Bye Wav8or - it was fun while it lasted

ARTICLE:

Powerboat slams into sailboat in Bristol

A section of the powerboat deck dangles from a hole in the sailboat's side after the sailboat was hauled at Bristol Marine.

A section of the powerboat deck dangles from a hole in the sailboat's side after the sailboat was hauled at Bristol Marine.
By Bruce Burdett

BRISTOL — Two boats were badly damaged and several people were hurt when a powerboat slammed into a sailboat Wednesday evening in Bristol. (power boat was going approx 40 knots; sailboat was going approx 4 knots)

The sailboat, a Beneteau 310 (31 feet long) was hauled from the water at Bristol Marine with a gaping hole in its port side. Sticking out from the hole is a section of the powerboat’s deck. A bowline and cleat, also apparently from the powerboat, are wrapped around the sailboat’s propeller shaft.
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management investigators took custody of the motorboat Wednesday night and were towing it in when, according to one source, the 21-footer began taking on water and eventually sank.
Witnesses say that the sailboat Wavbor, owned by Chris Boutilier, was participating in the Bristol Yacht Club’s Wednesday races. Along with others, it was slowly making its way between Hog Island and the Bristol mainland in a very light breeze.
“It was 8:20 p.m., the wind had pretty much died out and the boats were drifting,” a witness on shore said. We were walking away when we heard a powerboat and a woman on board just whooping it up. Then there was an incredible crash — it sounded like an explosion.”
The witness said he turned around and saw the sailboat and powerboat, both badly damaged. He called the Bristol harbormaster’s office to report the accident “and they were there in six minutes.” Also arriving later were a boat from Coast Guard station Castle Hill and the Rhode Island DEM.
“It appears that the sailboat was T-boned by the powerboat, Steve Hall, chief of DEM’s Division of Law Enforcement, said Wednesday. He said he was told that a woman on the powerboat was taken to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment of bruised ribs. He said the powerboat’s operator received a cut chin and added that he is not aware of injuries to the crew of the sailboat.
A Bristol official said later that several people were treated. He said the powerboat is used for quahogging and is kept at the Rockwell Dock. The driver told authorities tha he saw the sailboat at the last second and was unable to avoid a collision. The driver’s wife, the official said, was sitting in the stern and was launched on impact into the helm of the powerboat.
Officials did not provide the name of the powerboat operator. Mr. Hall said there was no immediate evidence that alcohol was a factor but added that the incident remains under investigation. END OF ARTICLE

Yep, our summer plans have definitely been changed. A real bummer, since we both love sailing so much. Still can't believe it happened. I don't know what the power boater was doing - he obviously wasn't at the helm. I hope he gets ticketed for something - other than being a complete idiot. Fortunately none of us were seriously hurt. Since Chris & I are training for an Ironman, I would have been doubly pissed off if we were hurt - sailing summer ruined & triathlon summer ruined. Just a few bruises - our triathlon training continues, just without the fun breaks that sailing brought us.

Here's our sailboat being inspected by the DEM (department of environmental management) - for the 3rd time. They were really hoping to find something to nail the power boater with.

Our sailboat, after the piece of power boat was taken off. It's unbelievable how far in he went.

Looking inside the monster hole

Crack that went below the water line. Fortunately, she didn't sink. She was built tuff!

Another crack in the hull. Hopefully these will make the insurance inspection go quickly - we're hoping for a 'totaled' response. We love her, but don't want to fix her - we'll never feel good about her again.

The inside. I still don't know where the stove went. The sink went across to the other side. Good thing, no one was down below when it happened.

:(

Sad times. We bought this sailboat from an owner who kept her exceptionally clean. And we kept her even cleaner! We won't find another sailboat as old as her & in as good condition.

Our weekends have definitely opened up - we'll be spending more time hiking, camping, and going to Polo!

Lake Placid Camping trip - Holy Hills!

Ironman is getting close. We needed to get some hill training in, so what better way, than to train on the actual course!


We decided to camp, since a great camp ground is right on the bike course. We have a tent, but I decided to get us a luxury one for the occasion. A 9 person tent for the 2 of us! Toules stayed home - doggie day care, since our rides were going to be long. He wouldn't have enjoyed being stuck in his kennel for 8 hours at a time.

Our new tent all set up!




