SUMMER... August, sailing (Part 87i)

Once in bed, my thoughts weren’t on Elle but were on trying to figure out what to do about the trailer hub, tire and possibly the axle itself. By morning I had the start of a plan. Richie, the husband of the girl/woman who had looked after our kids while Elle taught the last weeks of school, came to mind. I’d raced the stock car on Saturday night and Richie had come as a pit crew member. He lived about 10 minutes from the sailing club and had the equipment necessary to get the offending wheel bearing off the axle

Elle did fix breakfast for me but was still giving me the ”silent treatment“. Because Monday’s were when the Clerk Typist exams were given at work there was no way to come home for lunch. I had to wait until after work to see if Elle had cooled down enough for me to have a conversation with her. Arriving home it was as if nothing had happened. She was smiling and carried on like Sunday had never happened. I remember thinking to myself that trying to get into the psyche of a female was a waste of time. Long story short... she’d found the catalog on the table and was somewhat intrigued by it. Then, going outside, she saw the damaged hub/wheel on the picnic table. They gave her a ”clue“ that something had come up to cause me to be late. I finally got a chance to explain and she had nothing to say. I would’ve liked an ”I’m sorry“ but was satisfied that we were back talking again.

I explained the source of the catalog and told her of the offer on the underwear. I hadn’t looked at the catalog other than the page that Ali had shown me. Elle proceeded to turn the page and showed me the choices for ladies as well as kids and teens. I, of course, was familiar with the Lollipop band leg cotton panties but I saw they also made nylon panties as well. I found that to be very interesting. However, now that my ”Elle“ problem was solved it was back to the boat trailer problem.

I called Richie and he said he would meet me at the sailing club in about an hour. I ”wolfed“ my supper down and headed out. He was already there when I arrived and was trying to get the troubled bearing off using by heat from his acetylene torch. Even with that he couldn’t get it to budge. He noted that there was so much rust on the axle that it was almost as if it were welded on. Using the torch he proceeded to cut it off. To do it he had to lay under the trailer and when he did he called for me to climb under as well. He could see that the rear bracket holding the spring on was pulling out from the frame of the trailer. I asked if he could weld it back and of course he said he could. The first strike he made with the welding rod didn’t go well. He burned a hole right through the frame. He was all apologetic but said he could fix it. The second try was just the same as the first. He climbed back out from under the trailer, took off his helmet and said that I needed a new trailer.

I’d been worried about the cost of a hub, tire and possibly an axle and now he was telling me I needed a new trailer. The look on my face must’ve been one of pure shock. The trailer was nine years old. They hadn’t started making galvanized boat trailers back in those days so this was a steel trailer that had been painted at the factory. During the hurricanes of 1954 and 1955 it had been submerged in salt water. Although eventually rinsed of with fresh water, it had been in close proximity to salt water and salt air from that time forward. The rust started in just about any place that anything had been welded to the frame and it was now just a shell.

My first thought was of the $300 dollars that had been discovered in my trust account but, having told Elle about it, the thought of using it was quickly dismissed. We’d started an account for the upcoming baby and I knew it was ”hands off“. With a new trailer pretty much out of the question the next question was would I be able to get the boat and trailer home at the end of the season. Richie said he could make up a strap to hold the spring and that it would not need to be welded. As soon as he left I began the next worry phase.

The upcoming weekend sailing event was the biggest of the season. I’ve explained it in past posts but basically the top finishers qualified to go to the National championships. Even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to attend them if I did qualify, I enjoyed the competition as it was the best in our territory. So now I was trying to figure who I might be able to borrow a trailer from.

Basically, I spent most of my free time on Tuesday making phone calls but to no avail. I knew that members who lived locally or who were on vacation would show up at the club on Wednesday nights and than hold some informal races. I’d never participated because of the extended hours I worked in the Data Processing department. I decided to go hoping to find someone who just might help me out. There were a number of boats down by the water ready to be launched when I arrived. One was JR. Remembering that he’d said that his father had yet to put a trailer hitch on their car I got the idea to ask him if I could borrow his trailer.

He seemed glad to see me but before I could ask my question he asked if I could sail with him. He was almost pleading. I wasn’t dressed for it so asked him who had he planned on using. He pointed to the clubhouse and there on the steps were three females. Even though I’d only seen his sister one time I recognized her. There were some pretty girls in the area but his sister was truly beautiful. I asked if he was pointing to his sister and the look on his face gave the answer. I quickly decided that I’d join him, hoping that by doing so that he’d let me borrow his trailer for the weekend.

