Quick Correction: there was a small error in the recommended position of the G-Mark (near the Bell-Buoy), so..

the Sailing Instructions have been amended as of Sunday, Aug 8th. Download your fresh copy.

North Sails, English Bay Scramble 2009

Photos & Highlights

The full album is now online, on the TCYC Photo Gallery. Warning: there are 700+ photographs there.. You can download a reasonably high-res image off the site - if you realy really REALLY want a full-res version, contact me.

Acknowledgements

Besides of our own incredible TCYC volunteers and YOU, THE SKIPPERS & CREWS, we mustn't forget..

Video

I don't think this works over email.. if you can't see the video here, drop by YouTube

Results

they're all here.. on the Scramble website.
Some honourable mentions:

• "Valhalla Cup", Fastest Boat Overall: Blade Runner
  
  
• "Rollgen Trophy", Fastest Single-Hander: Mañana
    sponsor: Ocean Sailing Enterprises
  
  
• "Rollgen Trophy", Fastest Double-Handers: Broos
    sponsor: Ocean Sailing Enterprises
  
  
• Fastest C&C: Havoc
    sponsor: Yacht Sales West
  
  
• Fastest J-Boat: Harwar
    sponsor: Fraser Yacht Sales
  
  
• Fastest Beneteau: Tiger Lily I
    sponsor: Westerly Yacht Sales
  
  

See You All Next Year!

We 're at 51 boats and counting, woohoo :-) Doesn't look like we will break the 2008 record of 65, but you never know!

In any case, at this point you can only register "manually": bring this form and your $40 to the Vancouver Maritime Museum, tonight after 6:30..

The 2009 T-Shirts well be there too..

Burgers, Beer & the Band

Meet Rhythm Street, the Vancouver Band delivering their own brand of "Rockin' Blues" on Saturday evening at the English Bay Scramble after-party.

There is no official "start time", just drive to the Maritime Museum, after the race.

• Parking is Free, after 5:00PM
• We will light the BBQs when the first guests arrives :-)
• Results, photos from the race, prizes, trophies, awards & the 2009 T-shirts!

After last year's successful Rugged Iconoclast single-handed award at the Scramble (Andre Wojcieszek, Radical Departure), we are repeating and expanding the trophies.

What's more, Paul, Mike a& Ian from Ocean Sailing Enterprises, distributors of Bamar's trés cool Rollgen line of spinnaker furlers (perfect for shorthanding your boat!) have come on board and embraced the challenge as the official and perpetual sponsors.

So, for the 2009 North Sails English Bay Scramble, we have two shorthaned awards:

• The Rollgen Single-Handed Award, and
• The Rollgen Double-Handed Award
Both trophies will claim customised SLAM and Stormtech foul weather gear.

Register normally, just indicate "S/H" or "D/H", or tell us at the Skippers' Meeting on Friday or check in as such on Saturday, when you radio the Race Committee.
Remember, regardless, you 're still competing in your assigned division as well as for any applicable manufacturer cups.
Cool!

On Saturday, August 15^th,
Race Around the Bay, Any Which Way!...

• The Biggest Racing/VARC Event in Vancouver: 65 boats in 2008
• VARC divisions 1-7, M242, NFS + (new!) Fleet 38, Cal-20 O.D.
• Prizes & Trophies Galore!
  • Fastest Overal: the Valhalla Cup (2008: ABSOLUTE KAOS)
  • Fastest Single-Hander: the Rollgen Trophy (presented by: Ocean Sailing)
  • Fastest All-Women Crew: the WoW Award (presented by: Steveston Marine)
  • Fastest J-Boat (presented by: Fraser Yacht Sales)
  • Fastest Beneateau (presented by: Westerly Yacht Sales)
  • Fastest C & C (presented by: Yacht Sales West)
  • Fastest Catalina (presented by: Westerly Yacht Sales)
  
  
• A legendary After-Party at the Maritime Museum patio: Beer, Burgers and a Band! (and results and even more swag and door-prizes)
• Get Started Early: Skippers' Meeting, on Friday evening, at the Maritime Museum. Strongly recommended for new skippers, optional for everyone else :-)
• Registration, Sailing Instructions, past results & photos &tc:
  EnglishBayScramble.com

2008 North Sails English Bay Scramble results are here: www.englishbayscramble.com/results.cfm

2008 English Bay Scramble photos are also online: www.englishbayscramble.com/photos.cfm

New this year: High Resolution Images: When you click a "thumbnail" (a small sample photo) you get the normal-sized photo; but if you click that one again, then you get an even bigger one - which you can "right-click-save" for your own, personal, photo galleries.

To make it even more confusing, sometimes Internet Explorer will shrink a photo to fit your window.. when that happens, your mouse becomes a magnifying glass - click the photo AGAIN for the biggest avsailble size...

A great big THANK YOU to all our Scramble skippers! We have our record: 62 boats registered.

I believe that makes it, again, VARC's biggest Vancouver event - not sure and it doesn't matter: let's have 60+ boats on every VARC race next season!

And a great big thank you to all our sponsors as well!

One last reminder: The North Sails English Bay Scramble Skippers Meeting is TONIGHT (Friday, 15th), 6:00PM, at the Vancouver Maritime Museum

Late boat registrations can be made at the meeting (we 'll bring the forms - you bring $40 :-)

We 'll have drinks and snacks and an excellent presentation, "The Scramble Demystified" by Peter Lagergren, on Scramble strategies, the course, the start and English Bay weather/tide patterns..

C U There!

Well, we now have 52 boats registered for the 2008 North Sails English Bay Scramble, as of Wednesday afternoon..

What's more, we just had our very first NFS registration! Rip Curl, out of RVYC, competing for the WoW trophy.. Good luck ladies!

In any case, eight more boats will make sixty. Can we get there?

The English Bay Scramble may famous for its crazy creative format, but it is also infamous for its afterparty :-)

Meet this year's band: Craig Jacks and the Mighty Jackalopes

drop by their website for a bio.. apparently Craig exudes a frenetic energy and has a voice that can melt butter or split steel girders.

Sounds good! See you all on Saturday, after the race...

43 boats registered for the 2008 Scramble so far! (Monday, 8:00PM). And we know of a few more that will be registering this week..

We are going for a record 50+ boats this year! English Bay will be a madhouse on Saturday :-)

Who are we missing? The MUMMs! And the NFS fleet... where are all the all-whites boats gone?? I don't think we 've seen a single one all season, come to think of it...

There has been a small update on the 2008 North Sails English Bay Scramble NOR, to reflect the new M242 award and other small details.

Please download the updated NOR here.