July 4th weekend FUN!!!!

July 5th, Sail #7


Well we survived another fun weekend of playing and sailing and while my film dries I will try  my best to chronicle our adventures for you. Of course you know who had to fly over the holiday but luck was on my side and I was able to get everything shot by noon Saturday. While I missed all of the 4th I will at least be able to enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend without having to worry about having to fly.
 We got a late start Saturday and I was a bit stressed about not making our 4 o'clock  meeting time with our friends Jerry and Amy. But luck, or misfortune, was on our side as they were having trailer light issues themselves and they were running late too. We finally got to the lake and got busy installing the new cabinet I made for our "kitchen" area and getting everything loaded up in the boat. It did not take too long and we were hooked up and headed to launch. The ramp was busy but we got a slot and I backed us down to the water before turning over control to Cindy and hopping into the boat to fire up the motor. With the motor running I had Cindy back me the rest of the way down and I felt the boat float up but no matter how much throttle I gave her it would not back away from the trailer. So, being the genius I am, I keep telling Cindy to back further into the water. Luckily one of us, not me, saw that someone, that would be me, forgot to untie the safety line I tie to the front cleats of the boat then runs through the winch stand. Cindy got out and kindly told me to untie the boat. Oh, yea, untie the boat. Amazingly the boat just floated away from the trailer on it's own after I united the safety line LOL.
 Cindy parked the trailer and met me at the dock. I barely even had to slow down for her to jump in and off we were for our first fireworks show on the water! We were really excited to see the show and spend another night on the water. The lake was so busy with everyone else headed out in hopes of landing a good vantage point for the fireworks show. With so much traffic and being pressed for time we decided to just motor to the cove we planned on meeting Jerry and Amy at instead of raising sails and trying to sail there. About half way there we got passed by a familiar looking baby blue Sea Sprite runabout with Jerry and Amy waving at us. They too finally made it to the water and unless they broke down they were going to beat us there.
 The water was really choppy and boats were going all different directions. I turned over the helm to Cindy and went into the cabin to put my swim trunks on. The boat was rolling and pitch in all directions at the same time, or so it seemed, making changing clothes a bit challenging. Cindy hollered for me to hurry up as she was getting a bit nervous. I turned to tell her I would if she would hold the boat still just as we took a larger roller on the port side. I got to see a wall of water come up over the cockpit side and just drench Cindy! Why is it you never have a camera when you really need one?The look on her face was priceless. After I stopped laughing I told her I thought I would stay below for a while. Seems she wanted me to get back up in the cockpit and share in the fun!
 We finally got to the cove and found Jerry and Amy relaxing with a beverage saving us a spot

 We anchored and tried to raft up but the water was so rough with all the waves from the other boats it was not going to work. So unfortunately our first boating dinner party guest had to swim over

 carrying their dinner items along with them! I think Jerry saw a polar bear do this at the zoo once LOL! We fired up the grill and cooked the pork tenderloins. Dinner was delish as usual and as usual I ate too much. Amy made a yummy assortment of cookies that made a super desert. They wanted to get back before dark to beat the mass crowds at the boat ramp after the fireworks so dinner was quick. Back to the Sea Sprite our guest went so they could head out.  It seems Jerry finally found a paddle board his size

 and Amy snapped a cool pic of the Memory Maker at anchor on their way out

 It was really fun meeting up with friends on the water for dinner and I hope we can do it again soon. Neither Jerry or Amy have sailed in a small boat before so we are  hopeful we can take them for a sail sometime soon as well.
 Cindy and I cleaned up after dinner and got the boat ready for bed before we took some time to relax. We had over an hour before the fireworks started so off to the v birth for a lil cuddle time. I can't think of a more enjoyable way of passing the time that cuddling in the v birth with my lovely lil lady! As the sun set over the horizon it's fiery red glow illuminated the cabin like there was a large blaze just off our stern. It was really cool to see everything in the cabin appear as if you had red tinted glasses on.
 As darkness fell we prepared the cockpit for us to sit and watch the fireworks in. It was really neat to see all the boat between us and where the fireworks were going to launch from. It looked like a large city off in the distance with all the boats anchored with their lights on

 Normally there is barely a light or two across the lake but not tonight. Hard to tell how many boats were there to see the show but it was a lot. I made us a yummy snack to enjoy during the show on our new single burner stove we just got.

