Gloucester Schooner Fest ’22 c

I’m calling this the last batch, although there are dozens of photos I’ve not posted.  I’ll do the same as yesterday and number the shots, commenting on some.  I didn’t have access to my VHF, so whatever announcements were made, I didn’t hear them.  However, photo 1 shows the boats jockeying for the best position when the race signal was given. 

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2.  Once it was given, schooner Brilliant flew that bulging sail (a spinnaker or an oversized jib or a golly wobbler? ) and raced ahead.

3.  The race was on.

4.  Brilliant was way out front racing downwind.  It appears the jib has not been raised. 

5.  It soon became apparent that for some reason, there was a problem and the race was off.  Secondhand information said that incorrect instructions had been given, so the race needed to be restarted.  That meant getting all the boats back to the start line.  For power boats, returning to the starting point is direct and easy, but for sailing vessels, 

6. …  herding cat fish comes to mind.

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8. I believe this was part of the line up, and the race was restarted. 

9.  Below, the two nearer boats are in the lead;  the three a bit farther off and sailing to the right have yet to round the the inflatable buoy. 

10.  Here was the most exciting duel of the afternoon;  l to r, When and If and Narwhal.  In photo 10, Narwhal was trailing but moving to overtake When and If. 

11.  And here, Narwhal makes the move and races to the winning time. The two schooners on either side have still not rounded the buoy. 

12. Click here for the 2022 race results.

All photos, WVD,  Thanks to Artemis for the ride.

 

Gloucester Schooner Fest ’22 b

The following photos were all taken between 12:30 and 1:00, my favorites from a half hour’s harvest of photos just before the race began.   I’ll number them for reference purposes in case you choose to comment.

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All photos, WVD, who will post the race–the recalled one and the real one–in the following days.  Post time is always noon.

Again, I was crewing on Artemis.  Check out her site here.

 

Gloucester Schooner Fest ’22 a

I’m having a hard time deciding what to post . . . so I’ll do multiple posts.  Hundreds of photos from the schooner fest is an amount that overwhelms my decision making even as the clock ticks down the time until noon.  So here goes . . . for today, random sights.  Maybe by tomorrow, I’ll have a plan. For today then, just a few photos, minimal identification. 

I crewed on ketch Artemis and as a ketch, we were not involved, although we tested her wind-propulsion from the sidelines and did quite well. Artemis is a popular name these days.

Sail rigs of every sort caught the breezes and my eye.

A parade of sail took place in the morning in the Inner Harbor, or maybe this could be called a re-enactment of one of Fitz H Lane’s  canvases.

Human power crossed the harbor also.

I’ve no idea why those folks are trying to sail that navaid.

Some sailing vessels had white sails, some tanbark, and some had both.

 

 

More tomorrow . . .

All photos, WVD.

I’ve a question for longtime Gloucester area residents:  my first trip to Gloucester was in winter 1986-7 or 87-88.  I took a half day off work in Newburyport because I’d read in a local paper that a Soviet factory/trawler had been granted permission to enter the harbor for a few days, and I can’t recall the reason.  It was a raw day, but the sight of a large rusty ship with the hammer/sickle on the stack was unforgettable.  I did even own a camera in those day . . . maybe I’d left my smartphone at home . . .  .  Does anyone recall details, get photos?

I was thinking to call this “summer sail,” but that didn’t seem to fit.