June 12, 2003

• Twister
  
  Today, someone new joined our club. I told him the boats were old, but I think even he was kind of surprised at just HOW old they are. He told me he has done fiberglass work before, and so I laughed when he told me that, and said we welcome his skills!
  
  In other news, our windsurfing guru in the club found a deal for some good new boards and sails to update our antiquated quiver. He and I will split the costs of the new equipment, and hopefully get reimbursed by the University in the fall. Hopefully.
  
  Then Matt and I went sailing today!!!! FINALLY! My God, I haven't been sailing since early early this year when the water was freezing cold. Today it was swelteringly hot. It was HOT. HOT.
  
  The weather report said it was 21 degrees Celsius, but with the humidity, I swear it was more like 37 degrees out there. Matt and I got out on the water, and it was DEAD. We had to row out of the harbor again, and we puttered around in like 1 knot of wind. I was cussing and crying, and finally 3 hours later, I gave up and we decided to head back to the dock.
  
  By Murphy's Law, the wind started up just as we were pulling into the dock. A nice northerly breeze, maybe 7 knots. I grinned at Matt and said, "Wanna go back out?" He said, "Sure!"
  
  So although it was about 5:30 PM, we headed back out. While we were out there, the breeze got up to maybe 15-20 knots! (That's about as high as it ever gets here, too, dwalkingwounded.) I had a hard time telling Matt how to tack, as that was his first time sailing in a small dinghy. He refused to sit up front and work the jib, so I had to do the mainsheet from the front, which was REALLY awkward on the boat that we had chosen to take out. But it was really fun, and I think we even reached hull speed! Then, it started getting darker and darker, and thunder started to rumble in the east.
  
  Matt likes storms, and he understands cloud formations better than I do. So, when he started getting worried at the dark clouds spreading to the east, we headed back to the dock. While we were still in the harbor, trying to get back to the dock, the lightning was starting to crack just south of us. It was quite freaky being in a little boat with a huge tall mast that screams, "STRIKE ME! I'M THIS BIG TALL METAL THING IN THE MIDDLE OF A LARGE BODY OF WATER! STRIKE ME!!!"
  
  Anyway, we reached the dock just as some jetskiiers were coming in too. While we were all getting our stuff back onto the trailers, the tornado sirens sounded. If you have ever lived in tornado country, you know that when the sirens go off, a tornado has been sighted in your area. So we hustled on out of there, and turned on the weather news on the car radio. Turned out, two tornados had touched down not too far from us.
  
  So, today was a first for me! Sailing in tornado weather! Whee!
  
  

  • 12:02 am
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