Salt Watta Regatta

Bainbridge Island Rowing Club sponsors one regatta every year, the Salt Watta Regatta.  Crews from Vashon and Olympia joined us this year.  Because Vashon focuses mainly on sculling (each rower has two oars) rather than sweeping (one oar per rower), Kylie was asked to compete in a quad (four rowers sculling) and a double (two rowers sculling). Bainbridge traditionally focuses on sweeping, so she only had a few weeks of practice before the regatta. She was a bit nervous, especially for the double. She would be responsible for steering the boat, since a double doesn't have a cox.

A view of Eagle harbor on race day.  It was overcast and grey, but not too cold.  

We stood out at Pritchard Point near the finish line to watch.

Here comes Kylie in her double!  She's the one in the red hat.  

They're coming up on the second place team, getting ready to pass.

Coming in to second place...

and crossing the finish line!

The Quads...Kylie's boat is second from the left.

I'm so glad she wore a red hat!  Here they're passing a boat from Olympia to take 3rd.

(photo by Julie Hall www.insidebainbridge.com)

A reporter from Inside Bainbridge was at the regatta and this picture of Kylie's boat made the front page of her story online.  There was also a video clip of this race included in the story. Click on the picture to see the looks on their faces!  They work so hard!

 

Rowing back after the race.  I love the contrast in boats!

Overall, Bainbridge did fairly well, winning six races and taking 2nd in six.  

Our Last Pinewood Derby

After five previous Pinewood Derbies, spanning the years 2001 to 2012 (with a gap between 2004 to 2010) and not even coming close to producing a winner, Brad and Ben decided this year they would go with STYLE!

Thus, the Mystery Machine was born!

I think Ben still secretly harbored visions of victory...

seeing his car lined up with all the others...

but after his first race against The Lightsaber, The Batmobile, and The Alien Invasion,

watching his Mystery Machine groove down the track, he realized STYLE is the way to go!

The Mystery Machine definitely had a distinct shimmy and totally captured the essence of grooviness.

On a side note, I was asked to make awards for the Den winners.  I came up with these beauties, thanks to Pinterest!  Can you tell they're supposed to be race cars?  

Shaw Island 2013

It's March and that means our annual trip to Shaw Island!  This year, we decided to spend Friday night in Mt. Vernon so we were closer to the Anacortes ferry and didn't have to wake up at 5:00 in the morning.  It was a great addition to our tradition and I think we'll do it again next year.  We met up with the rest of the group on the ferry to the San Juans.  

Excited? Of course!

Friends on the ferry...the hour ferry ride is great for visiting.  Ross tasked me with taking as many pictures as I could.  I didn't get one of everyone and I won't post all that I took, but I think I did a decent job of capturing the day.

We remembered to bring our coins to flip into the bulls-eye at the Lopez Terminal...

Ben got it into the middle, but it bounced out! 

Arriving on Shaw, we piled into the trucks. Even though it was cold and rainy, the kids still enjoyed riding in the back of a pickup. I, on the other hand, did not want to ride in the back of a pickup in the rain, so I hopped in front with Father Scott.

The mothers were waiting for us when we arrived and asked for the Priest and the two Bishops to each give a prayer. Father Scott is their visiting priest and I enjoyed talking to him on the ride to Our Lady of the Rock. He is on sabbatical here and said he's amazed at how many sad people he sees when he goes into Seattle.  He feels the lack of spirituality in their lives is a big contributor, even more than the grey weather.  He said that if you have faith and God in your life, you can be happy no matter where you are.  

After the prayer, the mothers were quick to hand out assignments. Ben and his friends were assigned to work on the wood pile making kindling with Grandpa Tom.

When Mother Hildegard said she needed three hard workers to clean out the sheep barn, these three eagerly agreed.  I love these kids! 

I was busy making sure Ben and Jillian had their rain clothes (it was POURING!) and missed getting an assignment, so I headed to the garden with a few other ladies.  Weeding in the rain felt more like playing in the mud.  Extracting the weeds from the clumps of mud they clung to was nearly impossible.  I did manage to clear the buttercups from the raspberry bushes and hopefully didn't do too much damage to their roots. After a few hours of mucking about in the garden, Denise, Tiffany and I were sent on a snack run.  We got to bring snacks to the various work parties around the farm, so I was able to see pretty much the entire place.

