Are We There Yet?

by Carlo Vanini, Lake Ontario 300, July 2004 aboard '@ease'

Somebody would ask, “Are we there yet?” And 3 voices would answer, “It’s only half a mile!!” But it stared much earlier.

Some background: @ease is Ross’ CS30, rates 156 with a shoal draft keel. Crew: The R.O. = Rich Owner, Ross Seeley, Richie-Rich = Rich Corum, Boo-Man = Brent Hughes, and The Super Wop = me.

Ross asked us for sailing resumes to submit a snapshot of the experience aboard @ease to the race committee. Other skippers sent in things like: Newport- Bermuda winner, Baltic Cup series, won this or that (impressive titles follow), etc. Ross sent – “We had a lot of fun in last year's LO300 and look forward to this year's contest. I find myself in the enviable position this year of having three crew members that have forgotten more about this sport than I will probably learn.” Thanks, Ross.

54 boats in 8 divisions, 6 divisions in the spinnaker fleet and 2 divisions in white sails. Course: Start at Oakville, then to Port Credit, past Hanlan’s, to a mark off Whitby, to Main Duck Island, to the Niagara mark, to the Burlington mark, back to Oakville – a little over 300 miles. Here’s what happened (at least the part we can print)(you know – what happens on the boat stays on the boat).

Ross: “Well, the much anticipated weekend is over and as parting is such sweet sorrow, it is only lessened by reaping the rewards of our efforts with such a stellar result. Everyone is safe and I hope a better man for the experience. It was truly a great time, I learned a lot more about each of you, and I learned more about myself.”, and “The moment Brent and I left our dock at FBYC knowing that anything was possible in the next 4 days, it’s that anticipation that is ALMOST better than the going through”

Ross and Brent were hardly tied up at PCYC when they were commandeered to go racing on a hot new Jenneau 35 – of course they blew the fleet away – way to go guys (and we hadn’t even gotten started yet!!)

Pre-race party at PCYC 'till 2 A.M. – I don’t remember any of the foolishness – I must have been on the boat asleep….

We started at 11 A.M. Thursday, July 17, and set the stage for a great leg to PCYC from Oakville”.

The first leg – Brent on the helm, Rich trimming the genoa, I’m trimming the main, and Ross is on the rail calling EVERY wave. We’re working very hard to keep ahead of the deep keel boats. Our major competition was “Rebel” a C&C ½ ton, and “Georgian Pearl” a C&C30. Port Credit was hosting the Steerers Regatta with 200-250 dinghies out on at least 6 different courses (each course had at least 4 big orange marks), and we were supposed to find our turning mark amongst all of this. It was a mess! So the whole fleet of 54 boats went inshore of ALL the marks. That meant going right through the OPTI fleet – at 6-7 knots in about 25 knots of wind. Kids were turning turtle, coaches were yelling, race committees were screaming, it wasn’t pretty – and potentially very dangerous.

Brent: “ 55 yachts slamming straight through an OPTI fleet in 25 knots. Poor little kids.” Then a tight reach all the way to Whitby – pretty much a parade with everyone at hull speed. Brent: “after rounding Whitby in 3rd place, which proved to be the only time in the race we were truly out of the lead, popping the chute quickly and blazing past Rebel and GP in no time at all!!” We were buzzed by a Canadian Forces chopper – it was only about 50 feet off the water and came right through the fleet – cool. I had to play the Last Post while Ross keyed the mike, just so the rest of the fleet knew it was sunset. Ross heated Shepherd’s Pie for supper. He’s a great cook – although I think he was the only one that knew how to light the oven!! Brent made some special lemon Gatorade for Richie (don’t even ask!!). It was a kite run all the way to the Duck. Big wind, big waves, surfing all night – solid 8’s all night, often 9’s, peaked at 10.4 while Ross and Richie were off watch trying to sleep, except Richie kept falling off the bunk (well, rolling side to side is FAST, as long as you keep the boom out of the water)

Brent: “sailing all night in 25-28 knots and big waves with the kite up, on one of the blackest nights I remember on the lake”.

We had to call Ross and Richie up twice in order to jibe – and you know that everyone knows what there doing when you’re up front jibing the pole (me) in 25 knots and you NEVER get jammed into the mast!! Thanks guys.

Brent: “The look on Richie’s face when he came up into the maelstrom to help jibe – Holy ShEEt!” and “Passing bigger boats who’d dropped their chutes on that first night.” Then Brent and I went down to try to sleep.

Brent:” Being woken up at 4:30 so Carlo and I could come up and unwrap the hour glass (the middle of the kite was wrapped a few times around the headstay) – Me thinks R&R were both asleep at the wheel”.

The race face was still on as we approached Main Duck. In the morning we saw Rebel and Georgian Pearl about 3-4 miles astern, but of course we had to jibe to cover! Then a C&C35 manned by sailing instructors and their students tried to take us up, but Rich’s eloquent recital of the racing rules dissuaded him, much to the amusement of the students. We were chasing many bigger boats: Iniqitious C&C39 (rated 120), Folichon C&C34 (141), passed by Con Brio C&C33II (132) just before the island. We rounded Main Duck at about 1:00 P.M. on Friday afternoon. (It took Doug and I until Friday night to do it in ’91). Then after rounding, we went upwind into the wind that had carried us down the lake.

Ross: “Absolutely amazed at the sail area carried in 24-26 knots by my “tender” little CS30, that was a clinic, handling the boat in “go fast mode” never forgetting the whereabouts of our competition”.

