With the fourth of July quickly approaching we had hoped to spend the night on the water so we could watch fireworks again but sadly they decided not to have them on the lake this year. Since the lake just gets crazy busy on holiday weekend we went over on Thursday the 2nd to sail and enjoy the lake before every boat in southern Indiana descended up on it.
It was a perfect evening to sail with the wind out of the north by northeast at 8 to 10 mph. After getting the boat ready to head out and leaving the slip Cindy wanted to go forward and raise the sails as that is usually my job. She handled the new task very well and soon we were setting into a nice broad reach across the lake.
I had just made a new Go Pro mount pole that slips into a piece of 1/2" pvc conduit that I clamped to the solar panel support rod. After a few test I finally got the camera leveled on the rod and turned it on. I think we captured over an hour half of us sailing back and forth across the lake that probably only Cindy and I would enjoy watching. I am not even sure about Cindy as she feel asleep with her head on my shoulder a few minutes into watching it on the laptop! Not a whole lot of excitement on a night like this to keep the viewers entertained.
It was a wonderfully relaxing evening to sail and soon we were sitting on the port bench in the cockpit with me leaning back into the pulpit with Cindy leaning back into me relaxing as we sailed along. One advantage of being tall is I can see over the cabin as we sail like this so I can make sure the area is clear in front of us. We were in our happy place and loving every lazy minute of it!
We finally arrived in our favorite cove where we proceeded to drop anchor and pop the top. It was about now we had our first bug issue of the season as it seemed like every fly in the county was flying in our around our boat. They particularly liked my pale legs as I was swatting them off right and left. I quickly got Cindy's inflatable paddle board out and aired it up so she could go exploring as I stayed behind to deal with the flies.
There goes my lil Lady on her inflatable board for the first time this season. Now it was time to kill some pesky critters and install new line on my spinning reel.
With new line installed and a trusty beetle spin attached to it was time to do a little fishing, with the fly swatter nearby on the solar panel. It was not long before I landed a whopper!
Ok, so it wasn't a whopper but he was a fighter LOL! I guess the size of the lure compared to the fish kinda gives his real size away. I caught several striped bass his size. I think they like the rock bottom in this cove as I am usually able to catch a few each time we anchor there.
It was not long before it was time to light the grill and start dinner. With Cindy still out exploring on her board I got the corn on the cob on the grill. We really love summer evenings on the boat, especially the ones that involve food! Nothing beats fresh corn on the cob on the grill. We leave the husk on it and cook it on low heat. The natural moisture of the corn steams it inside the husk and once you slather it in butter and a little salt it is just to die for!
Cindy returned to the Memory Maker to find me still swatting at flies. She proceeded to get a beverage and her book she had been reading then took her normal place on the port cockpit bench. The flies hardly even noticed her. I looked like a windmill I was swatting at so many of them hovering around or landing on me!!!
Soon the pork tenderloins were done and it was time to retreat to the cabin for dinner. Not that was much protection for me as the top was popped and all the hatches were open. Slowly the number of flies dwindled to just a few stragglers and we enjoyed a nice dinner on the water.
With dinner done and dishes put away I asked if I could use Cindy's board to go fish a bit. I had fly fished once on it last year late in the season and it was a real trip to balance myself on the board, cast a fly rod, while keeping track of the drift and the paddle laying across my feet. I remember my core muscles being really tired when I got back on board the boat after about 20 mins of fishing. Thankfully I did not catch anything that day as I am sure I would have went for a swim. But this time I was much more relaxed and after a few minutes of fishing sitting on the board I stood up and casted away. I guess after doing it once already my body was able to relax more and I really enjoyed it. I did manage to catch two small bluegills on a popper. While no huge bass it was still fun to catch fish standing up on a paddle board.
While I was fishing a 26-28 foot sailboat came silently slipping into our cove under sail. It is so neat to look up and see a boat moving silently across the water. He drove the boat deep into the cove before turning back out and passing just off our starboard side as Cindy sat in the cockpit and read. He said hello as he passed by her and told her we should be out sailing as the wind was still blowing. I headed back to the Memory Maker and proceeded to deflate and store the board so we could head off.
I don't think either one of us really thought about sailing into the night when we raised the anchor but once we cleared the point of the cove we feel the wind. It was out of the northeast, cool, and still had good speed, so up went the sails and off went the motor. The sails instantly filled with air and off we went. We never did see where the sailboat went that told us he hoped to see us out later as we had the lake to ourselves. With the nav lights and spreader bar lights on we headed across the lake to the north as it was going to take several tacks to get us back to the cove our slip is in. That was fine with us as we both wanted to be no place but right there with each other as the darkness of night swallowed us and our Memory Maker into itself.
It was dark by the time we reached our tack point on the north side of the lake and we still had a great breeze, steady 8 to 10 mph out of the northeast. Tacking back to the southeast Cindy settled back into me with her head leaning back on my shoulder as we listened to the water as it rippled off the hull. While it was dark and the moon was well masked by the clouds there was still enough ambient light that once our eyes adjusted we were able to make out the tree covered shoreline so there was not much fear of running her aground. We erred on the side of caution and made our tacks early just to make sure the night did not end on a sour note.