To be continued...

SUMMER... August, sailing (Part 87 h)

As I left the club my ”plan“ was to call home from my parents house when I put the sails away. The only thing was that they weren’t home. The next choice was Elle’s parents but as I headed that way I saw two cars parked out in front. I was still in my sailing clothes and full of sand from climbing under the boat and trailer and frustrated as hell. The last thing I wanted at that point in time was to be ”social“ with people I didn’t know. I still had to return Bobbi’s clothes and hoped that Peggy would let me call Elle. Before I headed there I finally took the time to inspect Bobbi’s bra and panties. The panties were a pale blue and the way they were mixed in with the other clothes the label was face up... Lollipop, size 16. I pulled them out and, naturally, took a close look at the crotch. There was a little discharge showing but other than that looked like they were brand new. Spreading them out on the seat they looked to be about the same size as Elle’s Carter’s size 16 Spanky Pants. I remember thinking that it was ironic that Bobbi was 16 and so were her panties. With her bra right there I took a look at that as well. Maidenform... 34B, just the same as Elle. The nametag brought a smile to my face as I remembered that the father of my roommate from my senior year at boarding school handled the advertising for the company. ”I dreamed I was .... in my Maidenform bra“ was their slogan.

When I knocked on the door, Ali answered. She had a bowl in her hand as she answered and invited me in. I saw Peggy sitting at the kitchen table and it was obvious that they were eating. I asked for Bobbi but was told that she’d gone to the movies. I explained that I was returning the clothes she’d left in my boat. Peggy responded that she wondered where she’d left them and laughed. She went on that Bobbi’s clothes turned up ”all over the place“. I asked if I could call home and was told to go right ahead. As expected, Elle was upset and she wasn’t interested in excuses. Going back to when I was working in the Data processing department we’d worked out an agreement that if I didn’t call by 6pm to say I’d be late I was on my own for supper. I tried to tell her that it really wasn’t my fault but she wasn’t interested. Something in the conversation gave Peggy the idea that I wasn’t going to get fed when I got home and as soon as I hung up she invited me to have some clam chowder with them. She said that they had just made it that afternoon. I’d not had anything to eat since I left home at around 10 am so I didn’t have to be coaxed.

We sat and chatted for quite a while. I found out quite a bit about Ali who I barely remembered from the days I delivered newspapers. She started working in a small clothing store owned by friends of the family when still in high school. She never went to college but continued working in retail. When her parents had died she took her inheritance and purchased a small women’s clothing boutique. She said she was presently in the process of changing it over to offer more children’s and junior miss clothing. It was almost as if a switch had been thrown after she said that. I remember her leaning forward in her chair towards me and anxiously asking how old my kids were. I told her they were four and almost three. She seemed to get closer when she said she could give me some ”real good deals“ on clothes for them.

I’ve never felt comfortable when being ”sold“ and she was definitely selling to me. I don’t know if I came across the way I wanted but I told her that Elle and I had pretty much met our kids clothing needs by buying them at a thrift shop run by our church. I remember her backing away a bit and after a few seconds she asked what about underwear saying that we certainly weren’t buying them used. She was right and I don’t think I said anything. With that she went back to her ”sell“ mode. She got up and, still talking, went into another room but returned quickly. She had a catalog in her hand and proceeded to ask me if the kids wore Lollipop panties and undershirts. When I said they wore Carter’s she wrinkled up her nose and stated, quite firmly, that Lollipop was better.

She put the catalog down on the table and opened it to a page listing girls panties and pointed to the price. She asked if we paid more than the price she was pointing to on the page and I didn’t really know. Still in her somewhat haughty tone she then said that if Elle and I drove in to her store, just to take a look, that she would sell us the kids underwear at basically her cost. If we’d been talking about panties for Elle I would’ve been excited. I hemmed and hawed a bit saying that I’d have to talk with Elle. Peggy, sensing that I wasn’t going to make a commitment, suggested that maybe I could take the catalog home to show Elle. It took Ali a few seconds to make up her mind but she picked it up and handed it to me.

Back in the car my eye caught the damaged hub lying on the floor. It was definitely a problem but the more immediate one was Elle. I hated it when she would cut off all conversation and I pretty much knew that’s what it would be like when I arrived home. At home, I brought the hub and wheel with me hoping that I’d get a chance to explain. I left it out on the picnic table on the patio but I did bring the catalog inside and put it on the dining room table. Elle was watching TV and basically didn’t even acknowledge me. I ended up taking a shower and when I came back into the living room Elle proceeded to get up and head for the bedroom without saying a word. Since I didn’t feel that I’d done anything that bad I decided that I wasn’t going to sleep on the couch. After watching some TV I headed for bed.

