Lake Lanier May 2-3, 2025

It's not Cedar Key but... I did get to a rendezvous Friday and Saturday (one of these days I hope to get to Cedar Key and sail with CB and Urchin II).

There are a couple sailors who belong to the well-known DCA (Dinghy Cruising Association), Adam Rhinehart from Winder, GA and Don Silsbe from Tryon, SC, who are organizing a southeast chapter of the DCA. They held their 2nd rendezvous Fri-Sunday on Lake Lanier. As most of you know, I do not typically sail on Sundays except on a very rare occasion; but this was close enough, a mere 100 miles away, that I felt like I could make the gathering on Friday and Saturday. Besides, my wife was out of town - hehe (cats away - mice will play).

So I loaded up and cut out on Friday morning with an ETA of 1:30 p.m. Don's ETA was the same. The elephant in the room was an ugly forecast: line of showers after line of showers. Intrepid as we are, we decided to go ahead with the rendezvous.

On the way I got caught in a downpour. I stopped underneath a funeral home portico for a bit to see if it would pass.

This was taken about 1:00. The blue dot is our destination.

I decided, sheesh, this is a boat made to live in the water, just go. So I continued. Don, who was coming from the north barely saw a sprinkle. By the time I arrived at the ramp, the rain was about done (for the time).

Don had had time to launch since he didn't stop. I arrived just as he was finishing and launched immediately. He towed me around a couple points to a beach where the guys had reserved a campsite.

Here's a map of Old Federal Campground. We had site 61 reserved. The ramp is near site #1.

It was mid-afternoon by the time we got everything set up. The sky looked safe enough, so we decided to go for a sail. We originally had plans to make some stops on the lake, hit some shoreside restaurants, sleep aboard, etc; but with the fronts coming through opted to stay close to camp. The wind was favorable for some good sailing. Don took some pics of me and I took some of him.

That's my Calendar Islands Yawl 16 and his Core Sound 17, Windependent. Don's a retired engineer and "semi-pro" boat builder. He didn't build this CS though. He found a good deal online and restored this one. He's 2/3 through the project. A very nice boat.

At 15'6" and 17' respectively, we carry almost the exact same amount of sail. We kept up with each other stride for stride.

While we were out, the sky got angrier. When the lightning started, we headed for shore.

Little did we know, a tornado hit the lake about the same time we were out. The local tv station reported it. Here's a screen shot from their FB page.

Adam, who sadly was not able to come due to contracting strep throat, reported to us that the tornado was about 10 miles north of us. Whew! That's still a little scary.

Bill, a third member of our party showed up about 7:30. He joined our camp, but decided to launch the next morning.

Shortly after dark the wind picked up and we went to our tents about 9:45. We were only 50 yards from the bathhouse and I had every intention of going there should anything serious develop. Here's the radar about 10:00 which is when the rain started.

The rain was a bit intense but only lasted about 30 minutes. I sat up in my beach chair and read 'til 11:00. Hit the sack and rested better than I usually do in a tent.

We were up at 7-ish. We knocked around waiting for some wind. Don took his boat back around to the ramp, Bill launched his little Holder dinghy, which he picked up and was refurbishing, and they returned to the beach.

I loaded up my boat since I was going to be leaving at some point in the day. We attempted to sail but there wasn't much wind at all. I decided to take out and to my surprise the other two did as well.

I drove through a little rain on the way home. Everything was wet so I left my boat uncovered. Later that evening another gully-washer came through. My boat wound up with 3"+ of water in the bottom!

Sunday afternoon I took the plug out. It took 15 minutes to drain it. It wasn't until Monday that I was able to dry everything out, get everything put away and cover the boat.

It was nice to be out though and meet some fellow sailors. If I ever retire, I plan to do some more rendezvous.

First Sail with Crew

Friday I had a first: took a short sail on Disciple Ship and for the first time with crew.
Tiffany was home for a week with the grandkids since they were on spring break. She loves the outdoors, the weather was right, so we took off for a short sail. I had her sit in the floor forward of the thwart to keep her weight low and center. We had a couple good puffs and saw a little speed.

My wife drove over and met us afterwards for a picnic lunch at the pavilion beside the ramp. Tiffany decided she had not had enough fresh air and decided to ride home in the convertible.

A nice little outing on a beautiful day.