 You can't beat good old Jiffy Pop! Extra butter Jiffy Pop of course! We took up our seats in the cockpit covering up as it was turning cool. Who would have ever thought we would be floating on Lake Monroe on the 4th of July covered up because it was chilly out? Not us. Plus, there were no bugs!!! The fireworks started right after we sat down and we have to say that watching them on the water is something really neat to do.

 To see the reflection of the all the colors sweep across the water at us was really neat. I wanted to make sure we were in a protected area so when everyone left after the show we were safely out of harms way. The cove we anchored in was maybe close to a mile from the actual show but we still had a great view. After the finale we sat and watched all the boats heading towards the launch ramps. We were so glad we did not have to leave and deal with that mess. It wasn't long before the yawns become contagious and we retreated inside to curl up for some well deserved rest. It had been another long week and we were looking forward to sleeping in.
 The lake really calmed down after dark and we went to sleep in very short order. With the hatch popped we had a nice cooling breeze coming through the cabin making for the ultimate water bed. Again we were amazed, still no bugs! We slept like a pair of hibernating bears. I did not wake up till about 10 til six the next morning. I poked my head up through the hatch and saw that after we went to sleep we got neighbors. We had a cuddy cabin named Nirvana anchored about 200 feet to our east. We must have been sleeping soundly as neither of us heard them anchor. I went back to sleep till about 8 am when the sound of fish jumping all around us woke me up. Normally I would have wanted to try and catch some but my spinning reel needed new line, that I forgot to get it, and I can't fly fish off the boat so I just laid there and listened to the fish taunt me...
 We finally decided to get up and head off in search of a protected area to make breakfast. The wind was light but as we sailed back up the lake it continued to build. By the time we got to the cove Cindy wanted to explore we were sailing along at a pretty good clip. We dropped sailed and motor back into the cove a ways till I saw a row of stickups in front of us. We erred on the side of caution and stopped well short of them. I fired up the grill to cook some sausage patties on then got busy down in our "kitchen" making cheesy bacon omelets for our breakfast.

 We both love our new cabinet. Now not only do we have a good sized flat work surface we also have a drawer to hold our silverware and other items. It is almost like being just at home, just shrunk down in size! Seems we took down sizing to the extreme LOL! It was not long before I had the omelets sizzling away

 Our new cook stove I got off ebay is awesome. There is nothing like cooking with gas. It is shame when a 20 dollar portable single burner gas camp cook stove makes you want to blow up your electric stove just as soon as you get back home... It did not take long and we were sitting down to a very yummy breakfast

