LESSONS LEARNED

Today is our 29th anniversary. We woke up around 9AM, after sleeping nearly 12 hours! Ah, boat- sleep ....there's just nothing like it! Just like a couple of babies in a cradle and with fresh air too! Ahhhhhhh.

Today was the day we planned to first sail, so right after breakfast we uncovered the boom, untied the lines and cast off....with the help of our two very nice neighbors. Sean and Mark pushed us out of our berth and got us on the right track out of the marina , then we slowly motored out to beyond the "No Wake" area and hoisted the sail!

Oh, excuse me! Did I make that sound like we just pushed a button, or something? NOT! (hahaha) Norm crawled up on the deck and wrestled the sail while I "wom - manned" the wheel and tried keep it 'into the wind'....or was it 'out of the wind'? I don't know...I kept getting confused!

After a fashion he managed to get 'er up and we set sail! Norm tried it first and got a feel for the wind, then he let me give it a try and I learned a VERY VALUABLE LESSON this afternoon while sailing (even tacking - aren't you impressed?!) across the lake. That lesson is this: For me, with all my spatial challenges if I react in EXACTLY the OPPOSITE way I feel like I should, then I do the right thing! Each time I let my head get in the way, however, I would lose all the wind from my sail. But, as long as I kept pulling the line and turning the wheel exactly opposite from what my tangled brain called 'the right way' then Proud Mary sailed on!

After a few hours of sailing and tacking, we brought the sail down (It comes down waaaay easier than it goes up) and motored for a while so Norm could troll for fish. No bites today, but it was mid-afternoon by then and probably not the best time of day for catching fish. We'll try it earlier the next time.

We returned to the marina and our heros Sean and Mark were there to once again assist us in getting situated in our berth (and not crashing into any other boats in the process) Those two are great! We'll miss them this week as they only come on weekends as do most of the folks on the lake. Both Norm and I are looking forward to seeing just how abandoned this marina, and the lake, do get on a Monday.

We walked up the hill to a restaurant for a special dinner 'out' since it is our anniversary and enjoyed scrumptious pasta dishes and garden salads, then back to the boat where Norm is now comfortable in the cockpit reading his new Nook; and I am writing this blog from the cabin.  The sun is going down. It's unbelievably quiet. all is well on Lake Pend Orielle...someone just played taps on a trumpet......and the beat goes on.

~Nancy

"Give me a spirit that on this life's rough sea, loves t' have his sails filled with a lusty wind." ~ George Chapman