Running on a Sunset

The Mistral crew has been coaxing a few more nanoknots on the GPS lately with the help of the wooden boathook. It came into play several times today on the short course around Lake Union, where Mistral is racing in the Norm Blanchard Regatta. (That's Michael Warner as we approached Shilshole on the sail back from the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival.)
Tomorrow we will have a spinnaker crew on board so the hook will only come out for quick bursts of downwind speed, or something like that. The wind is pretty light this weekend. Note to crew: race start is 11, not noon, as previously broadcast. Mistral leaves the dock at 10.

Photographic Proof: She Floats

Photo courtesy of Harley Soltes
At last, we got a picture of Mistral underway.
It took an article in the Seattle Times, but we managed to get photographer Harley Soltes in a chase boat during the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival schooner challenge. Mistral defended last year's cup win over Sparkle and lost, but it made for a good story and even better pictures. The story ran on the cover of Northwest Weekend and is available online.
BLANCHARD RACE UPDATE: Mistral will be racing in the Blanchard Regatta this weekend at the Center for Wooden Boats. From 8 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday is the crew breakfast, followed at 9 by a race seminar. The skipper's meeting is at 10:30 and the race is at 11. There is a dinner at 7 p.m. Another day of racing will commence Sunday at noon. Crew has been summoned for both races -- you know who you are -- but we aren't playing for a lot of marbles in this one so feel free to contact the skipper if you're interested.

Welcome Once Again

This might be a new occasion to welcome people to the Mistral blog. By the time most of you read this, the latest chapter of the Mistral saga will be featured in the Seattle Times' Northwest Weekend and scores of eager readers will be flocking to this space to hear more. We'll try not to disappoint, at least not right away.
After the Port Townsend odyssey, the Mistral crew has been laying a bit low. Things will get moving this weekend with the Blanchard regatta, a race in honor of Mistral's maker. We'll be short-handed on Saturday. If you have a modicum of experience and would like to haul a line or two, chime in at svwhim@yahoo.com. Sunday should have a full boat.
Oh, the picture above. It isn't Mistral but a cousin, the Seaborn-designed Sierra, which served as the template for the Thunderbird. That's Martin Feldman preparing to go out with Lily panting.

A Boat Can Be Any Color You Like, As Long As It's White, Unless It's A T-bird

It's time to start uploading some of the pictures from Mistral's Lost Weekend in Port Townsend. Coming into the bay, we picked up The Center for Wooden Boats Thunderbird. It's something of a sister ship to Mistral, designed by Ben Seaborn and skippered by Kemp Jones, Mistral's driver and lead advisor.

A Ragged Wooden Boat Regatta

Photo Courtesy of Edel O'Connor
Mistral, second from the front, catches a tug from Jake Beattie on the way to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. This was easily the most wild and eventful week of Mistral's tenure at the Center for Wooden Boats, starting with the engine breakdown on the way out the ship canal to Shilshole. Fortunately, we had made prior backup arrangements with Jake, who met us at the dock and took us north with the ebb Friday morning. Along the way we picked up Eleanora, the Blanchard Senior knockabout, and the Friendship sloop Amie. More later about Mistral's defense of the Port Townsend Challenge Cup.

This Just In...

Mistral took first place tonight in the third start of the Duck Dodge. We'd show you a picture of the gold duck but, well, you'll just have to take our word for it. Kemp Jones drove, Erik Nielsen and Brooke worked the foredeck and Michael handled the main. We had a gem of a spinnaker run between Aurora and the AGC mark. It was all a great practice run for this Saturday's Cup defense.

Committee Re-Appreciation Night aka.Last Duck Dodge

Mistral will once again be out in the Duck Dodge tonight in one last tune-up before Saturday's race at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. Pictured above is one of the starts from last week. Tonight should be clearer with some sort of wind out of the north. It's also the last regular Duck Dodge of the year, to be followed by the Rum Run on Oct. 21. 

Notice to Mistralites and Would-be Mistralites

If you haven’t yet committed to Dave at the Gorge or Neko at Bumbershoot or some other such thing, you’re welcome to haul on halyards during an afternoon cruise on Mistral Sunday. David Derse and I want to test the engine so we can be confident on the way to Port Townsend next weekend. In the process, we aim to shoot the Montlake Cut and raise sails on Lake Washington. Engine and wind willing, and the wind has been very accommodating lately, we’ll head for the north end of the lake. We have a swim ladder so we could conceivable heave to or anchor and take a dip. We’ll have snacks and drinks on board and a brand new Porta Potty that needs, er, christening. RSVP to svwhim@yahoo.com, or on the day of, 206-799-9186.

We start getting ready at 12:30 p.m. and shove off at 1.

Boating Column: Hefty 200-year-old tome carries weight today

How I spent my summer vacation: reading a chest-crushing tome written more than 200 years ago by the self-taught mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch. If it's not too late, you too might slip "The American Practical Navigator: An Epitome of Navigation" onto your summer reading list.
You can even read it on a laptop, which I did after downloading it free almost two winters ago.
A true classic, Bowditch reads like it was written only recently, in part because the U.S. government has held its copyright since 1867 and continually brings it up to date with developments like satellite navigation, which didn't exist when Bowditch was at the helm.
Like few other books, it creates the feeling that you are one step closer to the big cruise, the long-dreamt trip in which you leave behind those day trips on Lake Washington and, at last, run away to sea.

Read the complete column in the Seattle Times.