Lunenburg Yacht Club
The 2019 Nova Scotia Nonsuch Rendezvous came and went with the stars aligning so we were able to attend it this year. For one reason or another, since we purchased the boat in 2015, I’ve missed it, although Gregg was there one time without me. Of course we were fashionably late arriving Friday evening, I still work and we’ve been busy with a renovating project, but we were finally on a slip at the Lunenburg Yacht Club (LYC) so let the fun begin!
LYC is quite beautiful with its manicured grounds, rustic clubhouse and spread of finger wharves. The staff was accommodating and the food hit the spot; I must add that the Eggs Benny was exceptionally delicious. On an amusing note, we were unexpectedly serenaded by the club’s Dockosaurus, the gangway sliding on the wharf deck made a mournful prehistoric din in response to the gentle swells. Gregg named it; trust a geologist to conjure up a Jurassic quip.
Saturday morning began damp, grey and dismal but morphed into the perfect day by race time. This event always seems to be the highlight of the gathering and we were enthused to participate with Catalyst II. She won the trophy for the International gathering in 2018 in Halifax and being the only 33 attending this year meant it was ours for the taking as long as we finished the race, but of course the thrill is in earning it, not having it presented as a default prize.
Gregg was basically on his own; my knowledge of racing would fit on the back of a postage stamp, but I can tug on the choker when called on. I'm generally on board to take photos and my camera was clicking away as we counted down the five minute signal to the start.
Unfortunately we experienced a malfunction as we tacked for the line when the pin in the outhaul shackle snapped and took flight. Gregg saw it flick through the air and sink into the water along with our spirits. We looked up and the sail was flogging untethered. Racing Tip #1 – Insure that your equipment is in proper working order, including seizing shackle pins.
I grabbed the wheel and pointed the bow into the wind as Gregg dropped the sail and then dashed below for a spare shackle. Race Tip #2 – Keeps spares of all things on board. By this time the race had started and I managed to snap a few photos while steering with my foot, most of which were out of focus in the chaos.
It took Gregg 15 plus minutes to replace the shackle and bend on the sail again and by hand I might add, our electric winch stopped working the week before and we’d had no time to address it. Once again I was steering with my foot and taking up the slack halyard as he pumped the sail at the mast. Then because we hadn’t started properly we returned to the line. By then we couldn’t see any of the fleet as they had all rounded the first turning mark of the course at Little Herman’s Island, separating from us with a sizable lead.
We were both deflated by bad timing. Why couldn’t this have happened when out for a casual sail when it would have been nothing more than a head shake and a sigh? I looked at Gregg and said, “You know, seeing a whale would be the only thing to haul this day out of the crapper.” We’ve not seen a whale while on our boat, plenty of porpoises and seals but not any big cetaceans. We were also disappointed that we didn’t get to race Charlie Mitchell, owner of Nonsuch 36 Horsefeathers and I’m sure the feeling was mutual. The skippers had a playful fist pump in the club before the race, both eager to fill their clouds of canvas and spar on the course.
In my mind Gregg’s biggest handicap was my inexperience and figured all was lost but I would be impressed by my captain’s sailing ability and learned a few things about trim. After rounding Little Herman’s we could see the parade of sail ahead of us with the leaders already having rounded the leeward mark at Trappeans Shoal. They were so far ahead my telephoto lens did little to draw them in for a usable shot but with decent wind, we rounded Trappeans and began to close in on the tail end of the fleet. Charlie in Horsefeathers, with his 36 foot waterline, was doing a horizon job on all of us.
Beating to weather of Rous Island, the course took us on a close reach to the next turning mark at Spectacle Shoal. With a challenging twist, a fog bank rolled in, occasionally obscuring all of the boats ahead of us. We knew a 30 and a 26 immediately on our bow were now to our leeward as we made the next weatherly beat. Tens of minutes later, we emerged from the fog having put the lead two 30’s, Katadin and Felina and a 26, Chanterelle off our port bow. We kept to the west or right side of the course, which was favoured due to the slightly stronger breeze where we still had a bit of a heel while the others were standing upright. A call came over the radio that the course was shortened making the ME can we were headed for the finish line. Catalyst trailed one minute behind the first 30 to cross. Racing Tip #3 – In light breezes stay on the side of the course with more wind. In the last tack towards the finish line, Felina slowly crept ahead of Katadin. We later learned that Chris, captain of Felina, took the weight of her wishbone boom with the topping lift in the weakening breeze, a clever maneuver to finish seconds ahead of Katadin. Racing Tip #4 – Maintain the twist in the leach by supporting the weight of the wishbone boom with the topping lift. Horsefeathers, with that ginormous sail was already out of sight and Charlie was probably already at his mooring, feet up and polishing off a beer.
