KEE! NGLER ROB BROWN. Trout fishin’ on Haida Gwaii he plastic owl perched on the front of the ferry is visible one moment then gone the next as the bow knifes into the waves sending the wash up, over the decks and splattering spray across the windows with a sound like thrown gravel. A few passengers caught standing when the seas shifted gears, stagger from pole to pillar seeking some slabilily in their seats. Accustomed to the pitch and yaw of the boat, two crew cruise through the cafeteria gently nudg- ing the rail to restore equilibrium as they dex- terously place plates on their trays. Next to us a biker and his old lady, stuffed into leather casings like sausages, dig into their respective golden brown mounds of fries and burgers oblivious to the swells, “T don’t wanna get skinny,” he says, teeth ap- pearing through heavy stubble in a smile that could easily be mistaken for a snarl, ‘Yeah, you only had two beer for breakfast,” says she. After hours of rock and roll, the islands appear in the distance and the seas soften a litle. When we can make out the white line of waves crashing to shore the walter gets calmer still. A trio of por- poises bursts through the surface in unison, dis-: appears, reappears as a unit once more, then makes duo and individual appearances: a pair skipping’ over the top like skipping stones; a solo leap; a! fleeting roll, white and glistening gray like a super’ charged trout taking a dun. *I want to see some whales,”’ whines a little girl, wha has pushed up to a starboard window and has just learned she missed the porpoises, The seas get flatter still as we near Skidegate, spouts appear uear shore. A young lady with red hair and red brown glasses points, ‘‘There, over there, Near shore. Near the island. Whales.”’ The little girl presses her nose to the dripping’ Plexiglas. She bas her wish. In the short time we are in the car, in the bowels of the boat. The bikers rey their bikes delighting in’ the acoustics, The motarcycles burp and fart. Cait rolls the window tight in a vain attempt to keep out the flatulence, ‘Where are they all going?” she asks. Pd been reading the Queen Charlotte Islands Observer on the trip across Hecate Straight. The village of Massett was having something called “Harbour Days’’ complete with dinners, dances, speed boat races, hummer rides, Shish Kebabs, bungee pulls, jousts and even an event where com- batants don suits of faux muscle and wrestle Sumo style. , “They're on something called a poker run. They ride from bar to bar, picking up a card at cach one. If L understand it correctly, the person with the best hand at bar five wins.’ Cait looks perplexed. ‘“What’s the point?’ **Well...there’s an entry fee,’’ I guess. ‘‘l think the winner gets half the proceeds and the rest gocs to a charity.” A steep ramp ride and a few twists and tums and we are passing through Skidegate, There is a new shopping centre with the Island’s store of choice, the Co-op, at its core. ‘*Wow, they’ve got cosmic bowling!'’ exclaims Cait. And, indeed they do. Which, when you think about it, is pretty damm amazing. Three of those little everywhere deer munch grass in a small fenced-off€ enclosure that looks like it had a house on it once, A click later we see two more deer, then one more, then very soon after that another two, and cach time my guts tighten a little in anticipation that one will Jeap onto the - toad, They don’t, The sea and piles of bleached drift wood, rocky coves and Inlets are on one side of us, dark green woods press against the road way on the other. The scenery is distracting. The day is fading slowly. We see no vehicles until we catch up to a truck pulling a cabin cruiser, The glowing green num- bers say 90 and 90 km/h is fast enough for this road, I’m not inconvenienced, but the driver of one of those giant, fully-loaded Dodge pick-ups is, He passes me, wilh a roar on a double line and a hill, turning into a red blur, and survives, leaving me to wonder what task, in this laid back archipelago would prompt someone drive at ambulance speeds, The sky has been lead grey all day. As we cross the Bridge at Tiell holes open wp in it. Shafts of light stream through. A short time later we pass by the edge of Port Clements and minutes after that we are crossing the Yakoun. The tide is up. The river is dark, almost black with shects of light glancing off it. Continued next week... TERRACE. SPEEDWAY races were fast and furious May 23 with a few drivers laking interesting rides, One of those drivers was Terrace’s Dave Lamke in a new car called Simba King of the Jungle, which lived up to its name. Lamke took a very fast ride over corner one straight into the bush. Once wasn’t quite enough so Lamke tied it again later in the race. Fans that enjoy bashing and crashing got their money's worth with the street stock class. Every Tace seemed to have one or more altercation and it was anyone’s guess who would win, In the hobby class, a com- petitive spirit took hold in tight action, Gord Klassen (A Class), Debby Reinhardt and Elizabeth Cloakly (B Ciass) walked away win- ners, Six cars participated in the bomber class with two more planned to join in June, said one of the winning racers Cindy Dollemore. That would bring the num- ber of bombers at the track to eight — more than have participated in any other year, And although there a lot of people spun their wheels, ho cars experienced serious engine trouble and had to be pulled from the track, That’s a testament to the skill of speedway drivers, considering six of this year’s rookics race in the bomber class. Shane Severeid and Casey .