The Bluewater Cruising Association’s August Rendezvous (August 14-16) at Port Browning, Pender Island, was a resounding success. We were blessed with sunshine, clear skies, and perfect temps, although the water lovers among us might have preferred it to be slightly warmer! A potluck appetizer get-together on the dock beside Catherine, the host boat, gave us the perfect location to meet and greet as members arrived in their boats and dinghies to join the fun.
Port Browning BCA Rendezvous welcome appetizer party!
Saturday started out under the tents where the pancake breakfast was well underway with lots of help from volunteer flippers and mixers Cindy, Jacqueline, James, Dick, Cheryl, and Anne. Lots of fruit was brought to share, making for a delicious breakfast.
Left: Pancakes are almost ready! Right: Some of the pancake preparation team, awaiting the hungry crowds.
With appetites satisfied, it was time to tackle the art of making soft shackles. We had an enthusiastic group anxious to get started. Dick and Anne, both amateurs at this skill, did their best to help the group learn to make their own soft shackles with the help of a few in the group who already knew – and with assistance from a few YouTube videos, which many found helpful. “How to tie a soft shackle” by Yachting Monthly and “How to make an easy Dyneema soft shackle with quick release lanyard by Knotty Knots” walked you through the process slowly. Dick and I found the above videos to be the most helpful. There are many more videos to choose from if a little extra help is needed.
Materials needed were: 1 metre of 3/16 Dyneema line, a 1/4 inch, 4mm fid, a marking pen, a measuring tape, and Marlow tape. Almost everyone participated and was rewarded with their own soft shackle to use on their boat. We ordered the Dyneema line 3/16 from Binnacle at $1.70 per/foot and the fids were $18.74 each from Amazon [1]. You can use a Bic pen with the pen part removed as a fid, however, it is a little on the big side and doesn’t work as well as a proper fid. The Marlow tape was bought locally from Record Marine.
After a short break, it was time to head down to the beach to meet up for the blindfolded dinghy race, where six dinghies anxiously awaited the start. A few were a little too eager and had to be called back to the beach before the countdown could begin! A few dinghies were obviously handicapped by large outboards attached, but they were ready and game for the event. It was hilarious to watch from the beach as dinghies headed in the wrong direction, or into each other, or pointed to the direction they wanted their oarsman to row, forgetting of course that he/she could not see! All but one managed to finish the race, as a rather large outboard and a dog aboard made it extremely difficult for them to make any progress past the first mark. Ultimately, they decided it was easier to come back to the beach rather than to keep going and risk disaster. In spite of having difficulty at the end, like remembering the instructions for the finish of the race, the rest of the dinghies managed to finish! Most importantly, it made for great fun whether watching or participating.
Top: Challengers in the Blindfold Dinghy race; Bottom: On your mark…!
The Potluck dinner was FABULOUS, with so many scrumptious food dishes to choose from. This was followed by Commodore David Vincent presenting an Offshore package to Judson Berry and Leah Walker on Sputnik.
Commodore David Vincent presents leavers package to Judson Berry & Leah Walker.
Next up was the Peterson Cup, which was awarded this year to James and Tami Catherwood, on the Calgary Chapter’s Symoon, who found ways to get to or near all the anchorages under sail. Sadly, they were unable to attend, but here is a picture of them during the Peterson Cup Event.
Left: Peterson Cup winners James and Tami Catherwood; Right: Ken Christie ready to present the Peterson cup.
Prizes were then presented to the winners of the Blindfolded Dinghy Race: first place, Heidi and Glen Priestley on Borboleta, second place, Kevin and Leeanne Towers on Syntropy, and third place, Victor and Kevin on Shearwave. All winners received auto-inflatable life rings courtesy of Rekord Marine Vancouver [2], who kindly donated these prizes for our event. Thank you, Rekord Marine! This was followed by a lucky draw for prizes donated by Evolution Sails [3]: 5 large catch-all bags made of sail cloth, and two sets of sail ties, items greatly appreciated by BCA sailors.
Top: Blindfold dinghy race winners: Kevin and Leeanne, Heidi and Glen, and Victor and Kevin, with prizes donated by Rekord Marine; Bottom: Lucky draw winners with prizes donated by Evolution Sails.
Following the lucky draw, Anne had a few more giveaways left over from the sale of Full & By. An explanation and reciting of the “Tuit” poem all had received in their boat registration package was given before the evening ended with a sing-along by our musicians, Jay and Anita Bigland, Blake Williams, and Tim and Pam Holley.
We are ready to sing!
The second pancake breakfast was very successful, as our techniques were perfected. All helpers from the first round of pancake making, the day before, pitched in again, and in no time the pancakes were distributed to an eager bunch of hungry sailors.
Left: Our cooks, Cheryl and Cindy; Right: Enjoying breakfast – yummy!
The Group then gathered up on the hillside for the traditional group photo.
Sadly, tides and currents often dictate the leaving, as do marina checkout times, so by 11:00, well wishers gathered and waved farewells to most of our BCA mates.
There were still a few of us wanting to do the dinghy raft up lunch in spite of still being full of pancakes, so we delayed until 14:00 and then headed out to raft up to a mooring on the north side of the inlet just outside of the Marina entrance. Eight boats rafted up to the potluck lunch afloat. Somehow the lunch and the participants managed to pass the food from boat to boat and, miraculously, the food dishes and the dinghy occupants were able to stay dry.
Dinghy raft up lunch.
A boat tour/visit on Firecat, a beautiful Lagoon 42, home to Eric and Patricia Scott, Vancouver Chapter, was enjoyed by those of us left at the Marina following our raft-up lunch. The Scott’s provided us with a great tour as well as the details of their solar array install, which provides over 3,000 watts of solar for all the power needed for their family to live comfortably untied from shore.
Final Thoughts
Given our late start coordinating this event and the change of date from the 3-day August long weekend to a mid-August 2-day weekend, we had a remarkable 48 attendees from 25 boats. About 15 boats stayed in the marina with 10 anchored out.
We all had a great time, ate great food, and enjoyed catching up with old friends and new. As Port Browning Marina is no longer accepting bookings for holiday weekends, next year’s August Rendezvous will carry on with the mid-August date and will be held over 3 days, August 14-17, 2027, at Port Browning, Pender Island.