Naked ladies and a bottle of wine mama

SE 10-15 Kts.

Partly cloudy.

It was opening day at Royal Victoria Yacht Club so all the sailboats were flying signal flags and prepared to head out into the bay to salute the Commodore. The 'sail past' is performed after much pomp and circumstance on the lawns of the clubhouse including the 'blessing of the fleet' by the club chaplain, speeches by the club executive and assorted community dignitaries along with a performance by the NADEN band.

All members wear white pants and navy blue blazers and they cut quite a swath! I slipped my mooring and enjoyed a couple of hours in a fresh Southeasterly before returning just as the club boats were heading out to form up and salute the commodore. They were led by HMCS Oriole, flying her impressive signature spinnaker.

As the Oriole slipped her lines and headed out, she sounded her ship's horn. That was answered by a guttural shriek from a yacht moored not far from mine. Just out of camera range as it turns out, as evidenced by the photo above. The crew of this particular vessel, while not affiliated with the Yacht Club, was in a celebratory mood never the less.

As I gazed at the source of merrymaking, I was stunned to see what looked like a naked woman swinging from the rigging and putting on quite a show for all to see. I confirmed the sighting with my handy binoculars and snapped the photo above. Quite the juxtaposition in the midst of all the formally dressed sailors on the water.

HMCS Oriole and the RVYC fleet forming up for the sail-past.