The Skill of Navigating the Admiral Digby Race "This race is all about tide and current," according to Doug Pope of Pope Sails and Rigging in Rockland, Maine. In Doug's Tartan 10, Walkabout he with his experienced crew sailing with the Rockland Yacht Club burgee captured a second in the 2003 Admiral Digby Race across the Bay of Fundy. Walkabout lost out by about fourteen minutes, a close play across some of the strongest tidal currents in the world. The race was held beginning June 28th from the Annapolis Basin off Digby, Nova Scotia and ending at Bass Harbor, Maine. The start of the race was hosted by the Royal Western Nova Scotia Yacht Club. In very light air, and in a thunderstorm, Walkabout began the race downwind initially until clearing the turning mark off the club. At this point she was second to Northern Dancer, a C&C 41 from Halifax. At the turn the wind picked up and she was trimmed for a beat, "out of the gut.". At this point she was running with the tide. Trading tacks with Vortex, a 55 Square Meter from Brookline, Maine the fog rolled in. With the fog all sightings were lost. The hope at this point was to get around Grand Manan before the worst of the adverse current, running at something over three knots set in. Light winds killed that hope. Approaching the island despair was in the air. Since Walkabout was the smallest in the fleet it was assumed that the larger boats, being faster had beat the tide while Walkabout was on the wrong side. It took a long, slow beat to finally get around Grand Manan. In strange waters at night with unfamiliar flashing lights and known shoals and ledges concerns for taking a safe course dictated to stay left of the rhumb line. Subsequently much of the early hours of Sunday were spent tacking back to the rhumb line in dying air. Eventually the wind died altogether. Even with no wind the crew concentrated on sailing the boat. The calm seas and still air was broken with the whoosh of whales blowing. Additionally, there were dolphins, seals and puffins and other sea birds. Midday on Sunday the subject of abandoning the race was considered. The thought of eight hours of unpleasant motoring to Bass Harbor decided the question; there didn't seem to be much discussion on the subject. Later in the day the wind began to return and by afternoon had built to a comfortable relief. The moral of the crew picked up when they sighted boats behind. While they couldn't make any positive identification they felt that they were back in the race. Late Sunday afternoon by chance the crew picked up the race committee on the VHF radio doing a roll call to see where everyone was. Assuming that by this time the fast boats had finished they were excited to find out that those boats had not finished. Additionally, they learned that many boats had dropped out of the race with only four remaining. Common Sense, a C&C 43 from Camden was the scratch boat in the non-spinnaker division and she was behind Walkabout. It was still a race, "So, we were still in it!" True to the character and personality of this race the last hour or so was a real test. Getting in amongst the islands south of Bass Harbor the wind went light and variable and Common Sense, "...reeled us in. At one particular moment in zero wind, within fifty yards of Common Sense we were being set toward a ledge causing the anchor to be brought up on deck, just in case it was needed." Then, the wind came up from behind, building slowly to ten knots or less making the finish a horse race. With the spinnaker up Walkabout finished just a few seconds ahead of Common Sense. Getting the sails in and attempting to start the engine it was discovered the batteries were exhausted. Turning to the hand crank and a few twists the engine coughed into action and the race was over. In the end Walkabout came in second to Vortex and Northern Dancer came in third. Common Sense came in first in her division; with no other boats finishing she was fourth over all.