To be continued...

SUMMER... August, sailing (Part 87g)

It was just a regular Sunday race but there was quite a bit of activity. Some of the people who hadn’t raced every weekend were there and I was able to catch up with Willy and Jimbo. I was disappointed that Ruthie hadn’t accompanied him. It had been a few weeks since she’d come to the club and Elle and I always liked to see her. When I saw JR, the youngest skipper in the club, I teased him for not having raced at the area championships the prior weekend. He said it was his father’s fault in that he hadn’t gotten a hitch on their car. I told him he better get one so he could race in the upcoming weekend which was the biggest event of the year. I told him I’d give his father a kick in the butt and he laughed.

I got the boat ready to race even though I didn’t have a crew. I held out hope that Bobbi or someone else would miraculously appear. Just as the boats started to be pushed down to the water’s edge I saw JR talking with his father while standing in front of a beach umbrella. I figured I could put some pressure on his father to get the hitch on the car while JR was there. As I walked around the umbrella I saw an almost unbelievable sight. There was an older woman sitting under the umbrella which I immediately took as being JR’s mother. But sitting along side her on a beach towel was a beautiful girl... and she was sitting up with her knees pulled up to her chest. If that wasn’t good enough she was wearing a dress. My eyes went right to the ”promised land“ and there was a small white triangle. I almost forgot why I’d come over there. JR saved me when he introduced me to his mother and sister. I know I had to have been blushing by then. Before we could go any further the other sailors were yelling at us to come over and help move the boats. As I walked away I was truly impressed with how pretty the girl was.

My boat was the last to be pushed to the water’s edge and we had a hard time doing it. It was always difficult pushing the little trailer wheels though the soft sand but someone noticed that one of the wheels wasn’t turning. An aggravation that I didn’t need. Boats were being lifted into the water when I heard a voice call my name and, looking up, saw Bobbi running across the sand. She was wearing a skirt and blouse but had other clothes in her hand. For a brief second I visualized her sailing dressed like that. She yelled that she was going to change and headed for the clubhouse. By the time I saw her headed back my way a number of the boats had headed for the racecourse. It seemed like I was always among the last to leave.

She was wearing just her bathing suit. It was two piece with the bottom very much like panties but ”poofey“ and not tight to her body like regular panties would fit. She handed me her clothes and the only place to put them was under the deck by the stern (back). We had out work cut out for us to get to the start but I did manage to get a fair look at her body. Every part that I could see was tanned. I remember thinking that when she got a little older she might fill out a bit more on top but was definitely ”shapely“, especially her ”bottom“.

My memory is of a day with a little more wind that we’d sailed in the previous weekend. We were very competitive in the first race but in the second her legs gave out on her when she tried to hike out. When we finished up there was a boat with an outboard motor circling us. It was obvious that she knew the boys in the boat. She told me that her aunt had had driven her to the club and the boys in the outboard were neighbors. They had been sent down by her mother to pick her up to take her home. I needed her (or someone) to help when I got ashore but seeing how excited she was to see them I told her to go jump overboard and go with them.

Arriving at the shoreline I immediately was kicking myself for releasing her. I had to find someone to come out and hold my boat while I dropped the sails and removed the rudder and that wasn’t easy. I was the last boat out of the water and then there was the issue of the wheel that wouldn’t turn. Once we finally got the boat up to the storage area I went and found Rex, the club manager. He had a jack and some wood we use to hold the trailer up while we removed the wheel. It only took a few seconds for him to determine the problem. I remember him asking me when was the last time I packed the wheel bearings with grease. I know I had to have had a sheepish look on my face because the answer was ”never“. Long story short... the problem was that the wheel bearing(s) had failed and, not only that, the damage from that had ruined the hub which is what the tire and rim attach to. To rub more ”salt“ on the wound, when it had finally gotten to the point where the wheel wouldn’t turn the tire had gotten a big flat spot on it, down to the threads.