Brent: :Coming out the backside of the island into the big upwind breeze – Carlo, Rich, and Ross all steering superbly in big waves and breeze. Holding the #1 and reefed main through the first squall, super trimming and steering while Rebel and Georgian Pearl flamed off the course”. I was remembering ‘91 and ’92 when we had to beat into the infamous Lake Ontario 5 foot chop for 24 hours, and hoping this would turn out differently. Just after rounding Main Duck we were passed by a Dufour 45 that rated 72!!

Then the BIG decision – north or south shore on the way back to Niagara?? What will the weather do, when and where we will be when the wind comes up and from where will it come from, what happened in last year’s race, what we did in ’91 and ’92, where is the competition going, then finally, when we’re 30 miles from Niagara do we want to be coming along the shore or crossing the lake.

Brent: “the decision to go to the south saved the race”, and “Carlo’s clinic on trumpet playing – mid lake, as we headed south and into the sunset – a welcome respite from the constant trimming”. (I played sunset – made me think of many people who were sharing this with us, whether they knew it or not).

Friday night – Caesar salad and lasagna – still chasing bigger boats – heading towards Putneyville and Rochester. Brent: “waking up from our watch and seeing the Ross and Rich had got us all the way to seeing the Rochester lights. – ending our watch and still seeing the Rochester lights!! F ---!!!”

Then Brent: “Light air, crawling along with the Whomper (Ross’ geniker) up – gaining on bigger boats again”. While coming along the south shore looking at the nice homes, Brent plotted our position on a really large scale chart, and I looked at the chart with my brain in high gear and asked “Are we that close to shore?” Answer – “Just turn around!!!”

Brent: “the building storms all day long (over the shore), and the anticipation of what was surely to come at some point soon”.

Saturday lunch – Wings and cold beer !! But still going slow (compared to the ride down the lake). Ross: “Rich and I between 2-4 AM Sunday night raised and snuffed the whomper 8 times, finally ghosting away from 5 or 6 boats in 4.5 knots of breeze doing 4.5 knots of boatspeed. The breeze continued to build as a storm chased up from behind”

Brent: “Of course – the BIG blow!!!” and “Here comes the squall – let’s get the chute up!!” Yes, of course you have to put a spinnaker UP with a storm coming – after all, we’re from FBYC!!. Brent: “The beginning of the end for all things old (30 year old Bi-Radial). The squall built and built, and watching Rich’s expert steering as the wind built to 30 knots in flat water near the Youngstown mark. Our conversations as it built, as the roll cloud came in behind us and the rain poured down – through the lightning bolts all around us. “When do we take it (chute) down?” “When the wind spikes by 10-15 knots.” “What if it just slowly builds?” “Maybe God will take it down!!”

Ross: “With the whomper snuffed and chute up, it was a wild ride in 29 knots, until Phil’s poor chute expired with little more than a wet fart (Sorry again Phil). Just before the unfortunate death of Sushka’s chute I was below changing into my foul weather gear, the boat headed up on a gust and the up, then sudden release of the chute propelled me off the port settee and across the cabin with such force, I ended up upside down under the chart table.”

We got what was left of the kite down – pulling luff tape, wondering whether the halyard was still attached. Waited until the wind went all the way down to 20 knots, then hoisted another kite (of course!!). More rain, trying to keep up with the big boats. Can’t see Rebel or Georgian Pearl anymore, trying to listen to the radio to catch their positions. Still racing very hard.

Brent: “ Carlo and I passing 12 more boats in the early morning light after we heard that the wind was only 4 knots at Pt. Weller and Burlington and gybing out into the lake – taking the transoms of 9 larger Division 1 and 2 boats, dropping the soggy ¾ oz. Kite, putting up the dry .6 oz. And trouncing the fleet on the way to Burlington – covered the same distance in 4 hours when it took us almost 12 to do the same 6 weeks ago in the Susan Hood.”, and “The look on Rich’s face when he awoke and asked how far to the mark (Burlington) – 3 miles!!”

We rounded Burlington Sunday morning and headed upwind to the finish at Oakville – just a short hitch – 10 miles. Had to blow a horn at a cruising boat that was on port tack or he would have t-boned us – dumb sailor!!

Brent: “ Having to drive the boat in the slowest possible s--- – upwind in 2-3 foot chop with 8-9 knots of wind. Hitting the shore hard at the finish and tacking out of 8 feet of water”.

We asked a powerboater if he and his wife would kindly go behind us so his wake would not disturb us. Brent: “ Carlo going “native” on a powerboater – too funny!”.

After 72 hours of racing, Brent on the helm, Rich trimming the genoa, I’m trimming the main, and Ross is on the rail calling EVERY wave (just like the start) – just like a Wednesday night sprint – am I getting too old for this?? Lost a few boats upwind, but only those with really deep keels.

Brent: “The FINISH, and the sweet taste of champagne – knowing we’d just sailed a great race and the crew stuck together and was fantastic throughout the whole thing. Great times with great people on a great boat, and the copious amounts of rummers at OYS, then PCYC and on to FBYC.”

Ross: “ Thank you to all of you who lent us stuff for the trip and offered your best wishes, it was a wonderful accomplishment for a second year in a row for @ease, for skipper and crew and FBYC”. We finished 1st in our division and 10th overall.

Next year?? – Oh please – let me get the bruises healed!! But I’ll tell you, it’s no coincidence that BOHICA always sailed away from the rest of us on Wednesday nights. These guys are good – very good. It was a privilege to sail with them and to be allowed to be part of the team.

It’s funny how being within 15 feet of 3 other guys for 3 days strengthens friendships.

I asked each one why he wanted to do the race – “I just love the sailing”, “I love the competition”, “Wanted to see if I could do it again”, “Love long distance racing”.

I did it because of the inspiration I got from a friend who’s fighting a tough fight.

Carlo.

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