Blog
Freedom Sailing
Posted on July 8, 2011
Happy belated Independence Day everyone! Fourth of July weekend I got to dip my toes in the water (well, not really...the lake is still REALLY COLD) with deckhanding. Lucy is the official "Sailing Intern" but Mike and I get to go out a couple times a month...or four times in a weekend. Captain Vicki graciously came up from the Cities to do some sails for us and many happy sailors.
Sunday it was beautiful and sunny and warm and I only had to wear a long-sleeve shirt. Pretty sure I could have gotten away with just a t-shirt too, except I'm still recovering from the last time I went out, a month ago, when I wore leggings/jeans/long-sleeve shirt/sweatshirt/flannel shirt/hat/scarf and dearly missed my gloves. But this time I could almost - almost - pretend I was in the Carribbean.
I even finally remembered to bring my camera on the boat with me AND take pictures with it. We had some awesome views of the Sawtooth Mountains - I got to tell everyone the REAL and TRUE story of how they were formed (come for a sail on the Hjordis and you might get to hear the story too).
There's something about seeing a sailboat on the water that is very romantic, and seeing one from the water instead of the shore is even more so. It was very exciting to share the lake with so many different watercraft - fishing boats, sail-boats, row-boats, kayaks. There is no end of activities to do, especially when the weather is nice.
Being out on the schooner also gives a nice perspective of town, the shore, and North House. You can almost see my bedroom window!
It was windy enough on our first sail that we only needed the jib and the main sail up (you can't see that one in this picture). Had The Beach Boys stuck in my head pretty much all afternoon. I could get used to this view I think.
And then...on Monday we had expired thunderstorm warnings and clear skies over the lake and some very gung-ho passengers. We went out with the understanding that we might have to come back early, so we got to watch the storm roll in. What a difference a day makes.
We could see the rain line we'd have to pass through to get back to shore. It was indeed tempting to just stay on the lake. But we headed back anyway.
The wall of the breakwater was steaming because of the temperature change, it was very cool to see.
We got back just in time too. Apparently summer is thunderstorm season in Minnesota - much like it is in the rest of the country too. We've gotten some really good rain, thunder and lightning the past few weeks - interspersed with sun and blue skies too.
Because later that evening, it cleared up quite nicely for fireworks on the harbor. (What a difference a few hours makes!) We sat out on the dock and watched the sunset, grabbed our blankets and stuck around for fireworks.
Our dock was a prime viewing platform. And the rain didn't start up again until we were all safe-and-dry back inside!
(Oh, and P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY big sis!)