I was lucky enough to be staying at Point Hudson when the race boats came in, so I had a chance to meet a lot of the contenders. One that was particularly remarkable was a team of wheel-chair bound vets. They had a notably fast boat, the same as my friend's Mark's boat. It looked to me that they would be worth watching, and I do. They're not doing well. The paddleboards, the rowers, and the windsurfers are way ahead of them, they're the slowest...
A few boats have withdrawn, a few seem to be having problems, no boat has suffered serious damage, and no one has been injured or killed. Winds allowing, it looks like the leader will complete the race in four days, breaking the record of five days. A large field will complete in five or six days, and the remaining fleet will complete within 28 days. My friend Mark is up there with the top 10 (well, he's tenth right now) and making excellent...
I'll be talking about this a lot. I went down today to see off my friend Mark and hopefully meet his crew of two. Did that and noted that Port Townsend had blocked off more streets than I've seen, for the pre-race party occurring now. See r2ak.com and head to race bios for an amusing time. I've been trying to come up with a one-liner about this race. The creator of the race calls it "Iditarod with the chance of drowning". It was great to look...
When Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana they set up regulatory systems for "retail", or "adult use", or "recreational" growing, processing, and selling cannabis products. Unlike Colorado, Washington did not have a regulatory system for "medical" marijuana which meant they had to develop the retail system from scratch. In January of 2015, Washington set up a medical system to take effect on July 1. However, the system is built in such a...
Despite the rain, that was a fun stay at Point Hudson. I'll be going back a lot the next few days to watch the preparations for the race to Alaska. I turned down a trip on Mark's boat yesterday, though it was a gorgeous day. You see, race boats are designed for efficiency of systems, not human comfort. The deck was covered with essential working things of metal, which wore out my feet like I was walking on cannon balls. My feet are still sore...
I offered my help to Mark "for 45 minutes" and after 5 hours we got the mast up and the boom and mainsail on. The mast was easier than I thought because it is carbon fibre, light weight. Likewise the tiller and rudder, and the oars. If you go on a 750 mile sailing race without a motor, rowing might get you out of trouble. It's also good for when the wind dies to nothing. So I've earned my spot on the crew. Well, maybe a ride around the bay....
Breakfast this morning was at the Hudson Point Cafe, one of the three restaurants here. Famously good food, notoriously slow service. But it's been that way for decades. Next was a run to Sequim for some grocery shopping. When I hit the point of no return I heard on the marine radio a bunch of orcas were going past the point. Dang. Oh well, there are probably more following, and they have to turn around to get out of the strait so maybe I'll...
I'm back on my favorite dry-camping spot at the marina in downtown Port Townsend, and I'll be here for 9 days. The weather will be iffy, a lot of clouds and light rain are expected for the duration. It's nice to get a view of something other than brown storage sheds. Here I've got the entire bay and Strait, the marina and it's activity, and it's just a short bike ride downtown. Happy to be here.....
It was time to junk my Burning Man bike for a real bike to use around the park, maybe even for some trails or something. BM bikes are typically trash that can be disposed of after a week on the playa, and mine had so many frozen bearings that it was downright dangerous. When I need another junker for BM, I'll get another cheapie. I bought it at The Recyclery, a Parks-operated program and shop here in PT that takes discarded bikes and rebuilds...
I visited my regular GP and all is good. My blood pressure is down to normal, likely due to the meds I take. He wants me to try doubling my statin dose because it might actually reverse the buildup in the arteries. I'll give it a try, but don't like taking them. So with that, all things are normal after my heart surgery, and I can concentrate on getting older and sorer.