was great. Jan Visser, the chef, and Thom Abbott, the party co-ordinator, did a fantastic job, with the help of several volunteers. The food was terrific and the beer provided by Fish Brewing Company quenched our thirsts. After dinner entertainment was the Brian Fiest Band. A local band, they played for us last year. I hope they are available next year as well.
Andy and Dee Saller saw to it that the t-shirts were designed and available for the racers. Bill Wilmovski, the coordinator between the Olympia Yacht Club and South Sound Sailing Society, rounded up the boats for the start, the press, and the mark boat at Toliva Shoal. He also provided a copier for the scorers to copy the lists of boats and the results after the race.
Angela Seigel made sure that the media was able to get the information and pictures they needed to cover the event. Joe Neel, our handicapper, Steve Worcester, the treasurer, and Susan McRae, the scorer, all worked to make sure that all the competitors were registered and scored correctly. AT&T provided the cell phones for safety and all the communications between the race committee boats and the OYC.
I could not have done this with out all the volunteers from both the OYC and SSSS. I thank every one who helped in this year’s event. You all did a great job. Even though we can not print all your names in this article, the volunteers are a very large part of this race. With out you, the volunteers, this race could not happen. Thank you all.
Dave Brown, Le Voilier
When I got up Friday there was six to eight inches of snow covering everything. Thirty hours later I had my coat off, sailing in warm sunshine. All the Olympic Mountains were visable and we had some great views of Mount Rainer. What a difference a day makes here on the north east coast of the Pacific Ocean.
Desipte the snow attendance at the Toliva Shoal Race was up, for the second year in a row. And 78 of the 85 boats entered made it to the start. I have yet to talk to anyone who regretted coming. The snow had stopped by the time they boarded the boats for the trip south. The trip was mostly dry, with a north wind. Those coming by car found that the snow was gone from the roads by the time they left.
When they got here there was free beer. We bought it from Fish Tale Ales, the local micro brew. If you have not yet tried it, I recommend you do. Jan fixed an other delicious dinner, proceeds from which go to support youth sailing. Then we listened and danced to the Brian Fiest Blues Band, till the beer ran out. Our own Thom Abbott sat in for a set or two on his blues harp. The consensus seems to be that this year’s party was better than last year’s.
The race itself was a light down wind race. We started under jib, but at Boston Harbor our chute went up and it did not come down till we had finished. This year the current was with us. Only three of those who started failed to finish, all from the Cruising Class. Most of the distance was cover with a nice Force 2 wind. That made for some exciting moments; like when our entire start rounded Johnson Point at the same place and at the same time, with some of the strongest wind we had all day. Sean Trew on the boat ahead of us, Red Scare was taking photos as fast as he could point and shoot. We hope to have some on our web site and in our newsletter.
Of course there was a hole or two. We found one right at the finish line and had to drift across. That made the skipper nervous as he worried we would lose a place or two at the very end. But I do not think we did. We drifted past the Toliva buoy within two lengths. The buoy’s sea lions were actually playing in the water when we rounded, not just sleeping on the buoy. They still did not seem to pay any more attention to all the boats around them than if they had been asleep.
It was a dry race with just a very very light sprinkle or two. Sunglasses were needed most of the race. As I said above, it was a warm day with great views of the mountains. I am glad visibility was good as a tug joined the race at Boston Harbor. For a handicap she was towing a long log raft. Most of the fleet had passed her by the time she left us to go the other way around Anderson Island. She managed to get in the way of someone from almost every class. Though her skipper may not see it exactly that way.
The race was shortened at the half-way point, the Toliva Shoal buoy. Dragonfly, the first to finish, crossed the line at 1500. Dreamspeaker was first OA, edging out Flying Circus by 9 seconds and Courageous by 22; all racing scratch in the 73 rating class. Most of the racing was close. Except in E Class where Uproar managed to finish an hour ahead of the second place boat, even more on corrected time. She finished third boat for boat in the start ahead.
Finishing at the Shoal the Tacoma boats were almost home. So most boats did not come back for the hot soup Jan had waiting at the clubhouse. Which only left more for those of us who did make it back. A warm and great tasting end to a great day for me. However they ended it, everyone I talked to thought it was a fun race well worth the risk of a little snow.
Steve Worcester, Sugar Magnolia