Silence (Unpublished 05/2009)

UNPUBLISHED! I planned to post this in May 2009.

Wow - almost a month and a half since I've posted anything. I figure I'd throw something on here, and then disappear again ... back for one split second, and then off to enjoy spring/summer.

So obviously the best thing for me to tell you about is the sailboat. Ha, ha.

We never did really name it. We tried, but it didn't stick. It's like naming a pet ... you have to keep trying names and soon enough one will stick! For now we just call it "the boat", like on One Crazy Summer ... which is how we could describe the upcoming summer of 2009! Woo-hoo!

We actually rented a slip at Utah Lake for the sailboat. Ours is the sorriest looking thing out there, but it's ours and we love it. And we're not the least bit ashamed when we have to cover our boat with a tarp because it isn't self-bailing and we don't want it to fill up with water. Not the least bit ashamed.

It's been an interesting experience moving into the "neighborhood". Our new "neighbors" come by to greet us so they can meet the new people on the dock. So far we've met Kevin and Valerie in the house boat, and Stanley who is two boats down. Also the "pasty people" in the Hunter three boats the other way, who look as if they've never seen sunlight. And the "midnight sailor" in the matching Hunter next to him, who wonders why we bring our boat in when it gets dark. "It's just barely getting good out there." Someday maybe we'll know their names.

There are other things we've seen as well that let us know how unfamiliar we are with all of this, and at the same time how exciting it is. For one, I've never seen anyone go fishing with a crossbow ... until today! Wowser!

And I barely understand how Matt and I are able to get our boat back in the slip ... sometimes I wish we had another person to make it easier. And then I see Stanley do it single-handedly! I wanted to start cheering - it was great!

And I'm still trying to understand the nightly campfire crowd that gathers. It's quite a party and they seem like they're the oldest of friends. I have a feeling it's a long-standing tradition.

It's just the beginning of our time down there, and I have a feeling it's going to be a very crazy summer! Hope you all have the same!!

Fish Lake

Spent the weekend in Fish Lake, Utah for a family reunion ...
Fun on the lake it one of the best places on earth!

Kids on a Boat

We took the boat out this weekend, and had some new passengers ... Matt's sister Andi, her husband Justin and their three kids ...



WHO DID ABSOLUTELY GREAT ON THE BOAT!

Can't wait to take them all out again.

GSL Governor's Cup

So, this weekend at Great Salt Lake was the Governor's Cup. No, we didn't participate, but Matt, Shaun, my dad, and I hung out on the lake and watched the race, as we attempted to sail to Antelope Island from the marina near Saltaire. Yea - it's farther than it looks. We really do need GPS so we'll know these things. :)

We sailed away from shore for 4 hours and then it took us 2 hours to get back. There were minimal bugs, and yes when we got out far enough there weren't any around! Yeah! The closer we got to Antelope Island the more we saw and they were no longer brine flies, but BITING FLIES. So we turned around to come back into shore.

It was interesting that no matter how far we got out on the lake that if we listened really close we could hear the freeway. And there are a lot of trains that go by. And the smoke stack only looked a few inches tall when we were nearer Antelope Island.

We had fun sailing from buoy to buoy, charging seagulls, and watching the "diving ducks". Good times! Thanks Shaun & dad!

Approaching the first buoy.

Shaun catching brine shrimp. (There are 3 of them here.)

Dad scooping brine shrimp in our collapsable bailing bucket.

(I love that thing!)

Governor's Cup Race

Great Salt Lake

Sailing on Great Salt Lake was different than expected.

The water was nice, the sunset was beautiful, and ...


the brine flies were SWARMING!?


I've heard they're around, but not this BIG of an issue. I think it must have been the time of day that we launched. At least they don't bite. (I'm being optimistic.)

Caribbean

They call Bear Lake the Caribbean of Utah...


I can understand that when I'm surrounded by the turqoise water...


But, not when I'm at the State Park Marina...


Yikes! That's a long line! We launched from the exact other side of the lake. A good experience for us, so we'll never attempt this again.

But, Bear Lake was wonderful - sunny and cool.

Utah Lake

We tried the sailboat out on Utah Lake last weekend.

No motor. (It's on order.)

So, we sailed it out of the dock, and back into the dock.



Lucky Weston and Lisa got to experience the adventure with us. It was a lot of fun and we did really well (again considering that we had no motor) ...

Boat Name

We've had a lot of people ask if the boat has a name.

Not yet.

We're tossing around ideas, and we're thinking about a few of them, but so far only one of them has stood out as a strong possibility.
(No, I'm not going to tell you which one.)

So, I've put a few of our ideas to the left. Mark one or more that you may like, and we'll see what my five readers think. Or if you have other ideas, feel free to comment ...

Fourth Crew

We figured out what was up with the motor, so Matt, Dad, Shaun and I headed out on the lake again. The engine worked intermittently, and ultimately huffed it's last. Did you know there's not anyone around willing to work on a 1981 boat motor? There aren't.

Anyway - we sailed it into the dock, which was funny. We were all pretty nervous, but it went well. But we were cruising in there and then dropped the main sail when we got close. There was a lady in a corresponding dock whose eyes were the size of dinner plates as we swiftly sailed straight towards her, Matt jumping off the boat, reigning it in with the dock line. Crazy fun!

Third Crew

This is the third group we were going to take out.
But, the motor wasn't working, so it was a short trip.

Isn't my nephew Colton the cutest?

Second Crew

We dropped off Linda and picked up Dallas and headed out again!

More great wind, with a little excitement from the hit-and-miss motor!

First Crew

We motored into shore and picked up a few crew members.

We sailed for quite awhile and had some good, strong wind, which had the boat leaning and us cruising across the water. It was so fun!

Ashley, Justin, Matt, Shaun, and Linda

True Maiden Voyage

The next morning, we actually went out on the water.



And we put up the sails.



And sailed around before picking up the "crew".

Maiden Voyage

Our maiden voyage started about 10:00pm at Fish Lake, Utah. Yes, the first time in the water we launched in the dark!

We had my adventurous nephews and nieces aboard, and we set sail. Well, not really "set sail", more like we motored to the dock and tied it up for the night.

Here we are hanging out in the boat in the black of night:


Tasha, Ashley, and Shaun


Justin


Matt

Some of the highlights were:

• motoring away from the dock with Linda and dad panicked because the docking line was wrapped among their feet and pulling them to the water!
• Shaun standing on the front of the boat with his mini LED light, guiding us to the dock.
• the six of us staying up 'til past midnight telling stories and playing "Go Fish!"

It was a great time!

Back Hatch

We worked on the back wall and hatch on Friday night for much longer than we wanted to! But, it turned out nice. I'll have to get a picture of the hatch on there.

Sweet Floor!

Look at the beautiful floor that Matt cut!
And the door is back on at the back of the cabin.
Also, notice the the foam square that is preventing Matt from hitting his head ... again!

Boat + Paint = Better!

We still have some things to work on, but it looks a lot better than the picture in the previous post!



Matt painted the majority; I did some. However, I did most of the cushion in the cabin! What a pain! One more to go!

Fiberglass

I love to learn new things. Even if it's not fun, it can be nice to be able to say that you know how to do something.

I know how to resin fiberglass! What amazing stuff!



It was fun at first, but I got a little bored with it. And I got tired of the stickiness!