  Needless to say we kept the streak of eating way too much aboard the boat alive. Yes, I had salad with my breakfast. It was still good from the night before and I really like Cindy's strawberry walnut spinach salad. The blue coozie in the upper right was holding a cold Coors Light. I love days I don't have to fly, as I can have beer with my breakfast!!!!
 Something bad did happen during breakfast that kind of put a damper on the festivities. As I made breakfast I hung our beach towels over the lifeline to dry. I made the comment to Cindy to add cloths pins to the shopping list as they would be nice to attach towels and suits to the lifeline to keep them from blowing off. Not that I thought that would happen today, but what do you know. When we got ready to go I went to retrieve the towels and there was only one. I asked Cindy if she had already gotten it to which she replied" You have got  to be SH*%%*$# me! We lost the towel???" I kinda laughed it off as just on of those things that happens aboard but someone had a harder time letting it go. I guess after you loose your favorite bikini bottoms in Grouse Ridge lake while paddle boarding earlier that week it makes it a bit harder to laugh off loosing a nice new towel. Let it go Cindy, just let it go LOL!!! I will let her explain how that happened as it is a priceless story, that I had no part in, but she probably won't share that one.
 The wind continued to build as we ate breakfast, so we were eager to go back out and sail some more. I really need to start checking wind speed as it was blowing down the lake a pretty good clip. We heeled over pretty good a time or two before we got out to the point that we could turn with the wind and starting a running sail towards the causeway. As we sailed northeast to the causeway we talked about how before we got a sailboat we would think to ourselves each time we drove across the causeway and saw sailboats on the lake how pretty the sail boats were and how cool we thought it would be to be on one. Well today was our chance to give others driving past that same thought.
 We got to the causeway in no time at all. It amazes me each time how much slower you get some where when you have to tack back and forth versus sailing in a straight line. So while it only took us fifteen minutes to get to the causeway I knew it was going to take much longer to sail our way back down the lake to where we wanted to anchor and swim. While tacking to the southwest in front of John Mellencamp's lake house we got to see 6 bald eagles flying at once. We could hear them screeching at each other as they climbed and dived over the trees. That was really neat to get to watch! Other than Cindy, there is nothing more beautiful that an eagle in flight. There is just something so cool about them. I can remember as a kid the only eagle I ever thought I would see is the one at the zoo in a large cage but today we have them living just a few miles from us. Talk about a wildlife recovery success story!
 We really found out just how much the wind had picked up as we turned to make our way back down the lake. We also learned that if you are not moving thought the water the rudder is just useless. You can move it back and forth all you want but it is not going to do much of anything. We finally got it under control and worked our way back and forth across the lake making way to the southwest. The wind continued to build and we decided we really needed to figure out how to reef our main sail. I tried to find a protected area to stop in so I could try to reef the sail. I sailed us up close to the shore in an area where I could see the wind was a bit lighter and turned over the tiller to Cindy and just asked her to keep us pointed into the wind so I could drop the sails. I hopped up front and started to drop the jib but discovered I forgot to undo the jib sheet. So I asked Cindy to release the jib sheet. I had my back to her but I heard her say "Got it". But the jib sheet was still tight so I asked her to release the other jib sheet! About now the boat is 45 degrees off from being into the wind, The jib is flapping like a really upset bird in the wind, and the boom has swung out to the port side. How could so much go wrong in 15 seconds???? I am hanging on and pulling the jib down and then turn around to see  Cindy swinging the tiller back and forth helplessly. Remember what we learned earlier? If the boat is not moving the rudder is useless, proof here again. I finally got the main down and that was when Cindy came clean. Seems instead of the releasing the jib sheet the first time she said "Got it" she had released the main sheet, which allowed the boat to swing to port. I swear she is trying to kill me LOL! I messed around and got the sail reefed and then lubed the main sail slug tracks with WD 40 as they were starting to bind up a bit. Boy what a difference that made! We raised the sails back up and off we went.
 Sailing under a reefed main was much nicer in the gusty conditions we had. The boat stood up much better and although a strong gust would still induce a good heel to her it was much more controllable. We tacked back and forth still working our way southwest. We had a few issues with the jib sheets getting caught on the halyard cleats as we tacked due to the gusty winds. So in my attempt to solve this problem I instructed Cindy to hold onto the jib sheet after she released it instead of just letting it fly then use the lazy sheet in conjunction with the sheet she just released to help "guide" the jib around the mast. It sounded simple enough to me. Well,,, we get to where we had to tack back across the lake and of course we are in traffic. I decide to tack early so as not to get in the way of another sailboat headed to the same spot we are. I went hard to port with the tiller as Cindy releases the jib sheet. The boat spins on a dime if you have any speed and we had some speed this time. Cindy went "sailing" across the cockpit onto the other starboard seat. I followed her across but held onto the tiller. The boat spun around and as I