Come Sail Away!

Having just started the new gig on July 1st, we didn't have the luxury of an extended holiday week, but we did make a quick trip down to Grandpa Doug's for the 4th to see his amazing restoration of Great (Great) Uncle Ivan's hand-crafted dinghy from the 1950's.    I'm still working on my sailing vocab, but all of the "pieces" are original, including the string-pull outboard motor which reportedly only ran out of gas once.  But who needs a motor when there's a sail (or oars)?!

In the likely event that the boat is "turtled" (which, FYI, translates to the boat capsizing so the sail is straight down in the water), at least the fellow boaters who come to help will know who to make fun of. :)

We towed the boat across the lake to "optimal wind conditions" for the maiden voyage.
Lesson #1:  Always know which way the wind is coming from.

 

Lesson #2: The center board will attempt to keep you dry.

 

Lesson #3:  If the dog jumps in the boat, the center of gravity will shift. 

Lesson #4:  A megaphone would be nice...

Smoooooooth.....but it dawned on me maybe we should have life jackets on?!

"Wait, the wind keeps shifting!?"

Pat and I figured out how to make a straight line, but Grandpa made circles look easy.

Finally, Tommy gets in on the action.  Won't be long before he's the captain.

Thank you to Uncle Ivan for such a great day on the lake!