NOTICE: Escape to Pt. Richmond 3rd Annual swim tentatively scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, July 18, 2009

Polar Bear Plunge and Potluck 2009!
A total of 53 neighbors and friends assembled on Rees Beach for I think, the 6th annual Polar Bear Swim. Food was served potluck style featuring 3 varieties of chili, cornbread, cornchowder, meatballs, chips and dip, tasty desserts. The 15 swimmers could join the others for a hot buttered rum or sip congnac after the swim - if of legal age of course! Rainy weather gave us a reprieve for a few midday hours so that we could spend time outdoors on this 1st day of January 2009.

Why Yes, there will be a Polar Bear Swim on New Years day 2009; 12 noon at Rees Beach. costumes welcomed. There will be chili and cornbread - and a warm fire!


PS. A little know secret is that the water will be warmer than the air!

Outdoor Movie Night Draws "Small" Crowd

The Point Richmond Beach inaugural outdoor movie night was a success according to attending children. The movie Kinder Garden Cop was chosen for the occasion. Neighborhood kids had their cake and watched the movie too! Requests have been made to make the movie an annual summer event.

GRUMPY'S GETS MAKEOVER!

The Point Richmond Neighborhood is still coming to grips with the fact that Grumpy's place, now known as "13207 Pt Richmond", received a makeover by child artists recently. Neighborhood children have become very fond of Grumpy in the past few weeks. Though on one as ever seen Grumpy many children have had lengthy discussions with the talkative troll by way of the drainpipe, where he apparently lives. A few have questioned whether he is related to Sleepy or Dopey. As of this writing, these questions still remain unanswered. I was informed that today, Sunday, is "pamcake" day, where Grumpy is brought Pam's delicious Pancake breakfast, so perhaps Grumpy is not so.. "grumpy" today.

RECENT EVENTS

BOUNTY WITH NO MUTINY

Would you like to hear a tall tale? Would you believe, that tall ships were in town? No, really, the HMS Bounty from the 1962 movie "Mutiny on the Bounty" sailed by our beach on July 2 destined for the tall ships festival in Tacoma.

Big BOOM!

Now that's a BIG CANNON! and you should have heard the noise that came out a that leg sized piece of artillery! Some swore, in a christian kind of way, that they heard thunder in the report coming back from Vashon Island after the initial blast.






Just Fishin'












Rocket Launch
Observers were supposed to keep an eye on the rocket after the launch, but this elusive rocket went skyward never to be seen again! If you happen to find this red, white and blue painted rocket, or see it hanging from a tree, or in a dogs mouth, please notify Daniel.





Pass the crumpets please...

Tea party on the beach. Yes, one summer day at Point Richmond Beach a tea party was held hosted by Miss Sarah and Miss Julia. Rumor has it that there was warm chocolate in that tea pot. Hey, why wasn't I invited?









Talk about Grumpy!
You know Grumpy; the storm drain troll? Although noo one has ever actually seen him, Grumpy has been in high demand with local children recently.

EXTRA EXTRA,
Read all about it!


Yes, our swim was published in the Peninsula Gateway on July 2, 2008, the week after the swim occurred. Congratulations to all involved!

Swimmers Escaped to
...Point Richmond Beach!

Five crazy adults (and 3 crazy kids) really escaped to Pt Richmond Beach during the Escape to Point Richmond 2nd Annual open water swim. The event began at the Jane Macready retreat, "The Loafsalot", on Vashon Island at about 5:15pm. Dozens of spectators awaited on the shoreline feasting on a potluck while they waited for swimmers to arrive.

(click on collage to enlarge).

2008 Swimmers

Fins 1 Mile

Name...................... Time.........Previous
1) Larry Burr......... 32:04............. -
2) Brett Walter...... 32:43.........58:04
3) Peter Bortel....... 35:14.........58:32

No Fin 1 Mile
Name..................... Time........ Previous

1) Steve Rees....... 35:57............45:01
2) Tesa Johnson.. 44:48........1:02:21

Youth Swim (100 yard)
Name...................... Time

1) Daniel Rees ........2:50

2) Noah Johnson....2:58

3) Julia Rees......... .6:23

Escape to Point Richmond Beach
2nd Annual open water swim.

What new swimmers will enter the event this year?
Will Tesa's new wetsuit give her the "edge" she needs to win?
Will the swimmers all be pronounced crazy... again?
Will Steve "the metronome" be able to retain his title?
What will Brett's pick up line be this year?
Which Shore will Peter end up on?

...June 28th 2008 5pm on the beach

STAY TUNED FOR UPDATE ON THE 2nd ANNUAL ESCAPE TO PT. RICHMOND BEACH OPEN WATER SWIM.