Back in those days there weren’t a lot of auto parts places to choose from and Rex told me that I might have to buy a whole axle and hub assembly. I thanked him for his help and continued to work on it. One of the bearings (or what was left of it) was rusted onto the axle and I tried to beat it off. Totally frustrated I realized that it was getting late and that I needed to call Elle. The only thing was that Rex had left and had locked the clubhouse where the pay phone was located. I still had to get the sails off the mast and boom and take them and the rest of the gear to my parents garage. I knew Elle would be upset. After putting the sails and gear in my car I made one last trip back to the boat to make sure it was stable enough resting on a stack of wood. Just as I turned to leave I saw something under the deck in the stern... Bobbi's clothes. To get to them I really needed to climb up into the boat but couldn't what with the tenuous balance of it. That meant I had to "fish" the articles out one by one. Even the sight of Bobbi's panties weren't enough to erase my frustration but they did ease it a bit.

To be continued...

SUMMER... August, sailing (Part87f)

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day both weather-wise and results wise. I couldn’t have dialed up a more compatible breeze for us to handle. Bobbi was much more at ease and appeared to enjoy herself. Elle’s shorts, which Bobbi had worn on Saturday, hadn’t dried so she wore a pair of her own. As I remember it they were a fairly dark blue and were much shorter. I was a bit concerned that the back of her thighs might get burned on the deck what with all the sun but she said she’d be OK. One advantage to the dark blue color was that if I were to get a DP it would be emphasized because of the contrast.

I’ve always believed it better to beat someone on the race course than because of an equipment breakdown. The boat that Herb and his son were sailing had been loaned to them. He’d not sailed in it prior to the first race. He found some things that needed attention and had hoped that they wouldn’t affect his performance. Just before the start a metal fitting had broken and there was no way to jury rig it so that he could race. That left me to concentrate on primarily on Cat and the guy who’d won on Friday. I decided that Cat was my main competition so I positioned myself at the start to be ”on top of her“. I won’t bore you with the definition. What it meant was that I was in position to match her, move for move, and it worked out. I, again, finished second with another boat that wasn’t in contention for winning the whole competition ending up winning the race. It meant that I was the overall winner and Cat was second.

When receiving the trophy I remember the representative from the host sailing club saying that he could save money by just giving me the trophy for the following year right then and there. I’d raced in six of this particular championship since getting my boat and had won all of them. Bobbi was cute when she got the crew trophy. I embarrassed her when I told the audience that it was her first time crewing as well as her first time in even sailing in a boat with two sails.

As usual, it took a long time to get off the island. Since the driveway to Bobbi’s house was difficult to traverse with a boat trailer I decided leave the boat off at the sailing club before dropping her off. By the time we approached Bobbi’s place it was after 6pm. I surely wasn’t expecting to see wash on the clothesline having seen it there the day before plus the fact it was a Sunday. There wasn’t anywhere near as much but I could definitely see some (regular) panties. I wanted to ask Bobbi about it but common sense took hold and I kept my mouth shut. I slowed on my way out to get a better look. With other wash interspersed I couldn’t tell how many there were but the ones I saw were all white. I also couldn’t tell for sure if they were the band leg type and possibly be more of the Lollipop brand. It was interesting, for sure.
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As I mentioned as the lead for post # 87b I’m going through August by topic and not strictly by time line. Right now I’m writing about SAILING so am fast forwarding to the following weekend.
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Elle’s wrist was much better and she was now wearing a brace. She could do most things but wasn’t ready to sail. I tried to contact Bobbi but was unable to do so. I’d waited until after work on Friday and was kicking myself for not having done it earlier. I was racing the car on Saturday night so only made one stab at contacting her and without success. Even though Elle told me not to, I tried calling at 7:30am Sunday morning. Again, no answer. Since I had to to my parents garage to get my sails and gear and was in the neighborhood I figured there was no reason not to go down to Bobbi’s house. Being a Sunday I wasn’t expecting wash to be on the clothesline again when I drove up the driveway. I slowed down as I approached it and this time could definitely recognize the band legs on the panties I could see. Like the previous Sunday, they were all white which told me they all belonged to someone other than Peggy or Bobbi. The ”mystery“ was solved when this woman came out of the bungalow. She introduced herself as Ali, Peggy’s sister and Bobbi’s aunt. It had been a while since I’d seen last her (at least 10 years) but she did have a familiarity about her. At that point I pretty much deduced that the wash and panties belonged to her. I asked about Bobbi and was told that she and her mother had gone back to their winter home to take care of a ”family matter“. She went on to say that they were due back at any time. I told her that Bobbi had sailed with me the previous weekend and that I had hoped that she would be able to sail that day. She told me that she was sure Bobbi would be disappointed as she had had such a good time. Time was flying by and I had to get to the club. and couldn’t wait for her. I told her that I wished I could wait but if she got back within the hour and there was a way for her to get to the club to have her please come on over.

