What an epic event.
This was our first VanIsle 360, and we did it because it has been
described as an amazing race and adventure.
It delivered in full and Team Hamachi is a convert – we will do this
again. We’ve been told that Jonathan
McKee, a world renowned sailor who has done nearly every event, described the
VanIsle 360 as one of the hardest and most amazing races he’s ever done.
For the 2017 edition we put together a game plan without
really knowing what we had signed up for.
We rented a 25 ft RV and hooked up a gear trailer. We didn’t know what to bring, so we brought
everything. We recruited Wayne Palmer,
the father of a fraternity brother, to drive it around the island. We didn’t have great maps, the routes were
sketchy, and communications were limited.
But somehow it all came together for an amazing two week adventure. There are far too many stories to share here,
and we have endless pictures, many of which are on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/sailhamachi/.
With any team event, it comes down to the people, and we had
a great team. Team Hamachi had two
people: Shawn and Alyosha, who did all nine legs. Jason did the first eight, then had to fly
back to Seattle because he was hosting his parent’s 50th wedding
anniversary. Steve Bronson, who
originally signed up for just two legs, got so into the event that he sailed
the first six legs. Max and Mike sailed
the first five legs, while Lucas sailed the first four. Pete Wagner arrived in Port Hardy and raced
the last four legs. Joshua Weinstein
jumped on in Port Hardy for Leg 6 around to Winter Harbor. John Hogan jumped on in Victoria for the
final Leg 9 to Nanaimo. As with any
adventure, nothing goes as planned. One
of the competitors in ORC1, a J/111 named 65 Red Roses, lost their rudder in a
gale during Leg 5 to Port Hardy. Two of
their crew: Maddy and Nicole, jumped on with Team Hamachi and sailed the last
four legs and were a huge addition.
Finally, holding down the fort, was Road Boss Wayne who circumnavigated
Vancouver Island in our land yacht. Here's a shot of Team Hamachi at the start in Nanaimo, and celebrating our Leg 7 victory in Ucluelet.
There were 32 boats that started the 2017 edition of the
VanIsle 360 and 30 finished. Hamachi was
the fastest boat in ORC1, which had a total of nine boats. The race committee used a “time on time”
scoring system that adjusted everyone’s finish time in our Division based on
Hamachi’s time. If you look at the
results, we always get the same time we finished with, and other boats are
adjusted up and down based on the conditions and their rating. We, and everyone else, struggled with the
rating system, never sure how the final results were tallied. Hamachi is a downwind boat, and this was a
mostly upwind race, with 7 of the 9 legs being to weather. We did get two great sleigh rides downwind:
Leg 5 and Leg 8. Despite playing to our
weakness, Hamachi was able to finish 2nd overall in our
Division. We took Division line honors
on Legs 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9. We took
VanIsle fleet line honors on Legs 5 and 9.
We had an amazing VanIsle and, given the wind conditions and rating system,
it’s not clear that we could have beaten Joy Ride in any scenario. The final results are below:
Here's a recap of each leg:
Leg 1: Nanaimo to Comox
Distance: 37.4 nm
Crew: Jason, Shawn, Max, Mike, Lucas, Steve, Alyosha
Summary: Hamachi
started slow and it took us the first half of the race to get dialed in. We learned quickly who had done this race
previously, as they always seemed to be in the right place on the course. We started in front of the committee vehicle,
only to have the wind fill in first on the other side of the line. We quickly caught up but had a lot of traffic
to maneuver through. The wind was 6-8
kts and built to 12 kts, and we got overpowered with the LtMed J1. We learned over the course of the next two
weeks that we need to shift up to the Heavy J1 between 8-10 kts. But because it was still early and we hadn’t
fully learned that lesson, we struggled against the fleet and then got caught
on the left side in a wind hole. This
first appeared to be to our benefit, but the veterans knew to stay right and
sail across the channel to Lasqueti Island and then tack back. After a terrible first half, we got into a
groove and reeled a lot of boats back in.
We worked the wind shifts to the end and finished below the beautiful
lighthouse on the south end of Denman Island.
We then had a 2 hour cruise into Comox, and we didn’t have enough
alcohol on board. That became a common
theme...
