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Yacht club racers in need of a crew

When the Deep Bay Yacht Club takes to the waves for their annual series of sailing races this spring, all the boats will be using their white sails only.
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It was promotion time for members of the Admiral Yanow Navy League Cadets at their regular meeting last week. Here

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When the Deep Bay Yacht Club takes to the waves for their annual series of sailing races this spring, all the boats will be using their white sails only.

That’s because, said organizer Don Mannass, the club often finds it difficult to attract enough sailing crew members to properly hoist and manage a spinnaker.

That’s something he’s hoping to change, noting the club is open to volunteers of any skill level taking part — as long as they’re ready, willing and able to spend a pleasant day out on the water.

“It’s a great way to sail for free,” he said.

“We always have a shortage of crew.”

The racing season, which kicks off in March, will feature events every second week, with the exception of July and August.

This year, Mannass said, he’s hoping to make some exciting additions to the program.

“We’ve been talking about doing a long distance race to the top end of Texada Island,” he said. “As well, we might do a long distance race to Sisters Island.”

Other initiatives planned for the club include a speaker series and a drive to purchase a big screen television for the clubhouse.

For more information contact the club at 250-757-2000.

Wreck of

the week

When the 195-metre New Carissa dragged her anchor during a wild storm off the Oregon Coast on February 4, 1999, she ran aground on a sandy beach a place called Coos Bay.

That’s when things got interesting.

Nobody was hurt in the grounding, but after two unsuccessful attempts to refloat the vessel, concerns about the 965,000 litres of fuel leaking from the Panamanian-flagged freighter prompted officials to attempt to burn it off.

Using napalm, shaped charges and other explosives, the US Navy did just that — blowing the hulk in half in the process.

Although half of the boat was finally refloated and towed out to sea, another storm — this one bigger than the first — breaking the tow line.

The bow section, this time sans fuel, washed up again near Waldport, Oregon before being refloated once more and taken out to deep water to be sunk.

Charges were set below the waterline and detonated, but the hulk refused to sink.

Then a Naval destroyer fired more than 70 rounds of five-inch shells, to no appreciable effect.

Finally, a nuclear submarine was called in to fire a torpedo below the water line and this did the trick — but it took another 45 minutes before New Carissa’s bow finally sank beneath the waves.

The other half of the ship is still where the wind and tide left it.

news@pqbnews.com