DragonFest!

[bamamick]

I will be leaving for Seattle Thursday morning, flying out of New Orleans. The Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union is hosting their first annual DragonFest regatta and Dragon celebration on Saturday. A full day is planned with breakfast beginning at 9:00 iirc, and races starting at 1:30 pm. After the races we will be 'analyzing' the feats of the day and eating pizza until whenever.

Anyone who may be interested in seeing the Seattle fleet get going again, has an interest in the International Dragon class, or just wants to have a nice afternoon on Lake Union, please come by and say hello. Vern Velez and the people at the CWB have been wonderful in helping the Seattle fleet get going again and have gone above and beyond in hosting this event. We would be more than pleased to see and meet anyone from the WoodenBoat forum or their friends and family.

This is my first time to visit Seattle and I have to admit I am pretty excited about it. I always love sailing in new places, and Seattle is a place that I have wanted to visit for a long time.

Hope to see some of you on Saturday.

Mickey Lake
National Secretary, AIDA :)

[bamamick]

3am CDT, so I am still a little groggy. One thing that is very clear in my mind is the level of hospitality that my wife and I received from the people at the CWB (thank you again, Vern). I can't thank them enough for taking care of us.

If you have never been to the CWB then you have missed an opportunity to visit one of, if not the most, unique places you have ever seen. I have been to all of the Maine museums, Mystic Seaport, St.Michaels, Newport News, and various and sundry small maritime museums around the country. That's what I was expecting when we left to travel to Seattle. I was wrong. Very much so. The Center is not a museum. I guess that I should have known that but it escaped me somehow. The Center is a completely different kind of place, where anyone can just walk in and learn to sail. Where small children and their grandparents can spend a day on the water sailing. I just can't do it justice so I won't try. I will say this though: everyone who I met during this trip, from Mr.Graham (the founder) to the instructors and boatwrights, to the volunteers at the desk, spent the whole time that I was with them smiling. Never before have I seen so many young people drawn to and so serious about working with boats, yet it seemed as if they were in the happiest place they could be.

I am mumbling. Anyway, if you haven't been you should go. If you go you will understand what I mean. This is no museum, though of course there are museum quality boats there (with T-bird #3 and 'Pirate' tied up at the docks? Of course there are museum quality boats). What really strikes you are not the boats, it's the interaction of the people with the boats.

So, how did the regatta go? We only had a couple of boats make it. Conflicts with the Canadian Nationals in Vancouver, Whidbey Island Race Week, and some ongoing restoration work that couldn't be finished in time cut the fleet somewhat, but we did have three skippers show up without boats to talk about fleet building and where we can go from here on out. There are a couple of very enthusiastic owners out there who really want things to get moving. I have a feeling things will grow.

As far as racing on Lake Union goes, what an interesting experience. Kayaks, motor boats, BIG motor boats, kids taking sailing lessons, and freakin' seaplanes! I have only ever even seen a couple of seaplanes, let alone have 20 of them land on top of us during races. Wild. Sailing along within touching distance of houseboats and chatting up pretty girls in bikinis while you're racing is something new for me. It was a great time (though sometimes frustrating with the shifts).

I am already planning on going back in September of 2008. Hopefully we will have made real progress with the numbers by then.

Mickey Lake