Working through the ORC1 fleet off Lasqueti Island
On corrected time we finished 7th
out of 9 boats due to our poor start and rating. We arrived late in Comox and found that most
people were camping in the marina parking lot, not at the RV park 15 minutes
away. We decided to change our plans,
collected our gear trailer, and set up in the parking lot near the fleet. We quickly found that each day was an
adventure and each night a party. Sleep
was hard to come by but the memories will last forever.
Leg 2: Comox to Campbell River
Distance: 27.6 nm
Crew: Jason, Shawn, Max, Mike, Lucas, Steve, Alyosha
Summary: Another beautiful day on the Salish Sea. We started outside the Comox harbor and raced around
Point Lazo and up to Campbell River, where the waters narrow and the currents
build. It was beautiful blue skies and the
wind was 5-9 kts from the north. We were
told that the current switched at 3pm, and if we weren’t across the line, then
we might not finish.
We had a mediocre start but again sailed quickly through the fleet. We switched between our LtMed J1 and Heavy J1 and tried to find the shifts. We held even with our fleet and were in the lead group of boats as we approached Campbell River around 2pm, and then the wind shut off. We drifted about and then the current started to flip, and suddenly we were going backwards. The veteran slower boats made for the shore and current relief, while the leaders (us included) spun in the eddies. We were able to work our drifter and A1.5 to guide the boat into shore, and then put up our LtMed J1 and worked the back eddies towards the finish. By this time there was a swarm of 8 forty footers tacking between the shore (literally) and the raging current (5-6 kts). This lane was initially several hundred yards wide but narrowed to around 60 feet wide near the finish. Team Hamachi threw in around 20 tacks over the course of 45 minutes in extremely tight quarters to maneuver through all of these boats. 100 yards from the finish we were in 20 feet of water until we weren’t, and hit a rock spire with our keel. We bounced over it and kept going to finish in front of all these boats. We motored into port and took fifth in our fleet on corrected time. We spent the night in the Thunderbird RV park near our new road crew friends from 65 Red Roses.
Comox Harbor
Beautiful location for a race.... Race Committee boat and Jack Rabbit
We had a mediocre start but again sailed quickly through the fleet. We switched between our LtMed J1 and Heavy J1 and tried to find the shifts. We held even with our fleet and were in the lead group of boats as we approached Campbell River around 2pm, and then the wind shut off. We drifted about and then the current started to flip, and suddenly we were going backwards. The veteran slower boats made for the shore and current relief, while the leaders (us included) spun in the eddies. We were able to work our drifter and A1.5 to guide the boat into shore, and then put up our LtMed J1 and worked the back eddies towards the finish. By this time there was a swarm of 8 forty footers tacking between the shore (literally) and the raging current (5-6 kts). This lane was initially several hundred yards wide but narrowed to around 60 feet wide near the finish. Team Hamachi threw in around 20 tacks over the course of 45 minutes in extremely tight quarters to maneuver through all of these boats. 100 yards from the finish we were in 20 feet of water until we weren’t, and hit a rock spire with our keel. We bounced over it and kept going to finish in front of all these boats. We motored into port and took fifth in our fleet on corrected time. We spent the night in the Thunderbird RV park near our new road crew friends from 65 Red Roses.
Leg 3: Campbell River to Hardwicke Island
Distance: 24.2 nm
Crew: Jason, Shawn, Max, Mike, Lucas, Steve, Alyosha
Summary: We were up
super early because we had to motor 10 nm to Deepwater Bay, the start of the
race, which was on the other side of the Seymore Narrows. We were off the dock at 6:30 and it was a
beautiful morning cruise. Jason was doing work in the bow on the satellite
phone while the crew was trying to get ready for the race and he kept having
them turn the boat downwind (to avoid the wind noise) so he could conclude a
deal. The race started at 9am and the
wind was building fast into the 17-20 kts range. We started with full main and J3 but got
boxed out at the start, and then wrapped our jib around the forestay. By the time we cleared everything, we were
the very last boat to start, but quickly powered up the left side of the
course. We worked through the fleet and
rode the massive ebb tide down the fjords.
The stiff wind stacked up the counterflowing current into steep waves
and it was a very rough ride. We rode
the veins of current and finished near the front of our fleet as the fourth
boat across the line. Somehow we
corrected out to 7th, which is odd given the strong upwind
conditions.