TENTATIVELY DATE/TIME:

SAT 28 June 2008 5PM

2008 Comes in like a Polar Bear..Swim!
This years swimmers: Dave Langworthy, Kyle Mahony, Lane Landry, Julia Rees, Brett Walter, Peter Bortel, Annie Johnson, Calvin Luce, Daniel Rees, Paula Schrader, Jeff Focht, Carol Winge, and Steve Rees - hey thats me!

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Daniel Rees as Captain Toilet Plunger, above, fearlessly leaps into 2008!
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Neighbors and friends gather in anticipation of what is about to occur.


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Apparently air and water do mix! Carol Winge prepares to dive in dressed as an aerobics instructor.



Interesting Shorts Calvin!

Announcements:

Polar Bear Swim January 1, 2008 12PM at the Rees pilings.

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Preliminary plan for:

Second Annual Swim across Colvos Passage:
"The Escape TO Point Richmond Open Water Swim." July 26, 2008, 4:30PM.
(Alternate date is June 27 at 5:30PM)

Yes we did have an annual picnic and meeting in September. Below are a few pictures provided by Ken Warter

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DO YOU NOTICE SOMEONE MISSING?

...that would be you! We have been waiting for you down at the "pit." Please drop by sometime for a drink, Hor d'oeuvres, or just to chat. We have seats reserved... just for you!

The FISH are... IN!


Send in your fish pictures! We want to hear your fish stories!













Now that's what I'm talking about!







Note: At first glance I there was no doubt Sally's was the biggest by far. But when I looked closer, as it turned out, Katie's (top photo) was just a li-ttle bigger. See for yourself (above).

1st Annual Escape From Vashon Swim a chilling Success!
6 swimmers successfully completed the crossing from Vashon Island to Point Richmond today when this first known swim across the frigid waters of Colvos Passage was held. Before the swimmers entered the water Wren Huggins, the team psychologist, declared the entire group of swimmers "crazy." Neighbors were invited to help out and did a great job making the event go smoothly and even more fun with their enthusiasm! After the swimmers were in a lunch of chili (both carnivore and veggie) and cornbread was served on the lawn by the finish line.

Behind the scenes neighbors and staff members worked on food prep, setup, safety paddlers, photographers, even a standby nurse, and operated power boats to guide swimmers and keep passing speeding boats at a safe distance.

Pictured at the top of this entry are the inaugural swimmers wearing their survivor shirts from left to right; Steve "the metronome" Rees, Wren "dilly-dally*" Huggins, Brett "why yes, I am available" Walters, Peter "black turtle" Bortel with daugther Sarah, and Tesa "give me a blanket" Johnson. Below is Heather "direct finish line" Pennington, running to... the finish line (not present for the group photo).
*Note: It has been suggested that team psychologist Wren, who came in dead last (by about an hour) did this intentionally so that the other swimmers could "feel good" about their times!

Special thanks to the staff members!

Showing off their staff shirts are Pam Brower (all around support), Harry Hovey (yacht skipper), Daniel Rees (side entertainment), Joyce Winge (paddler, and all around support) and Karen Warter (photographer). Not shown but also provided support to the group were Gordon Thorne (event safety and PR) , Linda (nurse), Al Brower (row boat support), Frank Schrader (inflatable power support), and Paula Schrader (timekeeper), and all the safety paddlers.

ATTENTION: NEW WEBSITE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION! STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO! Humor has it that HTML code is a lot like the DaVinci Code, I haven't cracked it yet but I think I am getting close!

Diver Tames Wolf Eel!

Neighbor, scuba diver, and eel trainer Peter Bortel is shown working with wolf eel buddies at Day Island wall - south of the Narrows bridge. Photos were taken in approximately 80 feet of water.

4th of July again the busiest day of the year for Pt. Richmond Beach!
Just take a look at the photo above and you'll get an idea of how many people came to our Beach to visit friends, the coolness of the water, food, fireworks. One couple even came to announce their engagement to be married!





Jeremy and fiance Mardie Rees(right) embrace after being hosed down with champagne!

Joyce and Rick (left) enjoying the afternoon.



PS. Paddle boat race was cancelled due to windy conditions in the evening.

Great Find at Playa de la Clampett!

Kids remove graffiti from one of the best flotsam finds to date! Recent retrieval of this jumbo sized picnic table came not a moment too soon with all the upcoming upcoming summer festivities! This year the tally includes 2 crab pots and this fine table. Past years finds included a paddle boat 2 8x8 floating platform segments, usable propane tank, towable board/teeter totter and several crab pots. Hello Playa de la Clampett!