Today started out with a quick stop at the fuel dock to splash some fuel for the 10 mile power through Seymour Narrows as well as make sure we can get to Telegraph Cove, the next possible stop for provisions.
This leg takes us up through Johnstone Straits and we get the privilege of staying at a fish farm with a preparred salmon dinner. But first we have to get there.
We powered along and met up with the boats that left too early to get through the Narrows. We hugged the shore real close and were just able ( maybe 1.5-2 knots to spare ) to get through. Amazing to think that at some point this pass will run up to 16 knots!
The start is just around the corner in Deepwater Bay. We had plenty of time and proceeded to run the line and get a feel for the starting conditions. It was roughly 10 knots during the pre start but quickly became 15+ so we decided to reef to keep ourselves out of trouble. This proved the right move as being able to maintain control during these starts is key to staying out of trouble. Actually Dragonfly was hit by Night Runner just after the start.
This leg takes us through some very pretty country. It also makes for some challenging sailing as the breeze funnels and built to the high 20's and with a following tide, made for some very steep chop.
We ate it up and were doing extremely well. But these conditions were not for everyone and one boat, a multi named RUFF DUCK, loses her rig. They manage to cut it away but are forced to retire from the race and we see them heading back towards Nanaimo.
With about 8 miles to go we took a 6 foot square wave dead on and it blew the jib right out of the foil. The guys quickly got the sail down and we threw up the storm jib, only to have it peel out of the foil right away too. We bobbed up and down for about 15 minutes in total before we were able to lash the storm jib to the forstay and carry on. During all this the leaders got further away and many either passed us or made up time against us. We did manage to finish the leg in a softening breeze but ended up finishing a disappointing 10th just 19 minutes back of first, which we know we would have been close to had we not had our first bit of bad luck.
Also to note, when the wave landed in the back of the boat it shorted out our electronics, so we were without boat speed / wind / depth and electronic charts for the rest of the race.
The stay on the farm was fabulous. Our hosts were gracious and scenery spectacular.
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