That night we all rafted up
to the salmon farm off Hardwicke Island and spent the evening walking the docs
and getting to know the other crews. We
had planned ahead on food and alcohol, but our 17 year old bowman and weight
nazi decided at the last minute that the half gallon of gin was too heavy, so
he left it in the gear trailer. We ended
up “borrowing” bottles from our competitimates that we would pay back
later. The fish hatchery itself was a
wild operation in a beautiful location.
It consisted of 10 pens, each holding 75,000 fish. The feed tubes are running 24/7 to bulk the
fish up. It was an interesting lesson in
industrial farming and re-emphasizes the idea of eating wild salmon.
Leg 4: Hardwicke Island to Telegraph Cove
Distance: 41.0 nm
Crew: Jason, Shawn, Max, Mike, Lucas, Steve, Alyosha
Summary: It started
off sunny, but we were heading into cloudy conditions. This was the longest leg to date and it had
the complicating factor that Jason and Lucas had to meet a Kenmore Air
seaplane in Telegraph cove by 4:15 pm.
This meant we had to average a VMG of 6 kts over the entire course,
which is nearly impossible. However, we
had favorable current. To cover any
contingencies, Jason chartered a fishing boat to come get them off in the event
we came up short. It was an added
complication to a long leg.
The wind was again forecast to blow down the Johnstone
Strait and into the fjords. We started with
full main and J3 and had a great start mid-line and were the first to reach the
river of ebb tide. This allowed us to
lift up around the fleet and were quickly near the front. The wind backed down into the 12-14 range and
we peeled to the J2, which worked until the wind cranked back up to 15-20 kts. But this occurred as we were riding a massive
river of current (5-6 kts) which had us feeling more like white water rafters
instead of sailors. We had to clear the
white water before we could peel back to the J3. We searched for some current on the right
side of the course, and missed a shift left, so we gave up a lot of hard fought
ground. We settled in to a long day of
upwind but beautiful sailing, and we had the added excitement of sailing with
two of the lead boats from Race to Alaska (R2AK). Interestingly, Hamachi was faster, which made
us start thinking of future adventures…
White Water Rafting...
Commercial traffic on Johnstone Strait
Racing with the R2AK boys (and girls)...
The wind slowly backed off and we shifted down to our J1
Heavy, and then eventually the J1 LtMed.
We were locked into tacking duels at the front of the ORC1 fleet with
Constellation, White Cloud, Jack Rabbit and Occam’s Razor. 10 miles from the finish we got out of phase
with them and initially lost ground, but then found a great shift / lift on the
right side of the fjord while everyone else was left and sailed up and over
them. Now leading we approached a wind
hole 7 miles from the finish and the fleet split again. Everyone first went right and we then saw a
wind line on the left shore, and pivoted back.
White Cloud followed us and it turned out to be the defining move, as we
were able to catch it first and lead everyone to the finish. We took ORC1 line honors, but corrected out
to 4th place. At this point
we had pretty much given up on ORC scoring – we didn’t see how a bunch of boats
with the same waterline length were really different in 8-12 kts of wind.
Amazingly we crossed the line around 4:00 pm so the fishing
charter came alongside immediately and Jason and Lucas jumped off. The charter ran them into port while the rest
of the crew broke down the boat, and then ran them out to meet the Cessna 180
circling overhead. Lucas headed home,
while Jason went back to Seattle for a morning investor meeting, and then
returned the following afternoon via another plane. The crew spent the next 24 hours in Telegraph
Cove exploring the cool little community, and working on boat and gear
repairs. This was the first break in the
sailing and it was much needed time to get organized.
Leg 5: Telegraph Cove to Port Hardy
Distance: 28.7 nm
Crew: Jason, Shawn, Max, Mike, Steve, Alyosha
Summary: A strong low
pressure had been moving up the coast offshore and it's right hand punch turned the northwesterly into a southeasterly, with the forecast for a nuking downwind for Leg 5. Mother nature delivered and
it was gale conditions blowing 25-35 kts at the start.
