Around the Island Before the Island Party

Weather: Winds S at 10-15 knots, 78F, Skies: Clear , Sea-State: calm to light chop Pressure: 1010mb Time: 1600-1830

Crew: Sparkles, Pom Pom.

We went to the club to do some boat maintenance on June 10th, but conditions were so good we couldn't help but take the boat out. It was the day of the sailing club Island Party (an island theme diner event). With a southward prevailing wind we figured we could head up to the north end of the lake pretty quickly and sail around Hoover's only "island" which is more of a marsh than anything else.

With a steady breeze, we had a great downwind sail and looped the island in no time. The upwind beat back took a little longer. We had some pretty good gusts, and with just Ponnila for rail meat (more like rail feather) the boat heeled over pretty good--so much so that we scooped in a little bit of the lake at one point. The amount of heeling also gave us a view of our centerboard who's repairs looked pretty good under the water. Too much going on at those times to take any pictures, however.

We slowly made our way back as the members were starting to assemble for the island party. This resulted in the most unfortunate of circumstances. A shore full of people just waiting to watch you mess up docking. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened. I turned the boat onto a beam reach and I failed to de-power the sails in the time. We slammed our nose into the dock with a pretty good thud, just to make sure everyone who wasn't watching could turn their attention to the unfolding spectacle. Fortunately, I did not provide a very long show for them and got the boat back on land without much fuss.

My embarrassment was quickly assuaged by the hamburgers, salad, and asparagus on offer at the Island party. We sat next to three couples who met in sailing school three years prior and had remained friends ever since. We unfortunately could not linger. The next day was to involve cycling and I needed to get to bed.