Canadian Mounties, the author
Josh May, crewmate Tom Sullivan and a Tribal leader at Port Hardy. Photo by Ken Blalock
fish pens, we enjoyed a plentiful Salmon BBQ and spent the afternoon exchanging jovial stories of the day’s adventures. Skipper Denny Vaughan of Bravo Zulu, recalled that, “The wonder of the Van Isle is the great people you meet along the way and the many friendships born during the journey.” The fifth leg of the race would take
us on a 40nm beat to the quaint enclave of Telegraph Cove with its multicolored cabins and magical atmosphere. This had been the first year in its history that the Van Isle 360 was dominated by consistent northerly winds. We all longed for a spinnaker run. With the sun rising over Chancellor Channel, we had three practice starts before heading north along Johnstone Strait and another day of perfect sailing conditions. Working t i relessly through
Johnstone Strait to stay in less current and change sails as the wind fluctuated, our spirits were revived as a large pod of dolphin joined the fleet. At one point, while changing the tack of the jib during a sail change, I found myself only feet from a young dolphin, who turned on its side and took a good, long look at me. The dolphin pod stayed with us the entire way to the finish. By the end of day five, David
Wilson’s Merlin would regretfully have to drop out of the race due to keel failure. Don Gillingham’s Tripp 40 Tripp Tease, would experience a mainsail failure and would spend the following night sewing the new “old” main to fit. The fleet was not alone for repair assistance though. Rigging support was offered by Blast performance sailing and sail repair by UK Halsey sailmakers. Leg six started with light wind
that died completely as we approached Cormorant Island. Calculating that we would never make the time limit sailing, we motored down Johnston Strait to Port Hardy. As we passed Cormorant Island and an old abandoned brick schoolhouse, our onboard “Albatross,” Wayne Gorrie, told us the story of the resident schools. A dark time in Canadian History, the derelict resident schools remain as a reminder of past Indian subjugation and racism.
As the first of the fleet to reach Port
Hardy, Flash was to ask the Tribal Elder for permission to dock. Steve Travis performed the ceremony valiantly and was granted the honor of landing the fleet of the Van Isle 360 in Port Hardy. Port Hardy would also serve as the midway
point and location for crew exchanges. For many boats, fresh crew arrived for the long offshore ocean races to come. The seventh leg at 69.5nm, would
take us to Winter Harbor, past the breathtaking north island archipelago of God’s Pocket, past the treacherous
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48° NORTH, AUGUST 2011 PAGE 47
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