We put on our offshore main with two reefs (although we only rigged one) and set out with a reefed main and J4. Smoke (TP/52) had a full main up, which they split two minutes before the start. This was the heaviest downwind sailing we’d done so we played in conservative. The fleet had to maneuver between several islands and very narrow channels (some less than 100 yards wide) and we were worried about our ability to navigate the hazards with too much sail area up. We started conservatively mid line and watched Joy Ride put up their A4, and then wipe out. We went right, then jibed back left to clear the fleet, then jibed again to set up our line through the channels and islands and set our A3. The boat immediately powered up to 17-19 kts and we were flying. The team did a great job and we had many jibes. The fleet quickly disappeared and we eventually worked our way out into Queen Charlotte Sound where the waves built. During one of these times we got stuck in a wave trough and the A3 started flapping, and the batten on the J4 poked a hole that split the spinnaker near the top. However, it seemed to hold mostly together and we were doing 15 kts so we kept it up for another 7nm. Once we had to jibe to lay the finish we took it down and sailed into Port Hardy under reefed main and J4, and then pulled the reef once the wind backed off in the harbor. We were the first boat across the line for the entire VanIsle fleet. We covered the 29 nm leg in 2.5 hours setting a new course record, which was previously held by Icon at just over 4 hours. Despite this epic performance, Joy Ride somehow corrected out over us to take 1st in ORC1.
Hamachi heading out to race in a gale.
Hamachi and fleet at the start (we are racing at this point)
We put on our offshore main with two reefs (although we only rigged one) and set out with a reefed main and J4. Smoke (TP/52) had a full main up, which they split two minutes before the start. This was the heaviest downwind sailing we’d done so we played in conservative. The fleet had to maneuver between several islands and very narrow channels (some less than 100 yards wide) and we were worried about our ability to navigate the hazards with too much sail area up. We started conservatively mid line and watched Joy Ride put up their A4, and then wipe out. We went right, then jibed back left to clear the fleet, then jibed again to set up our line through the channels and islands and set our A3. The boat immediately powered up to 17-19 kts and we were flying. The team did a great job and we had many jibes. The fleet quickly disappeared and we eventually worked our way out into Queen Charlotte Sound where the waves built. During one of these times we got stuck in a wave trough and the A3 started flapping, and the batten on the J4 poked a hole that split the spinnaker near the top. However, it seemed to hold mostly together and we were doing 15 kts so we kept it up for another 7nm. Once we had to jibe to lay the finish we took it down and sailed into Port Hardy under reefed main and J4, and then pulled the reef once the wind backed off in the harbor. We were the first boat across the line for the entire VanIsle fleet. We covered the 29 nm leg in 2.5 hours setting a new course record, which was previously held by Icon at just over 4 hours. Despite this epic performance, Joy Ride somehow corrected out over us to take 1st in ORC1.
It took a while to secure the boat(s) because the initial
moorage was getting hammered by the wind.
We eventually found refuge in the primary marina and retired to the Pub
at the top of the dock to celebrate Max’s 30th birthday. There was lots of chatter on the VHF and we heard
about gear failures across the fleet. We
later learned about 65 Red Roses losing their rudder, while other boats broke
spreaders, sails, pulpits, etc. While
unfortunately for Red Roses, we ended up securing two new crew members for the
rest of the race: Maddy and Nicole.
Leg 6: Port Hardy to Winter Harbor
Distance: 69.1 nm
Crew: Jason, Shawn, Nicole, Maddy, Steve, Pete, Alyosha,
Joshua
Summary: This is the
leg where you sail out over the top of Vancouver Island and into the Pacific
Ocean. The winds were light for the
start and it was a very slow – meaning long – leg. The morning consisted of alternating between drifting
and upwind in 5-6 kts. Porpoises swam
alongside as we worked past Bull Island and into the Pacific Ocean. By early afternoon the wind was steady at 4-6
kts which allowed us to round Cape Scott by 9pm. We set the spinnaker, but it was only
marginally effective in the light breeze and large rolling ocean swell. We had a beautiful sunset and jibed down the
west Vancouver Island coast.
It was difficult sailing initially in the dark and rolling seas and seasickness was a challenge for a few. We struck the spinnaker and put up the drifter as the wind shifted, faded, and shifted again. We were behind the usual suspects of Jack Rabbit, White Cloud and Occam’s Razor, but caught them on the graveyard watch around 2 am. It was a long day and cold night on the water. By 4 am the light returned and we found ourselves a few miles from the finish chasing White Cloud. We crossed the line 2nd in our Division and finished in the same spot based on corrected time. The team had only a few cold hours of sleep so we came into Winter Harbor where Wayne was waiting for us and, as you would expect, had cocktails and a breakfast comprised of chili. We all crashed for a few hours while Steve and Joshua took a cab back to Port Hardy for a flight home. We spent the rest of the day cleaning the boat and devising a better watch system, which would prove very valuable for the next leg.
