Sunday, May 31, 2009

Sailing on Blue Marsh Lake
























Sailing on Saturday was quite an adventure. My crew member, Larry, has been a member of the sailing club since way back, although he hasn't sailed much in the last few years. I managed to drive the boat on the trailer to the lake without incident. I can do most of the rigging by myself or just giving a few instruction. I chickened out and let Larry back the trailer into the water to unload the Maggie B. (our boat's name).
I don't have any pictures of racing or Larry, because it turns out he is a bit of a dare devil and kept me busy sailing at top speed. Since it was a race he figured we might as well win. He let me steer and he managed the sails. He gave a lot of instruction (ie was bossy) but it helped me learn and didn't really bother me because he was pretty funny.
Me: Um Larry, there is a boat coming at us.
Larry: Not our problem. We have the right of way.
I was exhausted at the end of the day. We would be going along at a good clip and Larry would yell "pull the jib line tighter" to make us go even faster. I would be pulling with both hands with my feet braced against the side of the boat, trying to move a sail that was already full of wind. But it was fun. We actually won the the second race and finished in the middle of the others. I won't have much of a handicap now, as Larry was a ringer.
After the race, the other sailors asked me if I had been warned about Larry and his daredevil ways! Marty had arrived from Baby Preview, so we tooled around the lake for another hour or so. Till we got home I was ready for an hour in the hot tub.