Read more... - Drayton Harbor Maritime

July 25 - 31, 2013 • thenorthernlight.com
7
Prestigious George Raft Race August 3
puts homemade rafts to the ultimate test
Simple Will $95
BLAINE
Boys & Girls Club
Youth of the Month
Britni Turpin
s Richard Sturgill, l., displays the Prestigious George Raft Race trophy. He and Jon Werdal, r., will pilot the
Salishan Black Bear in this year’s race.
Photo by Ian Ferguson
Britni is our Youth of the
Month! She has been a
member since she was in
3rd grade and is now
going into the 7th grade.
She is a very smart
young lady who loves to
read all kinds of books.
Her favorite thing to do at
the club is play Rock
Band with her friends in the Teen Room.
sponsored by
By Ian Ferguson
As the first Saturday in August
approaches each summer, skilled
maritime engineers throughout
Blaine, Birch Bay and beyond
begin to comb the beaches for
raft-building materials. Buoyant driftwood, sun-bleached
styrofoam, salty rope and even
mangled crab pots have all been
used to build rafts for the Prestigious George Raft Race.
A staple of Drayton Harbor
Days, the Prestigious George Raft
Race is an annual competition of
ingenuity and athletic skill. Contestants must propel a homemade
raft, made from found materials, across a quarter-mile course
on Drayton Harbor. The rules of
the race are simple: raft materials
must be found (not purchased),
contestants must be on the raft
(not in it), and participants must
wear a life jacket at all times and
sign a “hold-harmless” agreement
before the race. Four people are
allowed on each raft, and dogs
are accepted but cats are prohibited from competition, said race
founder Bob Knapp.
The race runs from the public
boat launch at the end of Milhollin Drive to Gate Two on Marine
Drive. The first team to cross the
finish line wins the race and takes
home the Prestigious George Raft
trophy. Much like Lord Stanley’s
beloved cup, the trophy is engraved with each year’s winning
team, and winners keep the trophy for the entire year between
races. It was carved by Knapp
from pieces of wood left over
from the restoration of the Plover
ferry, which runs between Blaine
Harbor Marina and Semiahmoo
spit.
Drayton Harbor Maritime director Richard Sturgill and boat
builder Jon Werdal are representing the Salishan neighborhood in
this year’s race. Their entry, the
Salishan Black Bear, is shrouded
in mystery, just as the sailboats
entering the America’s Cup are
kept secret until race day. Sturgill
and Werdal admitted their raft
was made from a found sheet of
black plastic, but declined to reveal more.
“We don’t want to give away
raft secrets,” Sturgill said. “This is
serious business. We’re challenging everyone to beat the Salishan
Black Bear this year.”
Knapp brought the race to
Blaine in 2000. A native of England, he had taken part in similar races in his home country.
“It started as an inter-pub competition in the little village of
Lynton, in North Devon,” Knapp
said. “The races are popular in a
lot of towns, and they usually go
down rivers either to the mouth
of the bay or to a marked finish
line.”
George Raft was a Hollywood
actor famous for roles in gangster
movies, but Knapp said the name
of the race is also British rhyming
slang.
“George raft is slang for having
a laugh,” he said. “So the race is
all about having fun.”
Sturgill and Werdal, although
confident in the superiority of
their raft design, said they are always excited to see the concepts
people come up with for their
homemade rafts.
“It’s an egalitarian competition.
Anyone who has the courage and
imagination to cobble together
flotsam and give it a go is welcome to enter, and it’s all in the
good spirit of friendly competition,” Sturgill said.
Friendly competition includes
taking measures to slow down
or distract your opponent. For
instance, Sturgill and Werdal say
they plan on putting together a
crew to man a couple of water
cannons during the race.
Werdal said there is plenty of
time to get a raft together. Contestants have been known to finish their rafts at the boat launch
during orientation before the
race.
“It’s a procrastinator’s dream
race,” he said.
A safety boat from the Coast
Guard Auxiliary will be on hand
to keep racers safe.
The race begins at 1 p.m. on
Saturday, August 3. Orientation
begins at 12:30 p.m. For those
seeking last minute supplies,
Drayton Harbor Maritime has
raft-building materials on hand
in the Port of Bellingham’s web
locker on Marine Drive. Anyone
interested in borrowing supplies
or learning more about the race
can contact Sturgill by calling
360/332-5742.
Locally Owned and Operated
1733 H St. • Blaine • 332-1700
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