Overnighter on Chickamauga 2/25/25

I was able to pull off that overnighter I mentioned last week. I know some sail often. I do not; so, when I do, I usually do a write up about it here, on my blog or both - unless it's just a quickie sail near the ramp. So here's my account.
I planned to sail Monday-Tuesday. Monday came with weather as forecast. I waited a little too long to start packing. When you don't sail often, especially a longer trip, stuff gets scattered. As the afternoon wore on, I couldn't find this, couldn't find that, took longer than expected for this task and that. Ugh! I was getting frustrated and losing daylight. I eventually gave up and called off the trip. Sheesh! I unhitched the boat but left all my stuff either still packed or out.

Tuesday came and I went to church for a while. As the morning wore on, I decided to make a go of it. I don't normally sail on Wednesdays because we have Bible study in the evening, but I made the exception with the intent of getting back in a timely fashion.

Most was done, so just a wee bit more prepping. By 2:00 I was headed for the lake. Around 3:00 I was in the water. It was a beautiful afternoon - sunny, temps around 70 with a wind forecast of WNW at 7-8 mph. Should make for a nice reach up the lake.

Setting up the boat and getting her in the water. Ain't she got a pretty look from the stern.

As the afternoon wore on, that forecast proved a little off. The wind were sporadic and stronger than expected. I had full sail up and some of the gusts were significant. Here's the record from two sources. Gusts to 21 and 18 with steady wind speed up to the mid-teens. I had to really stay alert. Besides the wind speed, it was shifty too which left me pinching some. When I got a steady blow off the beam, it got quite exhilarating. With the big gusts I had to let the mainsail out to nearly flogging. I sure didn't want to capsize!

I had a destination in mind, but wasn't making the progress I had hoped and needed daylight to set up for the night. I opted for a cove on the western/north side of the lake. That would give me the most sun early in the morning and I knew it was going to be chilly. The sun would help!

I had sailed a little past the cove when I made the decision, so was able to tack back and get close even though it was dead into the wind. As circumstances would have it, the wind was the strongest right at that time. I dropped sail and started rowing to get into the cove. It was a hard pull!

Here's the distance I covered:

The cove gave me protection from the wind which ultimately died not too long after I anchored. After a bout with the tent (it's a little tricky setting up when actually in the water and one of the poles gave me a fit), I was finally ready for the evening.

Best pic I can get while on the boat:

In the process of setting up, my shoes began to crumble! LOL. They were an old pair which I figured I couldn't hurt. They're in the trash this evening.

I got in the tent shortly before dark and enjoyed my evening. The boat is stable enough and the tent high enough that I can actually sit in a medium height beach chair. Makes for a comfortable time. I had a good supper, read from a couple books I took along, talked with my wife some, and watched a video or two. Turned in around 10:30.

The night temps were forecasted to be in the upper 30's. I went prepared: several layers of clothes, an insulated sleeping pad (Agnes Q-Core) and a mummy sleeping bag.

I took my Coleman catalytic heater in case I needed it. I knew it produced moisture and did it ever! I ran it for a couple hours I guess and, boy, did it get damp inside that tent.
The night was long and cold. As I have aged, I can tell I don't tolerate the cold as well as I used to. Even with the layers and a decent bag and pad, I fought the cold. Tossed and turned and dosed some. The temps got down to the mid-30's. My search says 37 but I'm guessing a little colder on the water.

When the sun rose, so did I. Had a breakfast of instant oatmeal and a couple cups of hot chocolate. Sure warms a fellow up.
There was no wind. The forecast was for very light wind which I figured would fill in. Since I knew I'd be rowing some, I decided to hit it early - especially with church in the evening. Discipleship rowed nicely and I was back to the ramp by 10:00.

Ramp in view

Back on solid ground

Distance rowed:

It took me a while to pack up. Two separate guys came along admiring my boat: not an unusual experience. She's a beaut and not too many around these parts like her.

Got home, had lunch and was able to get to church to study by early afternoon for a couple hours. then home, took a brief nap, had supper and then a good church service.

I do feel the affects of age. But still very doable. I was sore upon returning, but a couple ibuprofen and I did fine.

A nice trip.

Oh, yeah: one more thing. When I got out of the tent in the morning I about broke my neck - literally! I have to crawl out, of course. As I reached forward to stand forward of the thwart, my hand slipped off the centerboard case and I fell forward into the bottom of the boat! I landed squarely on the top of my head unable to break the fall. OUCH! Got up, rubbed my head to make sure there wasn't any blood and went about my business. All's well that ends well (as they say).

Seven Three on Two Three

 Monday, February 3, temperature 73, skies - sunny, winds SE 5-10 mph

Sounds like good sailing weather!

