Walk down Memory Lane?
Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:56 am
Not for me....for you guys that have been sailing a while. I'm just beginning my memories!
Yesterday I told my guys I was leaving early...and I did. I was home by 9:30 AM and started loading the Bucc. My wife had been unwilling to go with me but yesterday she agreed to go. So, by 11:00 we were headed to the little lake where I'm learning to sail.. Nothing to bring back memories yet but keep reading....it gets....ummmm....memorable!
Everything is going fine...I have the rigging figured out and am down to about 1/2 hour to do it. So we're stepping the mast and just as I get it vertical I have one of those "light bulb" moments. I turn to my wife and say, "Joyce, the rudder is in the garage". Down comes the mast, tie everything back down and drive the 20 minutes back to the house to get the rudder....any memories yet? No? Keep reading.
Ok, we're back at the lake and I'm rigging the boat with my wifes help and all is going just peachy! Wife comments that there is a lot to remember to make this thing work....wouldn't a motor be easier? I answer, "yes dear, but anyone can do that". Wife, "Oh, that's right, you always want to do things the hard way". Now we've been married for 32 years....she knows that...OF COURSE I ALWAYS WANT TO DO THINGS THE HARD WAY!" No, I didn't yell but felt like it. Any memories yet? No? Keep reading.
Alright, boat is all rigged and ready to splash. Back trailer into water, boat slides nicely off trailer........and keeps going....all by itself. Self, "Didn't you have hold of the rope?" Wife, "that yellow one?", self, "yes dear, the yellow one that floats and is floating away from us with the boat hooked to it". Ok...run to end of pier and JUST BARELY get rope before it heads to middle of lake. Any memories yet? No? keep reading.
As I pull the boat back to the pier something appears not quite right but I can't tell yet. Boat gets closer....oh yea....now I see...Dodo here forgot to close the flippin' round bailers and the boat is about 1/4 full of the lake!!!!!!! Franitcally pull boat onto beach, close bailers....now I remember that part....and retrieve pump from under front deck. 30 minutes later boat is mostly dry and it's time to sail!!!!
The rest of the day is pleasant. Really nice. Winds are just about what a person would want the first time he takes someone out, especially someone as green as me taking someone out!! We sailed around the lake for a couple hours and decide to head in. I have to say here that this lake is really shallow and there are lots of trees still standing, some submerged just under the water. I know where most of them are, all except this one.......now we had seen this limb sticking up and knew it was there. Ok, fine....I'm ten feet away from the limb....so why is my centerboard slowing raising in the tower? Why are we slowing down....no, now we're stopped....and the boat is really tippy like it's sitting on....oh for crying out loud....we're "hard aground" on top of the flippin' tree trunk and now there isn't enough wind to blow out a match. Ok....if we slid on we can slide off. Joyce, get in the back of the boat and I'll try to rock us off. Dear, we're not moving.....I'm gonna yell at those nice folks in the motor boat over there and ask them to come pull us off this (%#*& tree. Ok, they're coming.....laughing all the way but they're coming. As the nice folks in the motor boat are approaching, wife says.....isn't that the limb of the tree back there behind us? I turn around and look back and miraculously we have drifted off the top of the tree trunk. I credit that to a Providential rise in the lake level. Obviously God did it as there isn't a cloud in the sky nor has any rain fallen. The nice folks in the motor boat begin to wonder what we need towed for as there is a no wake rule on the lake and we're outrunning them. Wife yells...."we're off the tree trunk now....thanks!". Gee....ya think they coulda figgered that out themselves.....stink pot drivers.
That was the last "memory" made for the day. Really we had a good time even with all the debacles and my wife does enjoy sailing. We're looking forward to the next chance we get....oh....I didn't mention sailing into the pier on the way out.....but there's enough memories there for a whole 'nother story.
Vic
Yesterday I told my guys I was leaving early...and I did. I was home by 9:30 AM and started loading the Bucc. My wife had been unwilling to go with me but yesterday she agreed to go. So, by 11:00 we were headed to the little lake where I'm learning to sail.. Nothing to bring back memories yet but keep reading....it gets....ummmm....memorable!
Everything is going fine...I have the rigging figured out and am down to about 1/2 hour to do it. So we're stepping the mast and just as I get it vertical I have one of those "light bulb" moments. I turn to my wife and say, "Joyce, the rudder is in the garage". Down comes the mast, tie everything back down and drive the 20 minutes back to the house to get the rudder....any memories yet? No? Keep reading.
Ok, we're back at the lake and I'm rigging the boat with my wifes help and all is going just peachy! Wife comments that there is a lot to remember to make this thing work....wouldn't a motor be easier? I answer, "yes dear, but anyone can do that". Wife, "Oh, that's right, you always want to do things the hard way". Now we've been married for 32 years....she knows that...OF COURSE I ALWAYS WANT TO DO THINGS THE HARD WAY!" No, I didn't yell but felt like it. Any memories yet? No? Keep reading.
Alright, boat is all rigged and ready to splash. Back trailer into water, boat slides nicely off trailer........and keeps going....all by itself. Self, "Didn't you have hold of the rope?" Wife, "that yellow one?", self, "yes dear, the yellow one that floats and is floating away from us with the boat hooked to it". Ok...run to end of pier and JUST BARELY get rope before it heads to middle of lake. Any memories yet? No? keep reading.
As I pull the boat back to the pier something appears not quite right but I can't tell yet. Boat gets closer....oh yea....now I see...Dodo here forgot to close the flippin' round bailers and the boat is about 1/4 full of the lake!!!!!!! Franitcally pull boat onto beach, close bailers....now I remember that part....and retrieve pump from under front deck. 30 minutes later boat is mostly dry and it's time to sail!!!!
The rest of the day is pleasant. Really nice. Winds are just about what a person would want the first time he takes someone out, especially someone as green as me taking someone out!! We sailed around the lake for a couple hours and decide to head in. I have to say here that this lake is really shallow and there are lots of trees still standing, some submerged just under the water. I know where most of them are, all except this one.......now we had seen this limb sticking up and knew it was there. Ok, fine....I'm ten feet away from the limb....so why is my centerboard slowing raising in the tower? Why are we slowing down....no, now we're stopped....and the boat is really tippy like it's sitting on....oh for crying out loud....we're "hard aground" on top of the flippin' tree trunk and now there isn't enough wind to blow out a match. Ok....if we slid on we can slide off. Joyce, get in the back of the boat and I'll try to rock us off. Dear, we're not moving.....I'm gonna yell at those nice folks in the motor boat over there and ask them to come pull us off this (%#*& tree. Ok, they're coming.....laughing all the way but they're coming. As the nice folks in the motor boat are approaching, wife says.....isn't that the limb of the tree back there behind us? I turn around and look back and miraculously we have drifted off the top of the tree trunk. I credit that to a Providential rise in the lake level. Obviously God did it as there isn't a cloud in the sky nor has any rain fallen. The nice folks in the motor boat begin to wonder what we need towed for as there is a no wake rule on the lake and we're outrunning them. Wife yells...."we're off the tree trunk now....thanks!". Gee....ya think they coulda figgered that out themselves.....stink pot drivers.
That was the last "memory" made for the day. Really we had a good time even with all the debacles and my wife does enjoy sailing. We're looking forward to the next chance we get....oh....I didn't mention sailing into the pier on the way out.....but there's enough memories there for a whole 'nother story.
Vic
