After days of rain, it was a delight to see the clear Northerly with plenty of wind, for this years "Race Your House". RYH is a cruiser race put on by the Shilshole Liveaboard Association and Sloop Tavern Yacht Club. With fully vaccinated crew, on Pat's big Saga 43, s/v Fairtide we were happy to be off the dock and sorting out the boat, in 25Kts of wind. As usual, I tried to get pics of the boats and crew, and the start presented many of the boats, from fast Farr designs to a Bayfield 29. Cary on P-dock was out on Sea Haven, and O-dock represented by "Too Hip to Quit", "Spark", and "Breeze". We had a bit of a tussle at the Meadow Point Buoy, weaving through boats and struggling with the current. The next mark, up near Jefferson Head, was hard to find, and the wind lightened as we got closer. We finally rolled out the genoa, which has to be rolled to tack, and rounding the mark there was Freeflyte! The spinnaker run towards West Point was a jibe set, not a bear away, so we wrestled the sock around to the starboard side. It was a bit of a wild ride at times, spinning us up into the wind, with so much power Pat had no rudder control. I understand we hit 10.5 kts, a new boat record. Looking for the next mark, we over-stood out to the West, powered up, dodged the box, and headed to the finish. Freeflyte, a Freya 39 that started long before us, was just ahead of us, and and Ryan's Sweden 36 Breeze finished right behind us. Only fifteen out of twenty six boats finished the race, we came in fourth in class, and sixth over all - wow. What a fun time, good cheer, wine and food with a delightful crew! Thanks Pat, Gary, Sean, Jim, Karl and Maryloo!     Please enjoy these shared snapshots - these pics are good therapy for me. Thanks All!
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