Hamachi with Cape Scott in background
White Cloud hidden by the swell of the Pacific Ocean
It was difficult sailing initially in the dark and rolling seas and seasickness was a challenge for a few. We struck the spinnaker and put up the drifter as the wind shifted, faded, and shifted again. We were behind the usual suspects of Jack Rabbit, White Cloud and Occam’s Razor, but caught them on the graveyard watch around 2 am. It was a long day and cold night on the water. By 4 am the light returned and we found ourselves a few miles from the finish chasing White Cloud. We crossed the line 2nd in our Division and finished in the same spot based on corrected time. The team had only a few cold hours of sleep so we came into Winter Harbor where Wayne was waiting for us and, as you would expect, had cocktails and a breakfast comprised of chili. We all crashed for a few hours while Steve and Joshua took a cab back to Port Hardy for a flight home. We spent the rest of the day cleaning the boat and devising a better watch system, which would prove very valuable for the next leg.
Leg 7: Winter Harbor to Ucluelet
Distance: 138.1 nm
Crew: Jason, Shawn, Nicole, Maddy, Steve, Pete, Alyosha
Summary: Leg 7 is the longest and most dangerous leg of the race down the outside of Vancouver Island and around the Brooks Peninsula. We were dreaming of a downwind sleigh ride, which is often the case this time of year. Unfortunately, another low
pressure was rolling up the coast and gale conditions (30-45 kts) were forecast and the fleet was going to take it on the nose. We were not looking forward to this and
considered not racing. However, by
morning the forecast was down from 35 kts to 25 kts so we headed out with all
of the other boats.
The winds were supposed to be stronger offshore, and initially we all started under spinnaker as the wind was flowing out of the fjords and out to sea. However, we all quickly hit the transition zone and flopped about for a few minutes until the ocean breeze took hold, and then built. Pretty quickly we were sailing into 25-30 kts with steep wind waves on top of steep swells. We reefed the offshore main and continued with the J3. We were taking water over the boat and Jason went below to find we had 60 gallons sloshing about, coming in from every available crack. While the team pounded upwind (and it was POUNDING) Jason bailed. After several hours the wind started to back off and we found that Hamachi rode along beautifully under reefed main and J3 in the rough conditions. During the pounding we lost our mast head VHF antenna so plugged in the backup antenna and contacted the fleet to let the Coast Guard know. At the time we were sailing alongside White Cloud, and their request is that we stick with them. The thing was, we were passing them and sailing faster with our reduced sail area. We all sailed into a rain squall and we lost sight of everyone, so we continued on with limited comms and no visibility. After sailing in a straight line for 40 nm we put the blinkers on and made a left hand turn, and sailed another 30 nm, before taking right and then left one more time. We sailed for about 12 hours without seeing anyone, and not knowing where anyone else was. We had pre-planned to break our six person crew into three two person watches, and set up a watch system that started at 4pm. This worked well as it was very cold and wet. We kept Hamachi trucking all day and all night with this system, and made a lot of hot drinks. Seasickness was still a challenge for a few and “puke and rally” became the theme and I have to give a lot of credit to those who did! By 9 am the next morning the wind backed down and the fog lifted and suddenly we could see our competition again. It was amazing to see we were leading everyone! We organized the boat after 24 hours of being in a washing machine and inspected things, only to find that we still had our VHF antenna (no one could see it the previous day in the crazy conditions). The wind started shifting and suddenly we could set our A1.5 in 5 kts of building wind. This allowed Hamachi to sail away from everyone and we were able to gain a few miles on our competition, which we protected until we finished around 5:30 pm, which was over 32 hours of sailing. Hamachi took Division line honors and correct out in first place ahead of White Cloud by 21 seconds!!
