April 2021

April Cruise: 35th Circumlocution of Bainbridge Island

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The April club cruise will be the traditional circumlocution of Bainbridge Island with boats anchoring afterwards north of Lemolo (east side of Liberty Bay). Steve and Elsie on S/V Osprey will be cruise leaders.

  • Dates: Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25, 2021

Race Rules:

  1. The Office of Circumlocution is proud to present The OPENING DEBATES of the 35th CIRCUMLOCUTION at 1000 hours, 24 April, 2021, on a line true west from the West Point lighthouse and east of the VTS lanes.  The debates will be argued initially upwind from this line, then the Masters of vessels who have mangled the administration of issues may choose to sail either north or south.  Boats heading north must leave the “SF” buoy on the far left as described below in Para 11, before heading to Agate Pass, and shall be prepared to discuss the finer elements of tea and crumpets.  Boats heading south around Bainbridge Island have no marks, shall be prepared to sail over the Dept of Bureaucratic Terrorism (DBT) wall. The determination of the most clueless administrators will be made under the power lines just past Keyport Naval Station and Underwater Weapons Research Center. 
  2. There will be three Platforms for Debate. 1) Smaller craft and gray double-enders under 38 feet LOA (former Trump Cabinet members who were fired or left under a cloud).  2) Half-fast, in mid-size craft (former administrators laying low hoping to retire alive). 3) Larger and/or those who think they are really fast (former Cabinet members who left on their own terms).
  3. The first platform will start at 1000, the second at 1015, and the third at 1030.  Boats with more than one hull must wait 15 additional minutes for each additional hull.
  4. The Debates will be monitored by former VP Pence, who will come out of silent obscurity to sound a single long horn blast at each plank laying session except for the multiple hull boats.  Protests must be registered in advance with the night before with Nikki Haley, Ambassador without portfolio and Governor without State..
  5. Those vessels who have earned 2nd place in the past five years are not eligible for 2nd place.  They may, in the enduring tradition of politicians worldwide, obfuscate the discussion by coming in First, i.e., ahead of 2nd place.
  6. The following are frowned upon and are grounds for public scorn:
    Failing to have at least one sail up starting and finishing.
    Use of internal combustion engine(s).
    Failing to sail the entire course on your bottom in your bottom.
    Failing to navigate the entire selected course.
    Failing to display a PSCC burgee.
  7. The HIGHEST and MOST VALUED Award will be given for SECOND PLACE.  First across will be gagged, no longer allowed to blather.
  8. An award will be given for the BEST HORROR D’HOOVER.  Judgment will be by secret negotiations in the Raft-up described below.
  9. An award will be given for PERSEVERANCE.  To qualify the vessel must cross the Finish Line prior to 0001 hours on 25 April, 2021.
  10. The Nominating Convention will be a Raft-up (if permitted) for all boats north of Lemolo.  Powerboats with dance floors are encouraged to attend.  The Raft-up will be the base of the HORRORS D’HOOVER Contest and the Awards Ceremonies.
  11. As always, good candidates never travel in the middle of the nautical road.   Cross the middle of the nautical road quickly.  See DBT COMDTINST M16672.2 Rule 10 (c).  With regard to Buoy SF, you must stay east of the traffic lane until Buoy SF is past your beam before crossing to the west side.  Chart plotters will be audited. Do not impede or force a WSF ferry or other large or government vessels in Rich Passage (considered a narrow channel) to stop or change course.  Doing so will create hate and discontent amongst those who would rather see sailboats removed from local marine waters.  See DBT COMDTINST M16672.2 Rule 9.
  12. As directed by the DBT, in accordance with pending dicta from the Lesser State of Washington, debaters must stay at least 400 yards ahead or behind, or 300 yards beam of any Southern Resident Orca (SRO).  You may approach Transient Orcas (TO) within 100 yards (90 meters).  If there is any doubt about whether the Orca is a SRO as opposed to a TO, it is suggested that you examine their breath, as TOs are mammal eaters as opposed to salmon eating SROs and therefore will not smell fishy.
  13. As required by the censorious Vice Admiral, the Office of Circumlocution points out that the last two items are to be taken seriously.  Admiral Jack Tar has meowed his assent.  The Bilge Rat stands censored.

 

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April club meeting on Zoom – Brandon and Scott presenting – The Adventures of S/V Cool Change in the Amazon basin

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In July of 2016, S/V Cool Change and her crew set a course Southeast from the island of Grenada to the muddy river waters of Suriname. The forgotten and former Dutch Colony most people think is somewhere in Africa. This would be the start of their 16 month exploration of the great Amazon Basin. In these months they would sail over 700 miles of river systems and come to know the lands of Suriname, French Guyana and Brazil.

This untamable region is still by definition the wild west. The jungle is littered with illegal gold mines ran by armed outlaw renegades searching for their fortune at the cost of the locals and more importantly their fragile ecosystem. The nature is equally wild and unforgiving. It may be full of predators and poisonous creatures but it also holds a chance to taste the magic of the mystic jungles and the cultures living within.

The crew of Cool Change was more than up to the task. They dedicated nearly a year and a half to explore and create a deep understanding with the Amazon region. The ultimate goal of their expedition would be to enter the “River Ocean” or better known as, “The Amazon River.” Doing so from the North is a huge feat in its own right due to the relentless Northwest setting Guyana Current. Culminating in a circumnavigation of Ilha De Marajó resting between the Río Amazonas to the north and Río Pará to the south. The Island of Marajó is roughly the size of Switzerland and holds a tangled web of rivers, tributaries and marshlands seemingly infinite.

The boys never saw another sailing vessel while navigating the Amazon River. The locals and authorities all warned them that they were sailing at their own risk. No one could protect them or rescue them from the ever-so-evident pirate threat. In a way it was just what they had been searching for, an untamed wilderness and where frontiersmen still lived. A place that was only fringed by their fears. If they could over come the lingering fear of the unknown, they would be awarded with a gift that is granted to few sailors But all they heard from the sailors in their wake was a plead, “Please don’t go!!”

The story of Peter Blake rang out in conversation between them and their fellow navigators as they prepared for the mighty Amazon River. But something stronger, something magnetic drew these searchers further into the darkness. The ships captain, Brandon Savory, and the ships jack-of-all-trades, Scott Gallyon, speak of their firsthand experiences and what they learned about navigation and survival on these rivers of doubt.

  • When: April 16, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time
  • Join Zoom Meeting
  • Meeting ID: 857 7197 2300, Passcode: 399443

 

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