Matt & Ashley at Burlington Beach We had a lovely outing on the boat with a couple of friends of mine from band, Matt and Ashley, and our biggest adventure came on our return to Hamilton/Burlington Bay (the name differs depending on whether you're reading the navigation charts or google maps) from the beach at Lake Ontario.
On our way under the bridge (though this was toward Lake Ontario, rather than back to the Bay) Burlington Bridge, just past the Burlington Skyway, Ashley's favourite bridge ever. She's seen the bridge from both sides now ...
We had just gone under the Burlington Bridge, sails up and motor chugging along to get us through before the bridge lowered again. On the Bay side, we finally cut the motor once clear of the channel and hoped that the very slight breeze we finally found might get us somewhere eventually. We watched a motor boat whiz by not too far off on the way to Lake Ontario with a doughnut-tube bouncing along on a rope behind it. Empty (the doughnut, not the boat), with a dark blob in the boat's wake.
We had just gone under the Burlington Bridge, sails up and motor chugging along to get us through before the bridge lowered again. On the Bay side, we finally cut the motor once clear of the channel and hoped that the very slight breeze we finally found might get us somewhere eventually. We watched a motor boat whiz by not too far off on the way to Lake Ontario with a doughnut-tube bouncing along on a rope behind it. Empty (the doughnut, not the boat), with a dark blob in the boat's wake.
Our BOB - balloon overboard "Did they just lose a passenger?" we wondered, as the motor boat continued on its speedy way, oblivious to anything untoward that may or may not have just happened. So we decided to check it out, see if that blob needed rescuing.
We put the motor back in the water (sails still up full, as the wind didn't really seem to want to play with them anyway) and turned ourselves around. It's a dark blob we're heading toward, no flailing arms or legs, but definitely not a buoy either, as they don't come in black (at least not in our bay). Mike has retrieved the binoculars for a closer look, and after a moment hands them to Matt.
"Is that a balloon?" they ask, whereupon we decide to continue our rescue attempts anyway. After all, this is an ideal opportunity to practice the Crew Overboard maneuver with multiple characters in our little drama (or comedy). And the closer we get, the more obvious it becomes that our rescuee is indeed a balloon, and likely had absolutely nothing to do with that passing motor boat. Which would explain why they didn't even slow down.
We put the motor back in the water (sails still up full, as the wind didn't really seem to want to play with them anyway) and turned ourselves around. It's a dark blob we're heading toward, no flailing arms or legs, but definitely not a buoy either, as they don't come in black (at least not in our bay). Mike has retrieved the binoculars for a closer look, and after a moment hands them to Matt.
"Is that a balloon?" they ask, whereupon we decide to continue our rescue attempts anyway. After all, this is an ideal opportunity to practice the Crew Overboard maneuver with multiple characters in our little drama (or comedy). And the closer we get, the more obvious it becomes that our rescuee is indeed a balloon, and likely had absolutely nothing to do with that passing motor boat. Which would explain why they didn't even slow down.
Heading for the balloon, it's the crew of FFT to the rescue!
A valiant attempt, but trying to grab something round with something straight presents somewhat of a challenge So I steer us toward the balloon, Matt's on look-out duty to make sure I don't run over said balloon, Ashley gets the grabbing hook, and Mike's ready to help haul our castaway on board. Our first attempt ... a failure. But we are not easily dismayed. Subsequent attempts allow Ashley to poke the balloon, and even pull it alongside a bit, but our momentum makes it slip through Mike's reaching hand.
Turns out, trying to reign in a cordless balloon with a mostly straight retrieving pole from a slowly motoring sailboat with sails up while the wind finally decides to blow just a bit isn't as easy as you'd think. So after our fifth or sixth hilarious attempt to rescue the balloon, we declared it a lost cause and left the thing to its own devices, continuing on our way. At least this diversion gave the wind a chance to pick up some speed after all, so we could actually make some decent progress.
