I had planned to sail both days, but it took too long to prep on Monday morning. The boat hadn't been out in a year, so a quick bath with the pressure washer, getting gear together, etc, etc. I didn't fret. Like a good sailor I didn't let my schedule get in the way of a good time. We didn't get away til 1:00. We stopped for a quick lunch and just settled in for relaxation.
We arrived at the resort around 2:00 CST. Sunset was at 4:45 so we just checked in, got to our room, took a walk, sat on the veranda and enjoyed the view and the sunset.
We were tired, the beds were comfortable, and we slept well. Awoke to a gorgeous morning.
There are 3 places to eat on the property. The only one open was the grill at the golf proshop. We drove over there and had a very simple but nice breakfast, returned to our room, packed up and headed for the ramp around 10:30.
Set up and launch went smoothly. One purpose of this trip was to try out my new Honda 2.3. I bought it back in the summer but had yet to get out with it. The manual says to run it at half throttle for 10 hours to break it in. The motor is a bit undersized for my boat, so I was very curious to see how it would do. We discussed this on the forum earlier so I felt I would be ok. Dave used to equip his Sage 15's with this motor. I was not disappointed. The motor did fine. I warmed it up while rigging. It runs better at the slowest setting a little warm. I learned that running it in my yard. It's air cooled so I can do that easily. One of the reasons I bought this particular motor. With a warm motor I was assured of having a "neutral" when in the water (it has a centrifugal clutch).
It was a mile plus out to the main channel. I've never seen so many shallows as I saw yesterday. Grass fields everywhere! I made sure I stayed in the main channel all day.
The wind was out of the SW so I figured I would motor south for a while and sail back. The plan went pretty well.
Motoring into the sun:
Sailing back up river:
Had this little treat: 4 eagles flying around. Got this shot of two of them.
From my chart and maps, I think we did 20 miles in about 4-1/2 hours. A bit surprised at our speed but happy. Here's a pic from googlemaps that shows the distance by road. Gives you an idea.
Docking with the new motor went perfectly.
Take out went fairly well. It took several attempts to get the boat on the trailer correctly. I took shorts and water shoes expecting that I'd be getting a little wet retrieving. I was right. But finally got it. We got the boat packed up and readied just as the lights were coming on in the parking lot and the very last faint rays of the sun were dissappearing. Stopped for a chicken sandwich and drove leisurely home at a pace of 60 mph.
I am happy to report that this trip was without "incident"! No "stories" to add to my many.
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