Catching up to the fleet raised our spirits after such a calamitous start, but perhaps and an even more impressive highlight was spotting a whale breaching on our port side while heading back to the clubhouse. Gregg saw it first and I readied the camera but when it surfaced I almost missed it trying to point and focus so I waited wide eyed and committed the awesome moment to the original memory card in my brain. Sometimes you just have to experience life without capturing it to share, savouring the moment for yourself. After all, I called it earlier that day so it was a gift from the universe for me. Coincidence, I think not.
For the non-competitively inclined, there was a Geo-cruise. During the afternoon, the cruisers crossed paths with the racers to make for a Nonsuch Tour de Force on the Bay, while the Chester Race Week’s fleet of sailboats, participating in the largest keel boat regatta in Eastern Canada, formed a backdrop to the Nonsuch fleet. Seeing the Bay choked with sailboats would have been a spectacular vista from the air.
The Saturday evening award presentation and dinner is always a fitting climax to the day’s activity. The trophy will be coming back to our home to roost for the winter and I think we earned it with Catalyst II’s surprising comeback. After the meal, Allan Shaw our president, announced to the crowd that he would like to retire his position and that Chris Ouellette, current secretary, would be moving up to fill the role. He asked for a volunteer for the secretary position and the room fell silent. Then he turned to me. The evening before he asked if I would be interested but my life is too large at the moment with working full time and with other commitments. “Perhaps when I’m retired” I said. Well now he is looking at me, heck the entire room is looking at me. I duck behind my husband and jokingly ask if he had a protest flag in his pocket. We are trying to downside our lives as the hectic pace we live is taxing. Again, Allan emphasized that he couldn’t retire until someone filled the position and the next thing I know I’m standing at the front of the room with the executive for a photo opportunity. I guess I was “voluntold” or perhaps in old nautical terminology, “press ganged”. I’m still wondering how this happened but it’s growing on me. Life is like the wind...you never know what direction it will take you...one can only adjust the sail. Chris assures me there’s nothing to it, I hope they aren’t famous last words.
The rendezvous was rounded off with a Saturday overnight stay at LYC, more eggs benny Sunday morning and a farewell to old and new Nonsuch friends. See you at the annual dinner in February. Happy sails, happy trails.
LYC is quite beautiful with its manicured grounds, rustic clubhouse and spread of finger wharves. The staff was accommodating and the food hit the spot; I must add that the Eggs Benny was exceptionally delicious. On an amusing note, we were unexpectedly serenaded by the club’s Dockosaurus, the gangway sliding on the wharf deck made a mournful prehistoric din in response to the gentle swells. Gregg named it; trust a geologist to conjure up a Jurassic quip.
Saturday morning began damp, grey and dismal but morphed into the perfect day by race time. This event always seems to be the highlight of the gathering and we were enthused to participate with Catalyst II. She won the trophy for the International gathering in 2018 in Halifax and being the only 33 attending this year meant it was ours for the taking as long as we finished the race, but of course the thrill is in earning it, not having it presented as a default prize.
Gregg was basically on his own; my knowledge of racing would fit on the back of a postage stamp, but I can tug on the choker when called on. I'm generally on board to take photos and my camera was clicking away as we counted down the five minute signal to the start.
Unfortunately we experienced a malfunction as we tacked for the line when the pin in the outhaul shackle snapped and took flight. Gregg saw it flick through the air and sink into the water along with our spirits. We looked up and the sail was flogging untethered. Racing Tip #1 – Insure that your equipment is in proper working order, including seizing shackle pins.
I grabbed the wheel and pointed the bow into the wind as Gregg dropped the sail and then dashed below for a spare shackle. Race Tip #2 – Keeps spares of all things on board. By this time the race had started and I managed to snap a few photos while steering with my foot, most of which were out of focus in the chaos.
It took Gregg 15 plus minutes to replace the shackle and bend on the sail again and by hand I might add, our electric winch stopped working the week before and we’d had no time to address it. Once again I was steering with my foot and taking up the slack halyard as he pumped the sail at the mast. Then because we hadn’t started properly we returned to the line. By then we couldn’t see any of the fleet as they had all rounded the first turning mark of the course at Little Herman’s Island, separating from us with a sizable lead.
We were both deflated by bad timing. Why couldn’t this have happened when out for a casual sail when it would have been nothing more than a head shake and a sigh? I looked at Gregg and said, “You know, seeing a whale would be the only thing to haul this day out of the crapper.” We’ve not seen a whale while on our boat, plenty of porpoises and seals but not any big cetaceans. We were also disappointed that we didn’t get to race Charlie Mitchell, owner of Nonsuch 36 Horsefeathers and I’m sure the feeling was mutual. The skippers had a playful fist pump in the club before the race, both eager to fill their clouds of canvas and spar on the course.