- Vandenbrock lead the bomber point standings with 179 and 158 points after May 23. Jannette Vandenbroek, an- other rookie, leads the women’s bomber C division with 123 points. Early in the season, Dave and Debby Reinhardt domi- Saat + : ¢ DARYL MUIR, Tom Fox, Doug Brewer, Keith Allard a 1987 Camaro [roc May 25. The car — a donation from Northwest Community Gol- lege — was pald for with the assistance of a number of local businesses. High school dragsters win first place in Prince George Streets hot race day attraction 638-7283 START YOUR engines. Racers started off the sea- son at the Terrace Speedway May 23. Bomber, nate the hobby stock divi- sion with '177 and 174 points. Trevor King and rookie driver Christine Miner rule the Street and C Street divi- sions with 161 and 156 points each. Races Saturday, May 22 were cancelled due to the Tain. Planned events, includ- ing the speedway uniform races have been tentatively rescheduled for a mid-June race day. The next race day is the Pizza Hut 100 June 5-6, A 50-lap race will be held each day in addition to regu- larly scheduled shootout races. FOR CALEDONIA’S drag racing team, winning gold in high school drag race series in Prince George May 22 was like seeing a dream come true, The team has been working together for two years and their gold medal performance represents the first time their car was put to the test. “Tt was the first time the car shifted into second gar,” said Caledonia teacher Doug Brewer. He added the club allows young people interested in tracing a safe venue, “We try and encourage young people to do it on the strip instead of on the street,'* he sald. In bracket racing, where consistency and reaction time is key, Daryl Muir drove the car to victory ahead of five other teams. “Tt was an adrenalin rush,” said the Grade 12 student, otherwise known as Doc Speed. Grade 11 student Keith Allard clocked the fastest time at 92 miles per hour. The club plans to return to Prince George — and its Na- tional Hat Rod Association sanctioned track — to defend their title in mid June. . The club would fike to thank Terrace’s businesses, people and organizations who contributed highly valued technical and financial support. nd Jacob Dickson with their KIDDIE DAY at the Terrace Speedway was a hit May 23. Kids got the chance to tide alang with drivers as they cruised the track. As long as they had a helmet kids were allowed to see what life looks like through the windshield of a race car, street and hobby Car racers all reved up thelr engines to compete in shootout as well as heat races. BeKabasme Mee EC Sua! Terrace Speedway Race Results A Hobby Shootoul — 77 Gord Klassen B Hobby Shootout — 35 Debby Reinhardt A Street Shootout — 351 Len McArthur C Sueet Shootout — 288 Koreen Algor A Bomber Shootout — 911 Shawn Geisbrecht B Bomber Shootout — 117 Kevin Pongracz C Bomber Shootout — 911 Marianne Munson nen ee For May 23,1999 Heat — 77 Gord Klassen Main —- 77 Gord Klassen Heat — 77 Elizabeth Cloakey Main — 77 Elizabeth Cloakey Heat — 288 John Algor Main — 351 Len McArthur B Street Shootout — 351 Len McArthur Heat — 351 Len McArthur Main — 869 Trevor King Heat — 288 Koreen Algor Main — 288 Koreen Algor Heat — 180 Dave Lamke Main ~- 690 Dan Dollemore Heat — 117 Kevin Pongracz Main — 635 Shane Severeid Heat — 117 Veronica Paupst Main — 690 Cindy Dollemore By DAVID D. HULL THE TERRACE Northmen Rugby Foot- ball Club’s seniors almost folded like a cheap jack knife last week, But, after an inipassioned meeting of players, alumni and supporters May 20, the team decided to play on, While the Northmen women’s team and under 18 boys side experienced good turn out, the senior men’s numbers dropped so low the executive had to call a mecting to deiermine if there was enough interest to camry on, 7 Club president Malcolm Smith and men’s player rep. Keri Makela outlined the problems and possible solutions ta 25 or tnore people. Northmen seniors survive attendance lull ‘lourtiament in Prince George this sum- "fer. , Though no specific reasoning could be determined for the decline this season, the overwhelming consensus was lo play on and finish the season, The Northmen have been playing senior men’s rugby in the northwest for 29 years and organizers feared a break in cons tinuity could spell a permanent end to Terrace’s longest running sports team. The men and women play at the North- west Communily College ficlds June 27 against the Smithers Camels and Humpies at 12:15 p.m. and 1 p.m. The senior, in conjuction with Smithers players, are still set to play a The under 18 boys team is hoping to line up a game in the near future,