I think we ran out of fuel, says Skipper Scott Shaw-Maclaren.
Now, I might be involved in my first ever sailing race during the Squamish Annual Open Regatta but even I know running out of fuel can't be a good thing.
It's windy Friday afternoon on Aug. 6 and I'm a part of the Natural High boat's crew during the SOAR's inflow express race, which involved 12 boats. This particular race sees competitors begin at Porteau Cove and sail downwind back to Squamish.
And I'm a little worried.
You don't want to take too much fuel, says Shaw-Maclaren, attemping to cool my nerves. Less fuel means less weight, but I think I might have cut it a little too close.
The crew on the Natural High also consists of Pam Temple-Hurley, Marie Itterman, Teresa Spani and Brian Isacs, all of whom have considerable experience on the high seas.
Temple-Hurley is a former fleet captain for the Squamish Yacht Club while the others all have varying degrees of seafaring ability.
We are relying purely on wind power as I sit on the deck and hold on for dear life. It's a typical windy Squamish day but the Natural High doesn't look like it will be on schedule to make it to Porteau by starting time.
I think back to earlier in the afternoon when Shaw-Maclaren briefed me on ship basics and how he got interested in sailing.
I grew up in the Interior and a friend of mine had a boat, and three years ago I decided to get into it, the skipper said. I read everything I could about sailing and it's really interesting how much you can learn that way.
This is my second time in the SOAR, he said, first time as a skipper. I've got some nervous apprehension about today's race but it should be good.
SOAR is in its 31st year, and as one of Squamish's most established events, Shaw-Maclaren couldn't help but compare it to the other event that put the town on the map.
We really want to get people to mark this weekend on their calendar, much like Loggers Sports does. Everyone on my crew is in their late 20s to 30s and we make the best of what we can and have fun doing it.
He then showed me the safety procedures.
If anyone falls overboard, point at them with one hand and follow them, he said.
When asked if anyone had ever fallen overboard, he quickly says No then continues with the safety procedures, pointing to the fire extinguisher, flares and airhorn also on board.
We set sail at about 1:45 p.m. Sitting atop the deck, one of the sails landed almost directly on me and I was forced to hang on for dear life as it was set, with waves crashing on me. Luckily, it successfully went up and I went into the cabin to dry off.
Talking briefly to Brian Isacs, I asked him if that was a normal way to set a sail, he smiled and said Yup, totally normal.
It was then that I knew this wasn't going to be a normal day on the job.
Twenty minutes later we ran out of gas and were late for the start line. Nonetheless we continued to race, but the wind was getting treacherous.
Struggling to catch up with the pack, Shaw-Maclaren used a number of different strategies to try to get back into the race. However, they all seemed to end up flat.
A few tense moments occurred when we listed and he removed the spinnaker, really testing the crew's skills.
Isacs nearly fell into the water during one such manoeuvre, skinning his knee in the process while I waited with my arm willing to point, if needed.
It was at this point that myself and crew member Marie Itterman looked at each other and smiled. As the two least experienced crew members, she seemed in a familiar state fear.
It seemed like we were in danger at all times, and the wind was too strong and too difficult to control for our crew.
At 5:14 p.m., Shaw-Maclaren blew the airhorn to ask for assistance back into the harbour.
The search and rescue team arrived and happily attached the Natural High to its speedboat and lugged us back into the yacht club.
Arriving at harbour, a number of other boats seemed to have just as much difficulty with the winds. Four or five spinnakers had broken, leading Isacs to say, it was the most carnage of any race ever in Squamish.
Shaw-Maclaren seemed a little disappointed, but noted the wind was extremely powerful, which is fairly typical for Squamish.
Personally, I think he raced a clever race and avoided what could have been a potential disaster.
I went into this whole experience looking at sailing as a nice, leisurely activity. A relaxing afternoon on the water would be a great way to spend a Friday but what I experienced at SOAR couldn't have been further from that.
It was intense, white knuckled action that made me feel the most alive since arriving in Squamish.
I now have a newfound respect for sailing and consider these men not only athletes, but calm forces on the open seas.
