sailing diary 08-09

Having two daughters with differing tastes in entertainment required this
dad(aka Bubba the drummer) to stay up late last night playing "Rock Band". I
must admit playing Rock Band is warmer than iceboating and can be done
from the comfort of my recliner. As can be seen in the photo Vanessa and I
struck out for Walker Pond this morning. Vanessa was sporting her new pink
goggles and studying "Sailing on Ice" by Jack Andresen as we bounced along
the Herrick Road with trailer in tow.
We met up with Uncle Mike at the ramp and had a brief weather chat before
starting our rigging session. Setting up the boats has been a slow process but
Vanessa is catching on fast and didn't drop the mast on her dad today so all in
all things went well. I explained to her that in the near future she would carry
her own sockets, leatherman and wrenches. She would be responsible for
rigging her own boat and also be able to participate in the unofficial boat
rigging competition that we have every sailing day. It is unspoken but has
been going on for a long time. We have employed the use of quick clips,
speed wrenches, and anything else that will give us the winning edge to be
the first out of the gate and on the ice. I thought I saw Mike out of the corner
of my eye using some kind of Bob Villa looking ratchet wrench today. Mike
being the sportsman that he is did give us a hand restepping the mast to a
new location and helped us adjust the stays for the storm sail settings.

Mike rigged the "Locomotive" with his favorite storm sail. It isn't much larger
than a pair of his underwear but makes his boat go like a streak of s---.
Hmmm maybe he is onto something there. We rigged V's boat with a sail that
Mike and I fabricated years ago on a picnic table while sailing Toddy Pond. It
is made from the top of a sail that I always hated and was ever so happy to
cut up. We used some salvaged pine door trim for a boom. It didn't work very
well but I have always kept it and we always get a good laugh when I hoist it
up the mast. It is a terrible working sail but good insurance for my first born
on a day like today with the howling and turbulent Westerly winds ripping
across the pond.

V was growling about her Uncle Mike flying past her with his baby sail and
wanted a bigger sail to keep up with him. After some coaxing I convinced her
to get back in her boat and make do with what she had. Dad needed a coffee
break and some quality time in his boat. Soon after that the pink pirate ship
Iceaholic seemed to be picking up the pace and doing quite well with that
tattered rag of a sail. V was soon flashing around her gps with top speeds of
30 mph and smiling with that demonistic look on her face like her Uncle Mike
gets after outsailing me.

I removed the 4' extension from the rigid wing and rigged the remaining 10'
section on Yellow Fever. The full wing worked quite well in yesterdays wind
but the wind today was very turbulent as it always is on Walker in a Westerly.
The wing did not work well for me today in that I just couldn't keep it hooked
up with the wind swirls that passed by us. Besides I wanted to play in V's new
boat anyhow so after partial hypothermia set in and she jumped in the truck
for coffee and a warm up I made my move. She was to cold to use her boat
and agreed that dad could use it for awhile. I quickly dropped the insurance
rag and hoisted my favorite cutdown Hobie 16 Jib/iceboat sail. This sail had
always worked well for us and I had high hopes for it. I had a couple of wild
rides in Iceaholic and found her to be a bit loose in the heavier gusts. We set
the boat up with plenty of room for adjustments so hopefully this can be
adjusted out in time.
V all mugged up and warm was anxious to try her boat with the added horse
power. After a few words of caution she was off and happy to have a real sail.
I guess V takes after her dad in that she has to learn things the hard way and
she had a first hand demo of what happens when your boat hooks up
downwind. I could tell by her body language, loose sheet, full sail and the
sounds coming from her boat that she was out of control and in panic mode.
My yells at her to turn were not heard and I could only hope that the words I
drilled into her head since day one would take control of her brain before she
got to the far side of the pond. I told her these words over and over the first
time she sailed last season. I chuckled with relief tonight as I read her sailing
diary entry from last season. It reads as follows.

Dad rode co-pilot on the back runners for the first few times. I got a feel for
the wind and the steering. Dad made sure to instruct me how
to slow down and stop and asked me multiple times if I knew how to do it.
As you may have read in the last post, I’ve had a few problems
with speed in the past. So dad wanted to be absolutely sure I knew how to
put on the brakes. Let out the sail and head INTO THE WIND.
Now that I knew where the brake was, dad thought I was ready to be on my
own.

"I’ll be in the middle to coach you a bit. How do you slow down?"
"Head INTO the wind."

We left our boats rigged on Walker tonight and expect another great day of
sailing tomorrow. It sounds like all the players will be showing tomorrow and it
could be one of those magical days we all talk about at the 4th of July picnic
next summer. Only time will tell.

Kevin