Admiralty Island Rally

Admiralty Island Rally 2020 – June 20-June 28

This year’s AIR was a spectacular Southeast Alaska cruise, comprised of 7 legs of sailing and a two- day layover at Baranof Warm Springs.  Weather was typical – overcast with a few days of sun, and a few days of persistent rain!    Official participants include S/V Surprise – Anthony and Lori and Crupi with their two teens Eli and Serena (she had her 13^th birthday in Baranof!),  S/V Lyric skippered by Wade Rogers , with crew member Kacie Timothy, and  S/V A Little Romance Skippered by Steve Parker, with Crew Hal Geiger. Support participants included S/V Morning Star skipped by Rick Edwards with his son Kieran as crew, and M/V Juniebell with Sean Boily and Sarah Lewis, their son Axel, and ever vigilant sea-dog Chili. 

The course and play by play:

Leg 1, 6/20 - Marmion Island to Point Astley: 

Race start off Marmion Island at 10 am was bumped up to Pt. Arden and 11am due to lack of wind. 

Admiralty Rally 2018 participants included: 
A Little Romance: Steve Parker and Hal Geiger;
Kyrie: Joe, Kristen, Levi, Rachael, and Megan Grieser; and
Thalia: Patti Harper, Joel Osburn, and Craig Wilson.

The Rally started cool but ended hot, both in terms of the weather and sailing

Saturday June 16--A Slow “Start” to Point Astley

The three participating boats, Kyrie, A Little Romance, and Thalia all left Juneau at different times—Kyrie headed to Taku Harbor the night before the start, A Little Romance started on-time and sailed to within a mile of Twin Points before running out of wind, and Thalia met up with her about that time after motoring on a late start. Upon meeting at the anchorage near the wood spit in Holkham Bay, Kyrie warmly welcomed the other two boats to raft-up to her. Icebergs could be spotted floating amid the grand scenery. Thalia’s gimballed oven had allowed roasting lemon garlic chicken and potatoes while underway. Having already enjoyed dinner, upon raft-up her crew shared leftovers with the hungry sailors on A Little Romance, the first of many food sharings among Rally participants through the week.

The crew line-up was as follows: 

Quest:  Chris and Louise Miller, with Wade Rogers as crew

Surprise: Anthony and Laurie Crupi, with their children Eli and Serena as crew

High Noon: Sean Boily and Sarah Lewis with young son Axel, and little dog Archer as crew.

Day 1:  The 2014 AIR fleet of three; Surprise, Quest, and High Noon convened at Marmion in the early morning of June 21 and very little wind, elected to motor south until they found it - off Limestone Inlet approximately halfway to the evening mark at Holcomb Bay.  That zephyr lasted a couple of hours and all were motoring across a sheet of glass by Midway Island.  Ice was found and safe anchorage was located at Holcomb where Quest invited all aboard for a shared meal and desert as well as stories of adventure.   I think it was a first for many of us to be on a boat that can so comfortably seat 7 adults and three kids around a table.  Surprise set a crab pot. 

Day 2: Calm, with the excitement being that Anthony caught numerous crab in their single pot and had a promise of a shared catch at day’s end.  We all motored southward towards Pybus bay in a steadily intensifying rain, with little sign of wind until the Brothers Islands, where those who were motor sailing were surpassing hull speed with a following sea as they entering Pybus Bay.  Many whales were seen that day.  Pybus Bay anchorage at Cannery Cove was quiet with only one other cruiser in sight.  Sean put an empty bucket on the aft deck for the night and was amazed that it collected more than 3” of rain in a mere 7 hours at anchor! 

Promoting again folks - getting down to the wire for entry! ....Boat owners who meet the eligibility requirements are invited to apply for entry in the Admiralty Island Rally (AIR). 

This is a SEAS recreational event open to both racing and cruising sailboats, promoted in the spirit of adventure of all sailors.  This is an incredible way to get away from town and into ship-board living for a week, testing both technical sailing skills and the basics of being prepared for anything and everything life on the water in our region can bring. 

So skippers: Confirm you Crew, pack you coolers and join us June 21-29!  9am start at the Marmion Line, this next Saturday mornign!