Parent Youth Race 11-26-05

By Doug Day (retired) #1 "DUB"

We were going to run a "tack and pass" game, but since only 3 boats showed up, we decided to do "Dead Fish Water Polo".

This is where a ball is in the water (the dead fish), and what you do is sail over and pick it up. You then have to immediately throw it at someone else. If they get hit (before the ball hits the water), they are out.

We all started going right after the ball, and since the kids were throwing it, we didn't have to sail too far away to avoid it.

The wind came and went, so we all used paddles at various times to help move along.

With all the squirt gun action, we started wearing rain slickers.

A new strategy emerged, "dribbling" the ball. The kids would toss the ball just a little forward and sail up to it, so they could close in on a target. I tried a version of it, since I have a transom bow, we just pushed the ball around till we got close.

With everyone sailing far away from the ball to avoid the dribblers, the game evolved a little more. The ball was left in the water and everyone sailed away from it, then we would turn and sail right at the ball in sort of a chicken fashon to see who could get to it first.

Right after this picture was taken, they got the ball and just before throwing it at us, I payed out the sail & leaned way back, both my kids ducked and the ball almost went over us, it just snagged me on the shoulder. Darn!! :)

Then the squirt guns came out...

and we battled till everyone was soaking wet.