Summer is over and I find myself reminiscing about those lazy days of summer fun, and that pretty much sums up this year’s BCA August rendezvous.

The Preparations

Counting Stars and her crew headed for Newcastle Island ahead of the weekend with anticipation. It was a new venue for the yearly rendezvous and we were not quite sure about how things were going to work out. Orca III and her crew arrived shortly after us, and after a pretty impressive show of boat maneuvering, she was moored at the park dock. Fairwyn and her crew joined us at the dock and the frenzy of preparation began! There were activities to put together, Nanaimo bars to cut, welcome packages to finish, prizes to sort … all got done with laughter, with the help of volunteers and by the start of the long weekend, we were ready to roll and looking forward to a good time.

Guests started to arrive early and the visiting started on Orca III, or should I say the registration? It was more about the chatting and visiting than the official business, as frequently happens at BCA events.

The Event

Hosted at Newcastle Island Marine Park, a change from the last 4 years or so, the rendezvous was very well attended with 41 boats and 80+ people. As usual, there was amazing food, fun activities and games and lots of great visiting with friends, singing and, of course, sharing of sailing stories.

The Vancouver Chapter provided the main course for the potluck dinner on Sunday. The roast beef was masterfully cooked (thanks Gary and Karina of Sea Rover II) at Karina’s parents’ place on Protection Island (thanks!) and got rave reviews.

Gary, Karina and Charlotte from Sea Rover II preparing the roast for the feast.

The floating lunch was a huge success again this year and provided viewing entertainment for the boat tied at the docks, who took a great photo for posterity.

Floating lunch photo taken from the dock.

When it comes to potlucks, the gastronomic creativity of our members always amazes me. The food was varied and delicious, with something for everyone to enjoy.

Food and fun!

The Commodore was in attendance and handed out some leavers’ packages with words of encouragement and support, and wishes of safe travels to all our members who are casting off to live their dreams.

BCA Commodore, Jennifer Handley from Camdeboo, handing over a leaver’s package to Michel Filion, SV Colymbus.

The games were fun, and the winning team of the Poker Run geocache got a Royal Flush! Well deserved after a somewhat convoluted game that saw Dionne from Orca III cycle the path to keep members on track…  Turns out the GPS on our phones is not the same as marine GPS… that was a good lesson learned!

The Poker Run Geocache game winning team!

Some pretty awesome prizes were awarded throughout the weekend thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, which included:

There were some awesome prizes donated by our generous sponsors.

The Peterson Cup was awarded with due pomp and fanfare by Ken from Blue Rose to the undeniable winners: Frank and Dawn Gaudek of Dulcinea II. There were many stories and mishaps that came out of this year’s cruising rally that you can read all about in this earlier article.

The awarding of the Peterson Cup to Dulcinea II.

Following the dinner event, Blake from Sea Fever led the sea shanty groups in song. Earlier on, a mingling game put folks together randomly and tasked them to sing a sea shanty after dinner.  Some groups spent quite some time rehearsing during the day and the result was worthy of a Canadian Idol finalist (maybe I am exaggerating a bit). Needless to say, it was a entertaining evening of singing and fun.

Singing sea shanties at the end of the day.

The weather cooperated beautifully with dry conditions, light wind and very warm temperatures. I can’t wait for next year’s event!

Thanks again to the organising committee who worked hard to put together such a great event. Well done!

Here is a photo album with more photos of the rendezvous.