It even has a screened front porch. Chris asked if I got the building permits, before he went through the trouble of setting it up - ha ha.

A nice air mattress & we were in heaven on Saturday night! (Especially since we arrived at 11 pm on Friday night, and didn't have time to set up the tent, so we slept in the back of the truck sans air mattress - ouch!)

So, Lake Placid is absolutely beautiful. Too bad it's so far away (5 1/2 hour drive for us). Otherwise, we might be tempted to go every weekend!

It's a triathlete's dream: Olympic training center (1932 & 1980 Olympics); miles and miles of hiking trails; miles & miles of hilly roads to run & bike; and a beautiful lake to swim & take recovery baths in. Every where we went, we saw triathletes training for the Ironman. Hundreds of cyclists on the road - in groups of one; two; 20.

30-50 swimmers on the shores of Mirror Lake putting on wet suits to hit the lanes. (Yes, Mirror Lake has mile long lane lines - just like a gigantic swimming pool)

Hundreds of runners on the marathon run route. So many - I felt like we were in a race. Seriously. Aid stations & all! Unbelievable.

Camera didn't make it to many of our events over the weekend, as I was busy pushing my body up and down the hills. We are headed back in a couple weeks, so I'll have pictures of Mirror Lake & the Run Route.

Love the downtown: cute shops & a Starbucks!!

This trip: Bike Route - and what a route it is!!!

Chris - cruising along - on the one flat part of the course. I could actually take this picture & ride. The rest of the pictures, I either stopped, or I took while we were driving in the SUV...

If you can get beyond the hill after hill after hill after hill (you can see, I need to work on my mental attitude...); the scenery is absolutely beautiful: Beautiful green hills & lots of rivers. The area is big for fly fishermen - something I've never really seen. (sorry no pictures)

Saturday was sunny & very warm (high 80's). 6 1/2 hour bike ride & we were toast!

Sunday was humid, but the threat of T storms kept the sun hidden here & there. We never got wet, but it looked very threatening at times.

Route 86 - home of the bears: Baby; Mama; Papa Hills so notorious they name them - not sure if that is a good sign or not.... Fortunately, the views along 86 are the most spectacular of the course, which will help take your mind off the bears.

Cresting Baby Bear; Mama Bear is around the corner

I know they don't look like much in the photos - but trust me - there are a lot of hills & they are big! If you don't believe me, you can always ride the course yourself :) One section is a 10 mile long climb & another is a 3 mile long climb. Fortunately, there is a nice descent section too - almost 6 miles. It's a little scary though - big yellow signs for trucks to go into a low gear...

Cresting Mama Bear & looking at Papa Bear:

Starting the climb up Papa Bear

Getting close to the top! (These probably aren't the steepest hills on the course, but what makes them SO difficult is where they fall: Approx miles 50 & 106)

Ahh, we're reached the top, but we need to turn right to get back into town & start lap #2 (or finish - yippee)

Crikey! The hill doesn't stop - it keeps on going!

Down that one & up one last hill...

Yeah, downhill around town! (unless you're starting loop # 2...)

Other nice views of the bike course

Looking forward to coming back!!!

Productive weekend

Another weekend and more rain - bummer! The previous weekend we raced in the rain, so I was looking forward to a great sailing weekend. The threat of thunderstorms & lighting kept us off the sailboat though.

So, we did manage to get our workouts in before the rain started. Then Chris worked in the garage on his cars; and I cleaned. I can't say it was fun, but we both felt very satisfied.
Lots of puddles!

Sunday turned out to be cloudy & rain threatening, but we stayed dry. We were able to mow & do some yard work on Sunday night! Another productive day!

And we were able to go out for yummy breakfasts both days :)

Triathlon in New Hampshire - Mooseman 70.3

A couple weekends ago, we raced Mooseman 70.3 (1.2 mile swim; 56 mile bike; 13.1 mile run = 70.3 miles) Serious distance, and it usually brings out the serious athletes.


We headed up to New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon. Saturday began with Tstorms and pouring rain, but the afternoon was warm & sunny. The race directors had a shorter race on Saturday morning -but with the thunderstorms they had to shorten it. It was supposed to be a 1 mile swim; 24 mile bike; and 6.2 mile run. They cancelled the swim and shortened the bike to 17 miles. It's always a bummer when you train for a race, and then the distances are changed. I was wondering what Sunday was going to bring, as rain, rain, rain was predicted.


