So the big ladybug - the one who just had a birthday on Sunday - decided to take her new-found middle school britches and sign up for her first Junior Race Week ... a huge deal in this sailing-centric town! Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday belong to the junior racers and Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday belong to the grown ups - people travel in from all over the country to compete. All week long, the streets around the 3 local yacht clubs are literally clogged with boats on trailers and dollys, waiting to be plunked in for a day of racing - hundreds and hundreds of boats and without a doubt our busiest time of the year.
My big ladybug's fleet was the "opti" fleet, named for the Optimist sailing dinghy she captains:
It's like a 7-foot bathtub with a single sail, a rudder, and a centerboard. A total of 61 boats competed in the "opti green" fleet of first-timers just like herself, they had to divide the group into two halves just to stay on top of them all - 3 days of racing, 9 races in all, filled with everything from wind delays to crashes on the start line and everything in between. Here she is in action:
And here's what it looks like from further away:
68 more optis raced in the championship fleet (the more seasoned kids) located further offshore. Also offshore were older kids who raced in either a 2-person boat called a 420 or a very fast single sailor boat called a Laser. The 420 fleet was the next biggest, 25 in the green fleet and 60 in the championship fleet, you can see them all beyond the rock:
Here are a few 420's coming in from a day of races past the opti greens:
So this is what the entire week will look like around here - it's all about the wind! Junior Race Week ended last night - our big bug was thrilled with her 17th place finish, you can bet that lots of high-fives were had after such a big accomplishment ... fast forward 30 years and she might be just like her dad, who today begins his Race Week (yes, this is actually him) ...
(photo courtesy of Leighton O'Connor)
7 comments:
That is sooooo amazing!! What a wonderful way for your girls to grow up :) Do they have to take swim lessons, too?
Wow. Congrats to the big ladybug!
Great shots. A child's (and Husband's and Mommy's) paradise.
You must live in a really beautiful town.
Where is it?
:-)
Wow...it looks like you live in a vacation place! Congratulations to your daughter...what a great acccomplishment! Good luck to your husband! Your pictures are AWESOME!
Enjoy your weekend!
Wow Sloan...what an amazing place to live. I can literally feel the energy in those photos. No experience with sailing here, unless you count the movie Wind with Jennifer Grey!!:) Congrats to your daughter and hubby.
Enjoy the night and hope your weekend was great!
wow!!! i am in awe!!!! the pictures are great....i can only imagine the amazing energy around you!!!! she is one lucky ladybug!!!!! and you must be one proud momma!!!!
WOW, how fun is that?! She is so lucky to have that opportunity. It's so beautiful to look at. Thanks for the pictures. Yeah, we only look at cornfields and bean fields, so I could just stare at photos of those little sailors all day long. :)
A beautiful post! Almost like a mini-escape for all who view it! Life is so beautiful and one thing I enjoy so much about the blogosphere is the ability to see life through other's eyes. God has created such an amazing world! Hard to believe that people actually live out these photos:). Looks like so much fun. And a beautiful sight to behold in person, I'm sure.
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