I’d like to send out a huge thank you to all of this year’s volunteers and committee members. Toliva Shoal 2004 was a great event thanks to the help and effort of our volunteers!
Friday night’s pre-race party was terrific. The food was delicious, as usual, and our bar hosts keep the crowd well hydrated. All of the dinner proceeds went to support the OYC Jr. Sailing program and I heard they did quite well. The T-shirt sales were robust — only seven were left by Saturday night. We had a large group of people who attended dinner and many that hung around to enjoy the music of OchoPies. We were inspired by Jim Legenfelder and his family and soon were out on the floor moving to the jazzy Latin beat. My son, Ben, especially enjoyed the dancing and entertained those watching with his unique dance moves.
I woke up early on Saturday morning worrying about wind. It was awfully calm at our house — at least the wind was. We were all running around doing a million last minute things. Even after a late evening, many people arrived early to enjoy a healthy breakfast. Thanks to Jan Visser and crew for keeping us all well fed. I was so busy looking out the window for wind, I forgot to eat!
I have to admit I was nervous. Things looked fairly calm outside as we finished up the skippers’ meeting. Iwas thinking, please, please, please let the wind blow. The race management team, headed by Judi Kruller, set out for the course. Gary Larson of Slo Dancer, was our Committee boat captain. He’s a terrific guy and we appreciate his help again this year. Mort James and Thom Abbott were on the Toliva Shoal mark boat, Journey II. Many thanks to them as well for their support of the race. Fred Adair and his wife provided chase boat services. Sean Trew was out there as our press boat. I waited as all the racers filed out to their boats and started to wish I was heading out with them. I’d been watching the weather all week long and they kept saying 5 to 15 knots of wind. I sure didn’t see any of it at that point. Please, just a bit of wind to get them going.
The hardest part of this whole event is staying behind. The organizing takes time and effort but you have great people to help. Everything eventually comes together. You enjoy the party and getting to know some of the many people who come down to race. You have so many things to do that it is go, go, go until the minute that everyone leaves the club. And then the waiting begins.
The wind didn’t look too promising and the start was still an hour away. We cleaned up a bit to kill some time and then headed home to get something to eat. I thought we had plenty of time to get to Boston Harbor to watch the boats go by. Boy was I wrong. I called my friend, Scot, who lives out there about 1015. He had just seen the Cruising Class go by. He said the wind was 8-10. I knew we had to hurry! Matt and I jumped in the car and sped out to Dofflemeyer. Scot called 5 minutes later to tell us the multihulls had gone flying by. We made it out there just in time to catch most of the fleet heading into Dana Passage. It was beautiful. Everyone had their spinnakers up. The colors were spectacular and the boats were really moving. The fleet passed by and we settled in to wait, again.
We had to do some crew changes on the committee boat. Matt and I picked up Glen Sutt in Boston Harbor and brought him back to town. An hour later we picked up DeeDee and raced out to Zittles where we hooked up with Fred, who ferried DeeDee out to Slo Dancer.
Cell phones are a really useful invention but they have their limitations. There are some dead spots out there where you just can’t reach anyone. We stayed in touch with the race manger as best we could. They relayed the results back to us regularly. Susan McRae did an outstanding job posting results. By the time most racers returned to the club house, Susan had their adjusted times calculated and posted. Everyone really appreciated the “instant” results. Matt and I went out to Johnson Point and watched ten or twelve boats finish before it got too dark to see.
As the racers arrived back at the club house, I heard a lot of praise for this year’s race. They were generally pleased that Judi shortened at Johnson Point. Great race management, Judi! There were lots of grumbles about the tides and winds around Anderson and through Balch, we hear the same thing every year. There was an amazing story, and pictures, of a Silverheels navigating the ferry dock at NcNeil Island. We finished most of the boats this year, including the Cruising Class. I couldn’t have been happier.
Some final thanks are due. First, to the Olympia Yacht Club for again co-sponsoring this event and for the use of the clubhouse. This is a great partnership that has been in place for many years and we want to continue for many more. Happy 100th Anniversary OYC!
Second, to the Sunday morning clean up crew. You guys are great! Thanks for being there so early after a very late night. The clubhouse looked terrific.
And finally, to all of the committee members who helped me so much. I appreciate the help from each of you and your support of the whole event. If you get a chance, pat them on the back. These people consistently donate their time, efforts and knowledge to South Sound Sailing Society.
One last thank you to my family. They each helped in their own way.
Susan Bishop, Destiny II
The Race started promisingly. There was more than enough wind to get everyone across the line and it was not raining. We had the typical spinnaker start with a run down Budd Inlet. As to be expected there were several calmer patches in Danna Passage, but we had the current with us. And the wind was building.
We had wind to spare close reaching to the south end of Anderson Island. The wind brought a light drizzle. This is typical, most Toliva Races have strong winds. That is not to say they all have strong winds all race. On this day too the wind gave out, on the run from Lyle Point to the Toliva Shoal buoy. The good news was the sun made an appearance. And the current was with us.
A few of the faster boats actually made it around the turning mark before the wind left. They scurried over to Balch Pass to wait for the tide to turn. Others also found that the “favorable” current became a hindrance as they drifted past the Shoal with no wind to reverse direction and head back. One boat drifted so far north they decided to go around McNeil Island too and rejoined the fleet at the south end of Pitt Passage. That was not their best move.
Eventually the wind came in, now from the north. Those left behind when the wind died got to rejoin the others waiting in Balch Pass, a typical Toliva restart. With chutes back up the fleet made it through. We had a good sail to Devils Head before the wind died again. By now it was getting dark and this was not encouraging. However we heard a finishing gun. The RC shortened the course and was finishing boats at Johnson Point. The end was in sight.
We waited and the south wind reasserted itself. A real rain came with the wind. The speedo got above five knots at times as we closed on the line. The RC had its work cut out for them with boats finishing in tight groups in the dark. It helped when the racers lit their own sails and went by the RC boat to make sure they are identified. Most everyone was across by 2000 hrs.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the scorer was posting finishes as they were phoned in. After finishing the racers stopped by to see, and for food and beer. The last group came through around midnight when they came back for their car.
Most of the boats hung in to the finish. Dragonfly took line honors, but White Horses back in I Class corrected out over everyone. Sugar Magnolia, also in I, was the highest placing SSSS boat at third OA. It was a good race for the back end of the fleet. This was the opposite of last year when the advantage went to the fast boats starting first.
We saw wind and calms, rain and sun, favorable and unfavorable current; this might be called a typical Toliva Shoal Race. That is if there is such a thing. There is so much variety in the weather and currents, and there are so many different places on the course where these interrelate, that after 25 years I have yet to see two Races that are the same. Maybe that is what keeps me coming back. The only thing they all had in common was that I had fun.
The next Southern Sound Series race is Gig Harbor YC’s Islands Race March 20th. See you there.
Steve Worcester