Category Archives: sport

Time for Some Local Cricket

The onset of summer in the UK got me thinking of cricket. It is true that the Pacific Northwest has quite a cricket scene that has developed – principally as a result of the many people that have moved there from countries where cricket is a big deal. However, I never really spent any time checking it out while we were there. However, village cricket is a quintessential element of the UK and I thought I should go and see one of the local clubs in Winchester.

I went to see St Cross Symondians First XI play. Even the name seems suitable for an English country game. I didn’t time it very well as I wandered up just as they were breaking for tea. Fortunately, there was a second game on the adjoining pitch, so I watched that for a bit from the other side of the hedge. Those players were in traditional whites, which fitted the traditional image I had in mind. When the main game resumed, they were playing in dark colours with a white ball. I have no idea how the decision gets made. With a lot of trees around the ground, maybe the visibility is an issue. If anyone knows, please let me know.

I walked around the pitch to watch the play from various angles for a while. I ended up experimenting with some different photo techniques while I was there because it was a sunny weekend afternoon and I was in no hurry. I will post separately about some of what I tried. For today, I just wanted to share some shots of the larger scene. Maybe next time I’ll take a chair, get a pint from the clubhouse and sit watching the game for longer. It has also got me thinking about going to watch some professional games, but we shall see.

Almost Paragliding on the Shore

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Another post from my time on the shoreline at Mukilteo. I was working away on the laptop and a bit oblivious to whatever was outside the car when a flash of color caught my eye. Looking up, a guy was standing across the lot with a paraglider inflated above him. I have no idea what his plan was since he was about as low as he could be and launching somewhere seemed unlikely. Maybe he was testing something. Whatever the reason, this was one of the more unlikely things I have seen in a parking lot!

Getting Eight to Work Together

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I was down by the lake at Kenmore on my usual hunt for floatplanes but things were pretty quiet – at least on the aviation front. On the water, I saw a bunch of rowers out training. I don’t know whether they were from the university or a local club. Several boats were out including some eights. The coaching staff were guiding them around but, when they get to the top of the lake, it seems like a time for them to rest and turn around. I imagine the process of getting eight people to row in unison is quite tricky. I don’t know whether they start on smaller boats to get the hang of things before moving up to the eight or not. These crews seemed to be working pretty well together.

An Aero Engine in a Boat

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The hydroplane races at Seafair were not much of a focus for me although I have posted some images of qualifying runs. However, one of the boats really caught my ear when it was out on the course. The noise it made led me to think it might be an older boat powered by an old aero engine. Looking at the images I got of it, that would seem to be the case as the front of the hull seems to be dominated by a large engine. Don’t know what type it is and maybe some of you are familiar with these boats generally or this boat specifically. Was it a competitor or was it out as a historic boat as part of the event?

Hydroplane Qualifying

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Seafair is mainly about the airshow for me. However, there is a lot more to it than that and the hydroplane races have long been a key part of proceedings. I didn’t worry too much about the races as I was only planning on getting to the lake in time for the flying. I did have an easy journey and got to the lakeshore earlier than expected and there appeared to be some qualifying underway on the water. I was not well positioned to see the course, but I could still see them as they ran around the southern part of the track. Consequently, I got a few shots and here are some pretty serious look hydroplanes.

A Detailed Tour of a Clipper Race Boat

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In a previous post I discussed the arrival of the Clipper Round the World boats in Seattle. In that post, I mentioned that I got it wrong about being able to go on the boats to have a look around. However, I did end up having a second go at looking at the boats and this time, it was a success. The boat that was open for visitors was named Qingdao. One of the crew showed us around both up on deck and down below.

When looking at these boats from the outside, they look like pretty sizable craft. However, when you get down below, it is instantly apparent how limited the space is. There is a lot of space taken up by the sail locker and the engine room. Then you have a small galley area and the navigation station. There are two small heads – no showers, though. The remainder of the space is for the crew of 22 to squeeze in to. This is not a luxurious excursion. (We were told that, had we been on a couple of days before, the odor would still have been pretty ripe. A long time at sea does not make for great hygiene!)

I had decided to take my widest zoom for the visit and I was glad I did that. Everything was so confined, it really needed a wide angle to get any shots. Even maneuvering through the hull while docked required a bit of effort. I can’t imagine what it would be like when heeled over at 45 degrees while punching through a Southern Ocean storm. They say you learn a lot about yourself in these races and I don’t doubt it. I’d probably learn I am not cut out for serious adventures!

The galley was interesting. Aside from the stabilized hob, all of the cans were stripped of labels and marked up with their contents. Everything gets wet so labels fall off rapidly. You need to prep to make sure you can identify the food. The cans do corrode in the salt water. Apparently, it’s not unknown to open a can and find nothing inside it because it has already leaked away from a corrosion hole!

The boats were really interesting to see. The crews spend a lot to be on this voyage and they are definitely getting an adventure. I hope they have fun ultimately and I like to see what they have done but I won’t be signing up anytime soon.

Clipper Race Sailing Boats

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The Clipper Round the World race has been underway for many years. It is a race of a single class of sailing boats/yachts (depending on where you live) with two qualified crew and the remainder are individuals that can pay to take part on one or more of the legs around the world. It starts and ends in Portsmouth and stops off at various cities around the world. It has been to Seattle since we have lived here but I never managed to get down there to see the boats.

I had a work event down at the harbor one evening when the boats had arrived. After the event, I took a few minutes to walk along the waterfront to see them tied up. I managed to get a few shots with my phone in the low light – how impressive phones can be in dark conditions – but couldn’t get any closer. Then I made an error. They were advertising that you could visit the boats to look around, so I headed down at the weekend with Nancy. There was no one to be found. Turns out, they weren’t doing tours that weekend. It had been a wasted trip (combined with it being a wet and windy day anyway). However, there is more to come on this topic.

Rowing Near the Locks

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A cold but sunny winter’s day at the locks in Ballard did not make me think that being on the water would be fun. However, someone clearly had a different idea. While I was walking around looking at the boats and the wildlife, a guy was out sculling in his boat. He came quite close to the overflow from the sluice gates and had to work to position himself with the flow and turbulence from the water as it headed towards the sound. It seemed like a very cold time to be out there, but I guess he was enjoying himself?

Sticky Surface

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I’ve posted a few times about my experience with the drag racing at Pacific Raceway. One of the things that I particularly was fascinated by was the surface of the strip itself. I mentioned before the machines that they used for conditioning this surface to ensure that there was maximum traction between the tires and ground. Periodically, the staff would come on to the track to take samples and measurements to understand exactly how it was performing. What photos don’t show you, but video can, is just how anything on the surface would stick. Only when you heard people walking along the track could you get the sound of their shoes sticking to the ground. Here is a video to explain what I mean.

Parachute Smoke Trail Patterns

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The Canadian Forces SkyHawks parachute display team opened the Abbotsford Air Show evening display. One of the jumpers had a line of smoke canisters that hung beneath them as they descended under their canopy. Some tight turns allowed the line to swing out and create some nice smoke trail patterns. Here are some shots of the results.