We arrived at the race site to pick up our bib #'s and check in. Then we decided to check out the course.

Views of the swim course - Newfound Lake - nice & clean!

Chris checking out the water... it was pretty warm: high 60's, which is rare for this early in the season. At least we wouldn't have to worry about frozen foreheads & headaches while we were swimming on Sunday! There are 9 swim waves. I'm lucky to be in the last wave (not!). Chris takes off in swim wave 6, so he'll be way ahead all day.

Transition area - still muddy from the morning rain. Some people elected to drop off their bikes early. No thanks - I didn't want to deal with a soppy wet bike, if it rained over night.

Once we get out of the water & out wetsuits - we'll head out this way: onto the 56 mile hilly course

I know I will be glad when I get to this point: Bike Dismount = bike portion done!

Then we'll head out onto the 13.1 mile run course...

Chris checking out the run. Dirt = mud...

The run course is 2 laps. Of course you start the second lap, right near the finish line. Oh, it's so hard to go back out on lap 2 when you can hear the people yelling for the finishers!

Now this will be nice to see :)

And this will be even better! Finish line = Done!!

Standing in the finish line chute.

Our trainers! Their tent is set up near the finish line.

My racing outfit all ready to go!

Race day dawned, and it was cloudy. No surprise there! Chris & I got to the race start around 6 am. Pros started the race at 7:00 am, so we had plenty of time to get our transition area set up. We went out for a quick little run, then we had to get our wet suits on and head to the swim start. The officials wanted the transition area cleared early. It started to rain, just as the pros went off. At least the rain held off until then, so I didn't have to set my transition area up in the pouring rain! The swim went well. It was a rectangle counter clockwise swim. I saw a lot of clear water, didn't have to battle too many people; and the water was clean & mostly chop free. I loved the big archway at the finish line b/c you could see it from 3/4 mile away. It was easy to sight & stay on target. I didn't have to keep looking at the buoys - the finish line target was all I looked at! Chris said he had a good swim too. Our times were comparable as well, which isn't too surprising since we train together.

The rain was falling pretty steadily on the bike ride. It was also cold - only in the low 60's. Everyone put on extra layers: arm warmers, or coats, or long sleeve shirts. The bike ride seemed to last forever. I couldn't believe it when I saw mile 10. I thought it was a bad joke. I still had 46 miles to go?!!?? I knew it wasn't going to be a great performance day, so I just tried to keep positive and get the darn thing done! The hills were pretty steep - 16% grade. Many people walked some of the hills. I stayed on my bike, but it wasn't like I passed a lot of the walkers.... Chris saw many people just fall right over: plunk. Their bikes weren't geared low enough, and they didn't have the power to get them up the hills so they fell over. I wish I had seen that b/c it would have brightened my day a little :).

The downhills were dangerous b/c there were a lot of turns, the roads were wet; and many had gullys of water rushing down them. I knew I didn't want to race in the rain ever again. One time was more than enough!!

Finally I did see the bike dismount sign & could get on with event # 3 - the run. I did feel good on the run, although I didn't really pass anyone. I kept a good pace (for me) and run all the hills with no problems. I had taken a gu right before the run & that did not agree with me. I'm not sure why, as I've had them before. Fortunately, I was able to stay focused on the run & keep going even though my stomach was revolting. So these little victories were good morale boosters. It was pouring during the run though. So much - that my visor had torrents of water rushing over it. Crazy!! And of course, they had to have an out & back portion on a dirt road, which was now muddy & full of gigantic puddles. I saw some people on the run - including Chris. So that is always a pick me up too. Chris said he wasn't feeling as good on the run, even though he had a really good bike.

I made it the 2 loops & through the finish line (the chute was so muddy: deep mucky tracks that almost took my shoes!) - woohoo!! It wasn't pretty, but I got it done. I took the hat & medal (didn't even look at them) and went to look for Chris. I found him in the transition area, and we both said - 'let's get out of here'. We were both so tired from being wet & cold all day. No victory celebration - just get me out of here!!

Looking back, it was a successful day, even though it didn't really feel like it that day. Just finishing the race was amazing, as the weather conditions were horrendous.

Bib #'s & Medal!