S/V Spar Trek

All Good Things ... -- today Spar Trek heads off with its new owner who will be shining it up to race again out of Astoria.

Completed grand adventures:
- 2017 R2AK
- 2018 Oregon Offshore
- 2021 WA360

And many beer can races as part of SYSCO in Portland and AYC in Astoria.

While Heidi is helping deliver a 42' Chung Hwa ketch to San Diego, she spotted Spar Trek's bigger sibling, the Express 37, at the Monterey Municipal Marina! Owner Heidi Hall has had her since 2007 and races in the yacht club's series.

Another lovely race night on the Columbia River with ! Tuesday's course called for two spinnaker sets, which our new-to-each-other crew handled very successfully! Only a few more weeks left in the summer series. ⛵




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It was a spinnaker - centric weekend for Team Spar Trek. Heidi spent Saturday repairing a rip that was discovered after last Tuesday's race. And Sunday, Kris spent a few hours at the dock with Brian and Heidi teaching the finer details of spinnaker deployment, jibing, and dousing. We may have looked a lil' funny to the salmon fishermen, but it was perfectly effective...just the right amount of wind to fill the sail while Kris's attention could be on the instruction and watch the many practice runs without the distraction of helming and watching for other boats.

Tuesday's pursuit race was neck and neck at the finish line! Team Spar Trek took first (by 5 seconds!) for the first time! 😎 We flew our chute earlier than everyone else and gained ground super quick after rounding the mark. S/V Barefoot (pictured with their orange striped spinnaker) got their chute up in time for a battle for the last bits of wind and the finish line. It was an awesome ending. Cara Mia was 3rd and crossed the finish line within the same minute! A very fun, close race! ⛵

Sailing foulies also serve as fishing foulies! Successful day Buoy 10 salmon fishing on the Columbia River! The boat (not ours, the charter) had 3 keepers (Heidi's was the biggie at 20lbs) and 3 or 4 we had to toss back since they weren't hatchery fish. For those that don't know, Heidi grew up in Alaska fishing for salmon and halibut lonnnnng before she learned how to sail!

Astoria Regatta Day 2! Another couple great races with new challenges and learnings. After being near the top after Day 1, Spar Trek came in 4th overall with the top 4 placements being separated by only four points -- close results!! Look for Spar Trek in today's boat parade at 5pm! ⛵

What an amazing, dynamic night of racing with in the --- 2 races, the latter one was during sunset 🤩 Lots of commercial ship traffic to navigate tonight and a lot of logs in the water but the spinnakers flew and the sailboats competed in front of the city! Good times!!!

Beat the heat on Sunday in Astoria, Oregon with a sail in front of town and bebopping in between the anchored ships! Two dear friends joined us and we had a blast. The wind picked up enough to make for a nice-n-easy day. Seals, sea lions, fishermen, cruisers, a charcuterie plate and libations. What more could one ask for?! Truly a lovely, full day!

Tuesday night (July 26th) racing success - 2nd across the line and awaiting handicap to see if it gives us a bump up! First time for the spinnaker this season. Then the fog set in!

Pics from today's Memorial Cup hosted by the Astoria Yacht Club. Great day on the water - 2 races, one longer and one shortie. Spar Trek finished 3rd overall! Today we raised sails and pints to pay tribute to club members who are no longer with us. 💙 Tomorrow we practice our spinnaker game. ⛵Cheers to all!

First overnight on Spar Trek for the 2022 season was July 3rd/4th. We had an amazing sail upriver (Columbia River) for quite a few hours, then beat into it downriver to tuck in at Cathlamet Bay at Lois Island -- around the corner from Tongue Point. We were surrounded by eagles, pelicans, herons, terns, seals, deer, geese, and gulls. It was a wonderful overnight - plenty of protection and a muddy bottom for a solid anchorage.