Putting up the additional boom Additional humorous moments and comments along the way:
As we head toward the bridge and Lake Ontario, Mike decides to put up the extra boom to provide more support (and airflow) to the jib. I haven't seen this done before, though I had heard the tale of when Mike and two of his friends figured out the trick. So there's Mike, trying to get the end attached to the jib, while keeping the other end on the mast. It slips and heads for the drink, though Mike retrieves the boom before it falls completely in the water. Me, on the way to see just how this whole 2-boom system works, pause long enough to say, "Oh, that can't be safe," to the great amusement of Ashley and Matt.
Later, as we heel over just a tad vigorously, we hear a gentle thump from inside the cabin. Mike looks in and sees a couple of oranges have rolled off the table onto the floor. In a moment of Zen-like serenity, he calmly states, "That's just where they go sometimes," which totally tickles Ashley's fancy.
As we head toward the bridge and Lake Ontario, Mike decides to put up the extra boom to provide more support (and airflow) to the jib. I haven't seen this done before, though I had heard the tale of when Mike and two of his friends figured out the trick. So there's Mike, trying to get the end attached to the jib, while keeping the other end on the mast. It slips and heads for the drink, though Mike retrieves the boom before it falls completely in the water. Me, on the way to see just how this whole 2-boom system works, pause long enough to say, "Oh, that can't be safe," to the great amusement of Ashley and Matt.
Later, as we heel over just a tad vigorously, we hear a gentle thump from inside the cabin. Mike looks in and sees a couple of oranges have rolled off the table onto the floor. In a moment of Zen-like serenity, he calmly states, "That's just where they go sometimes," which totally tickles Ashley's fancy.
Matt at the tiller. Notice our fancy shade tarp behind him ... Matt loved the sailing. He got to drop and weigh the anchor, clamber all over the deck, haul on the lines, keep a lookout for bobbing balloons, and had a couple of shots at steering ...
When Matt gets the chance to helm the tiller, he takes to it with great enthusiasm. He's eyeing up landmarks, checking out the wind gauge and getting a general feel for the boat. And he's learning how quickly the wind can change, and the extent of sensitivity of a rudder under sail. During one such unexpected course change, there's Matt with a fantastic litany of "Crap! Crap, crap, crap!" No worries; we've all been there. He got us back on track easily enough after that.
When Matt gets the chance to helm the tiller, he takes to it with great enthusiasm. He's eyeing up landmarks, checking out the wind gauge and getting a general feel for the boat. And he's learning how quickly the wind can change, and the extent of sensitivity of a rudder under sail. During one such unexpected course change, there's Matt with a fantastic litany of "Crap! Crap, crap, crap!" No worries; we've all been there. He got us back on track easily enough after that.
We saw a little sailboat on our way home, tiny thing, probably made by hand in the guy's garage. Really a neat looking craft, with great potential for fun. Mike says they had one about that size at their cottage growing up, and his mom called it the bathtub. Just big enough for the guy steering it.
There was some mention of Matt in drag at one point, of neither Matt nor Ashley having any shame, something about having seen all the parts before. Ashley biting her tongue to keep from swearing like a sailor, but really, if you can't do that on a boat where most of that language came from, where can you? And swimming in a freezing lake where each successive person to jump in claims in a less-than-sincere tone that "The water's fine," "That's bracing," "It's a little brisk," and an overall sentiment that it was just frigging cold. Followed by a second dunking after a snack, where Ashley calls out that "the current's changed." Meaning that it had somehow gotten colder as the day progressed, despite the 30 degrees C of the day, and the humid-ex that raised that to something closer to 40.
All in all, a really fun day.
There was some mention of Matt in drag at one point, of neither Matt nor Ashley having any shame, something about having seen all the parts before. Ashley biting her tongue to keep from swearing like a sailor, but really, if you can't do that on a boat where most of that language came from, where can you? And swimming in a freezing lake where each successive person to jump in claims in a less-than-sincere tone that "The water's fine," "That's bracing," "It's a little brisk," and an overall sentiment that it was just frigging cold. Followed by a second dunking after a snack, where Ashley calls out that "the current's changed." Meaning that it had somehow gotten colder as the day progressed, despite the 30 degrees C of the day, and the humid-ex that raised that to something closer to 40.
All in all, a really fun day.
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