Tuesday, June 19, 2007

View from the Ground - Cadillac Van Isle - Leg 4 (Start)

Kairos left promptly from the dock at 6:00am heading to Deepwater Bay for the 8:00am start. They have an ebb tide so it should help them through the narrows - winds look decent now, so hopefully it stays with them. I'm off to do some shopping in Campbell River, get a few books and head into the unknown at Sayward and Kelsey Bay. Probably find a creepy hotel - you know the type, check-in at the bar, light fixtures missing or on the floor, one TV channel with poor reception.

Weather has been typical for the Cadillac Van Isle 360 - a mix of wind, rain and sun. Of course, the North Island gets a lot of rain and I can't remember a race in which we didn't actually have rain.

I'm not sure when my next post will be as I don't think I'll have Internet access until Port Hardy (maybe Telegrah Cove). I can't even get FM radio stations, cell coverage is non-existent, so I'm not hoping for my roadhouse-room-over-the-bar-hotel to have wireless Internet. So this might be it for a day or two from me. The Cadillac Van Isle website will continue to be updated. We truly are sailing towards the ends of the earth.

Tomorrow should big thrill for me - at Woss there is Baldwin steam locomotive that used to run on the rails taking logs from the camps to Bear Cove - it makes a great photo opportunity. And at Bear Cove I'll get to see one of the only remaining active logging railroads in North America - though now it is diesel hauled.

Kairos

Kairos is an Aerodyne 38 based at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. She was recently brought to the west coast via a three-month trek from Stamford Connecticut, up to Nova Scotia, PEI and through the St. Lawrence to Kingston. Some of the crew couldn’t wait for her to get here so they joined the boat for part of the journey; Maureen and Marion sailed on the east coast, and April joined the boat in Vancouver for the final leg to her new home port in Victoria.

The name Kairos, is taken from Greek mythology and represents opportunity, the brief moment when things are possible

The Crew:

Returning crew

The crew on Kairos have raced together previously on Ockham’s Racer. The crew has waited patiently for two years for Ron to acquire a new boat and is now anticipating the adventure of the Cadillac Van Isle 360. Joining Ron for this year’s race are Maureen, Marion, Heather, April, Charlotte, Rose, Louise, Nigel, Dennis, Geoff, Curtis, Bert. The crew’s experience, ranging from a seven-year sailing journey around the world, to local and international racing, is varied and well suited to the variety found on the Cadillac Van Isle 360 Race.

Years doing the VI360

Ron and many of his crew have raced in all but one Cadillac Van Isle 360, and was one of the 14 boats that set sail in the original Cadillac Van Isle in 1999. This is truly one of our favourite races due to the variety of conditions and the people involved in the race.

Cadillac Van Isle 360 success

Ron has had success coming in second, first and second in division 2 during the Cadillac Van Isle 360s of years past. Lets hope the opportunity presents itself again - the moment when things are possible.

Ground support

Once again we have our fabulous ground support team, David, providing shore support for Kairos. David has also been land racing around the island since 1999.

Fun spirit . . . but no skits

One of the things that leads to success for Ron and his crew is Ron’s leadership as well as our ability to have fun, but get serious and focus as needed.