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I make toys for kids who don't want to grow up. I'm on the lookout for new projects. If you're interested in commissioning me to build something ridiculous, shoot me an email.

Friday, June 3, 2011

2011 Ancient Mariner's Regatta

Last weekend marked the 60th Annual Ancient Mariners Regatta, a chance for Sea Scout Ships from all over California to come together and match their skills in all manner of aquatic competition.  This year the regatta was held in Alameda at the USS HORNET Museum.


I cruised there aboard the SSS COMPASS ROSE.  When I say I cruised there, what I mean is I loaded my gear onto the ship and we got underway.  It was only a short while after that when I'd sat down to read a book.  Then I woke up and we were moored outboard of our sister ship, the SSS ALBATROSS out of Martinez, CA:

I guess I was overdue for some rest.

Attendance in all types of scouting has been on the decline for years, but you wouldn't guess it from the crowd that assembled for the opening remarks on Saturday morning:
Opening Briefing


For my part, I was the event director for Flotilla Drill throughout the weekend.  Flotilla Drill is a precision rowing event in which the crews are judged on their ability to crew a 26-foot whaleboat with eight oars.  This meant that most of my view for the weekend looked like so:
Compass Rose and Sea Fox During Flotilla Drill


At some point my sister Rose snagged my camera to get pictures of the rest of the event, but all she really got was this shot of me debriefing one of the crews after their flotilla run:
Flotilla Debrief


Fortunately Melissa Howell, a much more diligent photographer managed to get these other shots:









In addition to plenty of pics from the flotilla drill, she snapped some gorgeous shots of other events. Here's Breeches Buoy:



Pulling Boat Race:



Scuttlebutt:



Flag Signalling:


You can see the rest of the pictures she took during the regatta by clicking HERE.  Out of all the photos Melissa took for the weekend, this one is still my favorite:


She also took this picture:


For the sake of retribution, I snapped this winning shot of her:
Mo-lissa


Because the crew of the COMPASS ROSE didn't have enough people to muster a full competing team, they combined with the crew of the SEA FOX for the duration of the regatta.  For all of their lack of previous cooperative practice, they actually did pretty good.

Finally, here's a shot of the two crews after the dress blue inspection on Sunday night:
Dress Blues

At least they look like they've got their act together...

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