These guys were working down at the waterfront clearing out old rail ties that had been buried in the bushes for ages.

After we made our first stop, we ventured up the road to find a place to turn around (dirt roads + lots of rain   = don't get stuck!) We finally found a spot, but I was a little nervous, especially since I wasn't driving my own van, so Denise offered to hop out and make sure the ground was solid enough.  Let's just say it was still quite muddy, as you can see from the splattering I gave Denise when the tires spun out!

Our next stop was by the pond where they were clearing out the smaller trees and brush so Mother Mary Grace could have a bird watching area.  Tiffany's husband was working up there with several other men and most of the Boy Scouts.

This is Mother Mary Grace's cabin. It's quite a way down the road from the other Mothers.  Very "Little House on the Prairie-ish," except it's in the middle of the woods.  

Another group was working on cleaning out the pig area after they had done the same for the sheep.

There were other groups working in various locations, but I didn't get pictures of them.

Elisa, Sharon & Betty Jo preparing lunch.

Ben and Hiram admiring the pigs.  It finally stopped raining after our work was done.

Me and my dad

Dennis, Ross, Mother Felicitas & Father Scott

Nathan, Kylie & Aubrey enjoying a break.

Some of the scouts eating lunch.

Ben and I soaking in the sun.  It felt so good to finally dry out!

Brad and I

  

And of course, a trip to Our Lady of the Rock isn't complete without a ride back to the ferry in the Llama Van!  It actually smelled good this year.  Father Scott said he had taken it on himself to freshen it up a bit.  Even with all the rain, we enjoyed our day on Shaw Island tremendously and can't wait to go back next year!

Japanese Internment Memorial

After Kylie's races, Ben and I walked over to the new Japanese Internment Memorial at Pritchard Park. I've been wanting to see if for a while, and Ben is studying the Internment in school, so it was the perfect opportunity.

First he stopped to climb some trees!

The memorial is located in the same location as the ferry landing where 227 Japanese residents were forced to leave the Island on March 30, 1942. It's a serene setting, perfect for strolling the path and contemplating the people whose lives changed so drastically that day.

There are several carved wooden plaques with stories of some of the people who were relocated. Ben paused at each one and we read them together.  He was very interested and touched by the stories.  

This plaque depicting the return is my favorite.  I like to think that I would have been welcoming and supportive of the Japanese when they returned, would have taken care of their property and returned it to them in good condition.  At least I hope that's what I would have done. 

The sign when you walk into the memorial says in Japanese, "Let it not happen again." Amen!

Spring Rowing: Scrimmage vs. Holy Names

Spring rowing has begun! It actually started way back in the beginning of February, which is technically still winter.  These kids are amazing, going out in the freezing cold water to practice every day.  We've had a fairly mild winter this year, so it's not as bad as it could be, but they still deal with rain and wind and cold on a very regular basis. Their first "regatta" was March 8, a scrimmage against Holy Names (a private, all girls school in Seattle.) Kylie rowed in a 4, bow seat (I'm still trying to get all the terminology straight!) Since Bainbridge doesn't have an open stretch of water 2000 meters long, they had two 1000 meter races, from Waterfront Park out to Pritchard Point, then back. 

Warming up...Kylie is in the red hat, stretching her arm.

The first part of the race...Bainbridge was so far ahead, I couldn't get both boats in the picture. 

Here's Ben, cheering them on.

More of the cheering squad:  Ben, Brad, Grandpa Tom and G.R. 

It was kind of warm if we stood in the sun, but the sun was quickly setting and the wind was picking up.  

Here's a shot with both boats, Kylie's is the one in the lead, on the right. She pretty much smoked 'em!

Getting ready to start the race back into the harbor.

Kylie's boat quickly pulled ahead.

They caught up a little towards the end, but Kylie's boat pulled off another win.  

Unfortunately, her boat was the only boat on her team that won, both of their 8s (open and lightweight) lost.  

But Kylie won, so that made me happy!  I love to watch her row.  Her next race is March 24, again on Eagle Harbor, with Olympia and Vashon.