Necessity tastes water for the first time in '98

The forecast looked great, and I had Good Friday off as a paid holiday. The kids were on spring break from school, so we decided that this was it. I had spent some time during the week doing the typical spring jobs - stowing gear, maintaining the motor, charging and mounting the battery, etc...

The morning temperature looked to be a bit cool, so I had plenty of time to do the last minute jobs. After a bite of lunch, we pulled out of the driveway at about 1:30. Medicine Lake is about 40 minutes from my house. Traffic was medium for a Friday afternoon, and we arrived at the ramp without incident. A few fishing boats were launched as we rigged Necessity, but the lake was pretty vacant. A lone sailboat was spotted reaching on the starboard tack off in the distance, but she had disappeared by the time we launched.

The ramp could handle two vehicles side by side, but there was only one dock on the western edge of the ramp. Two posts were provided for tie-ups. Julie backed the boat into the water while I handled the lines. She floated off as easy as you please. The kids boarded while Julie parked the van and I stood on the dock holding the lines. The motor started on the fourth pull, and we were off.

I cranked the keel down about a foot as Julie steered for the middle of the lake. About a hundred yards off shore, I cranked the keel down some more. The resultant bumping told me that the lake was a little shallow still, and it was another hundred yards before we could lower the keel all the way. I tried to get the kick-up rudder down by the usual method - pushing on the trailing edge with a boathook, while heaving on the downhaul line. While this usually works, the downhaul line had gotten fouled on something and the rudder would only go down half way. Good enough.

From below, Daniel passed up the mainsail. I secured the tack and clew and, while Julie turned us into the wind, hoisted the main. After the main was about halfway up, I thought that perhaps inserting the battens might be a good thing. Down went the main, in went the battens, and we tried again. Much better this time! Now, forward to hoist the jib. While rigging, I had started the jib about a foot up the headsail furler and stuffed the rest down the forehatch, so it was ready to be hoisted. This time, there was no hitch to the process, and soon I was back in the cockpit, and Necessity was moving under sail power alone.

We headed south, reaching in somewhat shifty winds, mostly from the west, at 5-10 mph. Pretty good conditions for the first sail. We sailed to the southern end of the lake, then turned back north. The kids started dagling some toys over the side and, before we knew it, a plastic net was torn from Dan's grasp and floated away.

"Toy overboard!" I called. Everyone looked at me in confusion. Okay, so we've only been sailing since last year, and the only one aboard who had ever participated in MOB drills was me. So, with the crew looking to their skipper for orders, I promptly blew the first one. I failed to assign someone to keep an eye on the toy. We did, however, come about smartly on a reciprocal heading, searching the water for a red eight-inch diameter piece of plastic floating with no part of it sticking above the surface. We sailed around for a bit, but weren't surprised when we failed to spot the errant toy. Some kid will probably find it washed up on shore next week.

Anyway, after the excitement was over, we again turned north. I found that, despite the anticipation of the first sail, I was unable to relax and really enjoy myself. Perhaps my determination to "get it right the first time" was ruining my fun. In any event, I decided to call it a day. The crew protested a bit, but Julie sensed my mood and agreed.

Once again, we turned into the wind under motor and I doused the sails, breaking one of my new sail ties promptly. We raised the keel halfway before entering the shallows, and Julie executed a perfect approach to the ramp. This time, we tied off to the posts while Julie fetched the van and the kids unloaded. I secured the keel in the full up position before Julie got the trailer in the water. I was a bit concerned that our front-drive van might have a little trouble on this steep ramp, but the ramp surface was intentionally rough and we pulled out with no trouble.

Taking the rig down went smoothly, almost up to our normal standards. We got home before dark and I put the boat away while Julie ordered pizza. It was a short sail, but a good spring shakedown. We have plans next weekend, so it'll be at least two weeks before we sail again, and there are the never-ending boat projects to get done before then.

We just bought a nice AM/FM cassette stereo and speakers that I plan to install before the next trip. I envision sailing for a few hours in the morning, then anchoring for some lunch, followed by a nice little afternoon nap in the cockpit, listening to some mellow tunes.

I wonder if the kids will cooperate?

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