Leaving Winter Harbor with the rugged West Vancouver Island shoreline before the wind built
The winds were supposed to be stronger offshore, and initially we all started under spinnaker as the wind was flowing out of the fjords and out to sea. However, we all quickly hit the transition zone and flopped about for a few minutes until the ocean breeze took hold, and then built. Pretty quickly we were sailing into 25-30 kts with steep wind waves on top of steep swells. We reefed the offshore main and continued with the J3. We were taking water over the boat and Jason went below to find we had 60 gallons sloshing about, coming in from every available crack. While the team pounded upwind (and it was POUNDING) Jason bailed. After several hours the wind started to back off and we found that Hamachi rode along beautifully under reefed main and J3 in the rough conditions. During the pounding we lost our mast head VHF antenna so plugged in the backup antenna and contacted the fleet to let the Coast Guard know. At the time we were sailing alongside White Cloud, and their request is that we stick with them. The thing was, we were passing them and sailing faster with our reduced sail area. We all sailed into a rain squall and we lost sight of everyone, so we continued on with limited comms and no visibility. After sailing in a straight line for 40 nm we put the blinkers on and made a left hand turn, and sailed another 30 nm, before taking right and then left one more time. We sailed for about 12 hours without seeing anyone, and not knowing where anyone else was. We had pre-planned to break our six person crew into three two person watches, and set up a watch system that started at 4pm. This worked well as it was very cold and wet. We kept Hamachi trucking all day and all night with this system, and made a lot of hot drinks. Seasickness was still a challenge for a few and “puke and rally” became the theme and I have to give a lot of credit to those who did! By 9 am the next morning the wind backed down and the fog lifted and suddenly we could see our competition again. It was amazing to see we were leading everyone! We organized the boat after 24 hours of being in a washing machine and inspected things, only to find that we still had our VHF antenna (no one could see it the previous day in the crazy conditions). The wind started shifting and suddenly we could set our A1.5 in 5 kts of building wind. This allowed Hamachi to sail away from everyone and we were able to gain a few miles on our competition, which we protected until we finished around 5:30 pm, which was over 32 hours of sailing. Hamachi took Division line honors and correct out in first place ahead of White Cloud by 21 seconds!!
Leg 8: Ucluelet to Victoria
Distance: 98.2 nm
Crew: Jason, Shawn, Nicole, Maddy, Steve, Pete, Alyosha
Summary: After the
low pressures passed, the high FINALLY settled in (wishing it had done it 4
days earlier!) and the northerly was projected to blow us the whole way to Victoria
in 20-25 kts. It was a beautiful day and
the fleet was happy to be on the water. Our goal was to keep in contact with Smoke, so
we put up as much sail area as we had and went with full main, big staysail and
A4. We were flying for the first few
hours, and then the wind backed down. It
was a beautiful day but suddenly 10-12 kts of boat speed seemed so slow… The humpback whales were playing at the
entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and gave us a great show. We sailed past Cape Flattery on the US side,
and then hugged the Canadian shore up the straight to catch the building
afternoon thermal breeze. We powered up
the final part of the Strait in 17-20 kts of wind and 12-14 kts of boat
speed. We sailed through race rocks and
jibed a few times into the finish around 8:55 pm.
Leg 9: Victoria to Nanaimo
Distance: 59.9 nm
Crew: Shawn, Nicole, Maddy, Steve, Pete, Alyosha, John
Summary: It was a
brilliant day for the final leg of the VanIsle 360. Hamachi had a very slow start and had to work
through the fleet, which it did quickly, and then lead the drag race through
the Gulf Islands up to Nanaimo. Smoke
and Westerly (who did only this leg) got stuck in a wind hole between Sydney
and San Juan Islands and Team Hamachi lead a group of boats up the inside, and
the fleet followed. As a result, Hamachi
was the lead boat for about 50 of the 60 nm of the race. There were adventures drifting through Active
Pass amongst the commercial traffic and the constant effort to stay in front of
the fleet. The wind was 6-11 kts and on
the lighter side near the finish.
Hamachi was able to hold everyone off except Westerly and was the second
boat across the line, but taking line honors with the core VanIsle fleet. Hamachi finished at 12:20 am and then partied
at the dock with everyone until 3:30 am.
The crew dispersed and then Shawn and Pete motored the boat all the way
back to Seattle with a brief stop in Roche Harbor, eventually arriving in
Seattle at 5:30 am on Sunday (the next morning). In parallel Wayne guided our land yacht home
via Anacortes and then Seattle. It took
most of Sunday to process the mounds of wet and dirty gear, but it was also a
great time to reflect. It was an epic
VanIsle 360!
