And so it ends

Until next year. We are trailing Bobbles back to Portland today where she will dry out had get a new coat of fibreglass and a couple of gussets around her new daggerboard case and maybe a sail up to the Columbia Gorge for a bit of a frolic to test the new bits. We are making plans for next year. It’s been interesting. All our modifications to Bobbles worked as intended. I was concerned about the rudder and the centreboard as we had no opportunity to test them in more than very light winds. It was blowing around 22 kts gusting higher with short steep seas when it broke and, having looked at the way it was built, I’m not surprised. That’s why we also decided to replace the centreboard. When we removed it, we discovered that it was waterlogged and delaminated so a good move.The rudder broke at its weakest point but I had not considered it as a risk and we just adjusted the blade in its cheeks before the race. Egg on face and an expensive exercise cut short almost as it started. I think rowing most of the way to Nanaimo doesn’t really count. We are looking at options for next year – neither of us like !eaving things unfinished or wasting all that useful experience. Meanwhile, some local wildlife. It had compressed itself from about twice as long before I got the camera going.