In my mind Gregg’s biggest handicap was my inexperience and figured all was lost but I would be impressed by my captain’s sailing ability and learned a few things about trim. After rounding Little Herman’s we could see the parade of sail ahead of us with the leaders already having rounded the leeward mark at Trappeans Shoal. They were so far ahead my telephoto lens did little to draw them in for a usable shot but with decent wind, we rounded Trappeans and began to close in on the tail end of the fleet. Charlie in Horsefeathers, with his 36 foot waterline, was doing a horizon job on all of us.
Beating to weather of Rous Island, the course took us on a close reach to the next turning mark at Spectacle Shoal. With a challenging twist, a fog bank rolled in, occasionally obscuring all of the boats ahead of us. We knew a 30 and a 26 immediately on our bow were now to our leeward as we made the next weatherly beat. Tens of minutes later, we emerged from the fog having put the lead two 30’s, Katadin and Felina and a 26, Chanterelle off our port bow. We kept to the west or right side of the course, which was favoured due to the slightly stronger breeze where we still had a bit of a heel while the others were standing upright. A call came over the radio that the course was shortened making the ME can we were headed for the finish line. Catalyst trailed one minute behind the first 30 to cross. Racing Tip #3 – In light breezes stay on the side of the course with more wind. In the last tack towards the finish line, Felina slowly crept ahead of Katadin. We later learned that Chris, captain of Felina, took the weight of her wishbone boom with the topping lift in the weakening breeze, a clever maneuver to finish seconds ahead of Katadin. Racing Tip #4 – Maintain the twist in the leach by supporting the weight of the wishbone boom with the topping lift. Horsefeathers, with that ginormous sail was already out of sight and Charlie was probably already at his mooring, feet up and polishing off a beer.
Catching up to the fleet raised our spirits after such a calamitous start, but perhaps and an even more impressive highlight was spotting a whale breaching on our port side while heading back to the clubhouse. Gregg saw it first and I readied the camera but when it surfaced I almost missed it trying to point and focus so I waited wide eyed and committed the awesome moment to the original memory card in my brain. Sometimes you just have to experience life without capturing it to share, savouring the moment for yourself. After all, I called it earlier that day so it was a gift from the universe for me. Coincidence, I think not.
For the non-competitively inclined, there was a Geo-cruise. During the afternoon, the cruisers crossed paths with the racers to make for a Nonsuch Tour de Force on the Bay, while the Chester Race Week’s fleet of sailboats, participating in the largest keel boat regatta in Eastern Canada, formed a backdrop to the Nonsuch fleet. Seeing the Bay choked with sailboats would have been a spectacular vista from the air.
The Saturday evening award presentation and dinner is always a fitting climax to the day’s activity. The trophy will be coming back to our home to roost for the winter and I think we earned it with Catalyst II’s surprising comeback. After the meal, Allan Shaw our president, announced to the crowd that he would like to retire his position and that Chris Ouellette, current secretary, would be moving up to fill the role. He asked for a volunteer for the secretary position and the room fell silent. Then he turned to me. The evening before he asked if I would be interested but my life is too large at the moment with working full time and with other commitments. “Perhaps when I’m retired” I said. Well now he is looking at me, heck the entire room is looking at me. I duck behind my husband and jokingly ask if he had a protest flag in his pocket. We are trying to downside our lives as the hectic pace we live is taxing. Again, Allan emphasized that he couldn’t retire until someone filled the position and the next thing I know I’m standing at the front of the room with the executive for a photo opportunity. I guess I was “voluntold” or perhaps in old nautical terminology, “press ganged”. I’m still wondering how this happened but it’s growing on me. Life is like the wind...you never know what direction it will take you...one can only adjust the sail. Chris assures me there’s nothing to it, I hope they aren’t famous last words.
The rendezvous was rounded off with a Saturday overnight stay at LYC, more eggs benny Sunday morning and a farewell to old and new Nonsuch friends. See you at the annual dinner in February. Happy sails, happy trails.
 And they're off at the start. |  Chanterelle and Felina crossing tacks. |
Horsefeathers 36 leading Chanterelle 26 and Hubba Hubba 26.
 Felina and Catalyst II milling about at the start. |  Race course.  Dexterity into the mystic. |
 Katadin to weather of Chanterelle. |  Katadin and Felina closing on the finish line. |
Replacement shackle and remedy.
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