So I took the afternoon off and headed to the ramp. I hadn't sailed since the Pensacola trip back in early October - 4 months ago. Living in the south affords these winter-time opportunities to go sailing in relative comfort.

I uncovered the boat and hitched it to my new-to-me 2018 Kia Sorento with its newly installed hitch (first time to use) which cost me over $500! I have installed four hitches previously including the one on my 2008 Sorento. I figured I could do this one. I watched the video and looked easy enough. Kia is genius in that they pre-drill the holes in the frame and even pre-wire for the trailer harness. Luke and I spent an afternoon in an attempt to install the hitch. The exhaust hangers were a bear but finally got them loose. We position the hitch and tried "dry-fitting" it. We could not get the bolts through the exhaust side of the frame. There was a heat shield that was keeping the hitch just slightly too low for the bolts to go through. It was heavy and quite awkward so I gave up. $240 later, I had a hitch. Ugh!

With the boat hitched I headed to the ramp. What a gorgeous afternoon. 

When I arrived at the ramp there was a huge house boat at the ramp. They had the boat half in the water, half on the trailer and were working on the engine and who knows what all else. The boat was named Nauta Big Deal. It was actually pretty big! 

 I rigged the boat with no issues. It all came back to me. (Can't even remember when I was out on it last.) The only issue I had was with the mizzen. Seems a line was the wrong way around the mast. I untied the line from the clew and sprit boom, unwrapped it and retied. Once I got to sailing I realized that I tied it incorrectly and I had a fold in the leach of the sail. I didn't bother with it. I'll need to remember that and correct it before going out again - or, at least, I should. LOL

Just as I was finishing up the rigging, a fellow came by and began admiring my boat. That happens frequently: you don't see many wooden boats around these parts nor do you see a lot of sailboats at the ramp, even though there is a sail-only marina a couple miles down the lake. He talked for probably 20 minutes. He was from San Francisco where they sail a lot, so he was impressed to see a sailboat here on the lake. I tolk him about Serena, the girl who bought Little Bit.

I launched from the ramp as usual and sailed for an hour or so - just back and forth by the ramp. As usual for inland lake sailing, the wind was fluky: swirling, up and down; but I did get some good steady blows. In fact, there were a few puffs that were probably in the low teens. I got a good feel for the boat. With no ballast and cold water, I was extra careful. I sat in the floor most of the time. If I saw a good puff coming, I sat up on the seat, constantly pulling in and letting out the main as the wind dictated. It was quite the workout.

I estimate I sailed about four miles total. 

Time to get back in. The house boat was still there. I wound up having to wait for a runabout to get in and a jet ski to launch before I could take out. 

The runabout folks were slow, but I just relaxed in the wind-shadow of the shore and enjoyed the peace. No rush. 

As I was loading the boat onto the trailer, I overheard the workers call it a day and saying, "See you tomorrow!" Well, sadly, not me. 

While I was derigging the boat, I noticed the jet ski guy make a couple very quick passes by the ramp and then he came back to his truck, went back to the jet ski. Not sure what he was doing but he was gone before I was.

Got home and put the CIY back to bed just as darkness was closing in. A nice afternoon!

New Boat?

The plan was to make the P'cola trip a last hoorah. Trouble is, I had too much fun, even with the trials. 

And now a Hunter 19 has come on the market at a reasonable price. They are not very plentiful and they often run in the $6-7000 range. I've found one for less than $4k. It's 700 miles away, but, hey, you can't have everything. 

Robin and I looked at one 20 years ago. She liked it. It was just a bit too much money for the time, though it was only 10 years old. We bought the Macgregor 26S instead. 

It's water ballast with a swing keel like the Mac. Should be a little easier to launch and retrieve than a keeled boat, though the 18.5 is not too difficult. It also has a cutout transom which should make boarding from the water much easier (if Robin can even get up). 

Is it too late in our lives????? I don't know. We are both slowing down and Robin has never been fully sold on sailing (too many stories to add  as well!). But I have to try! I think I'll always wonder if I don't.

The seller is 75. He seems a little mixed up on his timeline. He says he bought it 5 years ago. I found the same boat in an ad from 10 years ago. In any case, he seems honest enough. 

Here are a few pics. The clean ones are from his earlier use and the previous Sailing Texas ad. The dirty ones are those he took a couple weeks ago. The boat has been in a barn, so he says, for a couple years. I'm assuming that means a covered barn. The boat could get dirty like this even in a barn.

If all works out, I'll go pick it up when the weather breaks. We're currently getting ready to get hit with a "polar vortex"!