As we moved along over the lake we talked about things we need to add to our boat for our trip to the North Channel next summer. I told Cindy about how someone on the Hunter forum posted a picture of how they mounted a chart plotter to a LCD tv swiveling wall mount. It was really slick as it was inside the cabin and could be swung out and positioned right at the edge of the cabin opening so you could see it clearly from ether side of the cockpit. Too bad we did not have it on board right then as it would have been nice to have depth information as we sailed along in the darkness.
I went below to adjust the radio and just had to take a pic of my pretty little captain as she commanded her ship through the perils of darkness.
I guess maybe I should have turned the flash off as with the press of one shutter release I took away all of Cindy's night vision for the next few minutes. Oops :-) No fear though as we had several minutes to go before we would be close to the rocky shoreline on the south side of the lake. There was just something very enjoyable about moving along across the lake in the darkness of night with my best friend by my side. Until you have been on a sailboat under sail in a nice breeze and all you hear is the sound of water rippling past the hull and the wind in the sails you can't fully comprehend the magical effect it has over you. It is just has such a soothing and calming affect on even someone wound as tightly as myself. so much so even I find it relaxing to the point that I am totally content to just sit and watch the water go past the hull as we sail on mile after mile. If you know me then you know that "just sitting" is just not in my vocabulary. Then to be able to share this with my soul mate as she rest her head back on your shoulder while I have my arm wrapped tightly around her protecting her from the slight chill that is starting to infiltrate the night air is just such a special experience in life. One I never would have gotten to experience without Cindy. Sharing moments like this with my pretty little Captain makes all the hours it took restoring our Memory Maker so, so worth it. Thanks Babe, I love you!
Although it is approaching 11 pm by the time we make our last tack back to the northeast and head towards the slips I am not wanting to stop sailing. But it is late and we still have an hours drive home from the lake. We both wished we had brought supplies so we could have spent the night but neither one of thought it would turn out to be such an awesome evening weather wise. We had not gone 24 hours without rain or a storm for the past several weeks and this night was forecasted to be more of the same. But the rain held off and it was a wonderful evening that we made the most of.
AS Crosby, Stills, and Nash's Southern Cross played on the radio down below I went through the process of getting our girl ready for bed. Out went the fenders, dock lines on the cleats, jib down and bagged, main sail down and wrapped. With Cindy at the helm we were soon easing into our slip with all the grace of a large swan gliding across a tranquil pond. As I stepped off the Memory Maker onto the slip to tie up all the calmness of the night was replaced by the loud sounds of wings flapping and water splashing! As we focused our attention on the boat neither one of us saw the large Great Blue Heron gliding over from the shoreline to the east edge of our slip. I caught him out of the corner of my right eye just as he passed a few feet away from Cindy who had her back to him. He was gliding in for a landing on the end of the slip and the sound of the air off his wings was soon replaced by the loud flapping of his wings and his feet splashing in the water. Seems he misjudged his glide path by mere inches, and was not able to make it to the edge of slip! He bounced off the rubber rub strip and flapped like crazy trying to get air flowing back over his wings before he went for a swim. Luckily he was able to save it as I do not think they can swim which is ironic as they spend all there life standing in or near water. The look on Cindy's face as she turned around was a priceless combination of shock, surprise and fear all wrapped up in one beautiful pose. Of all times to have the Go Pro bagged up in the cabin!!!
With our girl tied fast and all the covers installed we said good by and headed for the house. Cindy had asked if we would see the moon that night and I jokingly said probably on the way home. Guess who was right? As we crossed the causeway headed south the clouds broke apart just enough to let us see the full moon they had been hiding from us all night. Then in just a few miles the moon was gone and raindrops filled the night sky.
Staying awake on the ride home late at night is usually not an issue as we are constantly on deer watch as there are so many deer in this area. Being on point for a deer to streak out of nowhere paid dividends that night as one shot out of the darkness on the left side of the road! It was like the side of Cindy's Rav had a bulls eye painted on it and the deer was going for bonus points. Of course there had to be a car coming in the other lane so my options were limited. I hit the gas as the deer was going to hit somewhere behind the midpoint of the car if he kept coming straight at us. I swerved to the left at the last moment trying to get more room between our left rear quarter panel and the deer. It was a good effort but the goofball never slowed down and we caught his head inside the left rear wheel opening. It sounded like a glancing blow but we still hit him, or actually, he hit us. I pulled over and stopped as soon as I could to exchange insurance information with him but of course it was a hit a run. While I was glad he was able to run off I am sure he had a heck of headache the next morning. Pearl, Cindy's named her for her Rav, was fine as the rubber trim piece just had a smudge from where the deer hit it so all was good.
We had been so lucky that evening for several reasons. The rain held off, the wind kept blowing, the deer did not run out a few seconds sooner, and we got to share such a wonderful experience of our first night sail with each other. As we drifted off to sleep I held my best friend tightly in arms, kissed her gently on her forehead, and said "Thank you Babe, I love you"...
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