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The Ice Cocktail Challenge

In a ‘Lectronic Reader Submission from earlier this month, Janet Baker asked what we thought was an improbable question: "Have you ever had glacial ice in your whiskey?" The gauntlet thusly thrown down, we had a quick response from David Eberhard and Deborah Connors of San Francisco.  

"You asked if we’d ever had glacial ice in our whiskey. The answer to that is no," David wrote, "but we had it with our rum and cokes on many occasions last summer." The couple went cruising in Alaska in 2016, and sent us a few photos of their trip onboard Valkyrie, a Roberts 44. 

Like diamonds in the sunlight.

© 2017 David Eberhard and Deborah Connors

"We would often lasso a small bergy bit and haul it aboard. Not only is the ice very hard and long-lasting, but it is crystal clear. In the sunlight it sparkles as though it is diamonds. It’s very beautiful." 

A little more adventurous than just running to your local convenience store for ice, David Eberhard wrangles a baby berg destined for the cocktail glass.

© 2017 Deborah Connors

The couple did do some sailing as well: "The photos only start to explain what last summer was like for us. There is so much more to the adventure than pictures of ice. The navigational challenges include timing to run tidal rapids so you don’t get caught in currents that can be in excess of 12 knots."

"In amongst the bergy bits," David wrote. "Notice how deep they are in the water!"

© 2017 David Eberhard and Deborah Connors

Also challenging was "picking out an anchorage when your daily tidal range can be 20 to 24 feet. Anchoring included frequent shore lines to trees. These are just a few of the many things we discovered last summer in Alaska. It was a challenging summer, but worth every minute of it."

The couple taking a selfie with an epic background.

© 2017 David Eberhard and Deborah Connors

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Last weekend’s Drake’s Bay Race, a two-day event that combined OYRA and Singlehanded Sailing Society fleets, saw more wind than in the past few years.