Great Goat Gathering, pt. 3

Our second day of sailing had some moments of more wind, 2-3 knots maybe.  But the sun was warm and the boats were eager and we were, after all, messing about in boats; that's beats a good day at work every time!

Dawn rises on the fleet

Cap'n Dave also serves as Grubmaster Dave

Cap'n Rick makes ready

Put a little oomph into it

Game face ON

Synchronized staring

She how she schoons

It must be a race: Chivita is ahead!

The herd moves in for the kill...

The prey tries to evade...

The embedded paparazzi captures it all

Are we having fun yet?

Maybe if we blow hard enough...

The wind meter says "um... no"

This is what it's all about

Captain Paul is to blame for it all

"Chivita off the starboard quarter!"

Messing about can be intense

Captain Dave presents the regatta burgee to Paul who was selected overwhelmingly as most likely to organize the next gathering

The entire gathering of Goatees

See you next year!

Great Goat Gathering, pt. 2.5

I knew that the gathering would require a dedicated photographer, one with a keen eye for beauty and presence of mind to know where the next great shot will develop and how to position to capture it.  Once again, I pressed into service Captain Rick. His platform for this mission was the T/T Flor D'Luna, a rubber inflatable boat powered by a 6 h.p. Evinrude outboard motor.   Select images from his DSLR follow:

Great Goat Gathering, pt. 2

And so the messing about began!  Winds were virtually nonexistent.  I began the morning with able crew Jacob, age 7.  His shark fin PFD set the right tone for spirited competition.  Alas, it did not intimidate the winds into blowing.

Getting things ship-shape

The crew puts their game face on: this is serious biz!

Sometimes, the biz is somewhat less than serious

Whoop-whoop!! A touch of wind appears

Zzzzz... the touch of wind has gone

We pulled up to shore for some well earned rest and crew change.  I set out alone for the second round of Messing About.

Keep a close eye on Kathleen Marie to the left as she gets smaller and smaller with each frame:

The Bolger looms large

Again, watch as IAZ,P shrinks as time passes:

 

"...simply messing about in boats"

Why do those other boats keep shrinking?