looked up here comes the other sailboat right at us. I let our boat fall off a bit so the sails would fill with wind and we could get out of his way. The main sail filled up but the jib was hung up on the mast!!! Oh crap. Luckily the main will move our boat and we cleared the path of the other boat but not before it's Capt stood up to watch the show we were putting on! Cindy saw that the jib was hung up and said she would go forward to get it free. Once there she yells back "What do I do?!?!?" So using real sailboat vocabulary that we have been working on for almost a year now I tell her "the port side jib sheet is wrapped around the lower leg of the main sail halyard cleat!!!" To which she turns and gives me that speak in English look! Did I mention that during this whole episode Cindy had her cute lil bikini covered bottom pointing right at the sailboat we just cut off? I was pretty sure any hard feelings he had about my ill timed tack were long forgotten by now!!!!So now I tried to find a way to communicate what needed to happen. It took a few tries but finally Cindy could see where the problem was and was able to free the jib sheet. Once the sheet came free the jib swung around to port and away we went! Cindy came back down into the cockpit and we proceeded to have a good laugh over the whole debacle. It was then that she said she should really receive some sort of disability compensation for not being able to tell her left from right, port from starboard. I was thinking I should receive some sort of mental evaluation for trying to sail in gusty winds with some who does not know their left from right LOL!!!! No one got hurt and we were on our way so it was just something to learn from and laugh about!
 We proceeded to sail over to our favorite lil cove to drop anchor, two just for insurance since it was so gusty, and swim a bit. While playing in the water we discussed different ideas for when we paint the boat. While she looks fine from a distance the gel coat is really faded and the colors were never really Cindy's favorite. I bet after we finish painting the boat Cindy will think back that maybe the colors really weren't so bad after all as painting boats, like painting a plane, is a lot of work.
 We had to get off the water earlier than normal as we needed to get back to the lodge and take care of our boys, Edward and Wilson. If we were too late getting back they might chew our legs off when we got of the car. So after we dried off while laying on the bow with our feet up on the front pulpit we fired up our lil motor and motored back across the lake. The wind was still blowing pretty good and the water was a bit churned up around the dock but Cindy dropped me off with no problems at all. I told her to circle out away from the ramp till she saw me back down before she headed in. I got to the car and discovered someone had left her driver's side rear window down when she parked her car. Talk about lucky, had I done that it would have rained 3" over night and the car would have had a foot of water in it! I headed over to the ramp and saw that the tire pressure monitoring light was on meaning a tire was low. Knowing how those systems can give an alarm for a tire being a few psi low I did not worry too much. I got right in at the ramp and backed down into position. No sooner than I got out of the car and turned around to go back to the trailer to await Cindy's arrival she was already at the back of the trailer!!!! I probably looked like a squirrel rocketing up a oak tree after another nut as fast as I scurried up on the trailer tongue and back down the trailer to catch the bow of the boat. I did not even have enough time to grab the winch strap on my way past! All was good as Cindy did a great job of lining the boat up and I was able to get the boat stopped before it ran me over. I grabbed the strap and winched Cindy and the Memory maker aboard. Cindy raised the rudder blade and off we headed back to the sailing association. To the unknowing observer at the boat ramp we probably looked liked a couple of seasoned veterans as our timing was impeccable and we were loaded up gone in nothing flat LOL!!!
 Back at the parking area was when I discovered that the tire pressure warning light was the real deal and the right rear tire was just about flat. While I was trying to decided how best to handle the situation the tire lost the rest of it's air. So much for it being a slow leak. While Cindy got everything ready to unload off the boat I changed the tire and put the spare tire on. While not as fast as a Nascar tire changer I was just happy I could break the lug nuts loose with factory tire tool that came with the car. It could not have been longer than about 12" so I had my doubts. Had some tire shops put them on it might have take a 12 foot long breaker bar to get them loose. But luck was on my side again and I got it changed out then loaded everything up.
 We talked, laughed, and reviewed all that we had experienced and everything we had learned during the last 24 hours aboard. Someone was still a bit grumpy about the towel, just let it go ;-) We had some good laughs about all of our mishaps and what we could have or should have done differently. While neither of us liked leaving so early as we could have still be playing on the water it was going to be nice to get home before midnight for a change. We had a lot of fun and I think we both learned a lot. We reefed the main for the first time and learned that with the wind behind the boat when you are coming into to load it on the trailer it will really push the boat along at a good clip! I shared how lucky I was that almost everything I do today I do with Cindy. It makes it really nice as I can't get in trouble for being late getting home as she is with me!!!!
 Even thought we were both tired and a bit red from the sun, as we drove across the causeway on the way home we could not help but look out at the sailboats that were still on the lake and think how lucky we are that today, that was us out there making others wish they could be where we were!!!!