To be continued...

SUMMER... August, sailing (Part 87e)

Sailing back into the harbor Bobbi apologized to me. I had a hard time convincing her that it hadn’t been her fault but by the time we reached the hoist she was OK with it. I’ll admit I was looking forward to watching her climb up the ladder to the pier. As I mentioned we had a pretty fair wind which always meant that the crew would get very wet. Even though I always knew what Elle was wearing for panties I still appreciated a wet VPL. I was almost 100% sure Bobbi was wearing Lollipop band leg panties but I still wanted to see the lines they made on the wet shorts as she climbed to the top... and I was rewarded. The sun was shining right on her backside. It was soft bulge time!

Bobbi changed into dry clothes while I tried to figure out where we stood as far as the standings were concerned. The provisional leader was one of the people who had sailed on Friday due to the fact that he’d won that race. He would have the option of dropping a race, something that neither Cat, Herb or I could do. The three of us were basically tied but the other two had won a race of giving them an advantage in a tie-braker. I had two second place finishes so it was all on the line in Sunday’s race pretty much meaning I had to win. I figured that the amount of wind would be the ultimate determining factor. With too much, Bobbi and I would be in trouble. Too little would put Cat in a favorable position what with the results she’d had with my old sails. If it was somewhere in between I felt confident that we could prevail.

On the trip back to Bobbi’s house I engaged her in conversation about her aunt. The girl/woman I remembered was quite a bit shorter than her sister, Peggy, and had long, dark hair. I was able to glean that her name was Allison and was called Ali and right from high school she’d gone into retailing and done quite well. When her parents died she took her inheritance and bought a small women’s clothing boutique. She was presently in the process of changing it over to feature more clothing for children and young women including lingerie. My ears perked right up upon hearing that what with my experience in what I’d found in the small stores in town. I had to be careful with my questions though fearing she might think it strange for a young guy to be asking questions about female clothing.

We’d finished relatively early based upon my past experiences while sailing at this event. As I remember it we were back to her house around 5pm and as I drove up the driveway I got what I’d hoped to see... a clothesline filled with wash. Because Bobbi was sitting right there I couldn’t get a real good look at it as we drove in but knew I’d get a better look on the way home. Before the car even stopped Peggy was there to find out how it had gone for us. I told Bobbi I’d pick her the next morning at 8:00am, a more reasonable time for her. She smiled as she walked away.

I really don’t know where I pulled the idea of asking Peggy about her mother’s flower garden. I do remember that her mother was known almost as much for her flower garden as her baking. Back when I was delivering newspapers, on any number of occasions, her mother had given me flowers to deliver to different people on my route. In any case, I did ask. Peggy seemed delighted and told me to follow her. I got out of the car and we walked around the old garage (now a bungalow). There was the garden in full bloom... and the wash line right behind it. What got my attention right from the beginning were the colorful panties right there on the line closest to us. Peggy was talking about the colorful flowers and I was focused on about a half dozen pair of colorful panties. They were pink, yellow, lavender, light green, light blue and, of course, white... all blowing in the breeze. I thought I could make out band legs which gave the strong idea that they were Lollipop panties. There was also a group of much larger ones that had to belong to Peggy. They were different in that they had legs on them that I imagined probably went down to about mid thigh. I didn’t like them at all. If Peggy caught me looking she didn’t say anything as she continued to babble on about the flowers.

I arrived home to find Elle in a fairly good mood. The swelling had gone down in her wrist and she found that if she kept her hand stable the wrist didn’t hurt. I asked how she’d survived the day without the use of her hand. She knew exactly what I meant by that and I remember her smiling as she said she done just fine without me. I pressed her a bit and she told me she figured out how to raise and lower her panties with just one hand. That surprised me a bit so I asked if she was kidding. She couldn’t keep a straight face and admitted that she’d had “a miss or two” but was pleased that she’d been able to cope. She was wearing a short skirt that she’d gotten from Alice when she’d left. As we went up the step to go inside I put my hand up between her legs and found her panties to be pretty wet. Feeling my hand there she stopped and turned around and told me that she’d saved that for me. I couldn’t grasp what she meant by “saved” because that usually meant she’d waited to pee just for me. I must’ve had a perplexed look on my face because she gave me one of those “looks” that said “you dummy!” and pulled me inside.

She explained that she’d enjoyed a day of doing nothing, what with the kids with her mother, other than fighting with her panties when she used the toilet. She'd ended up out on the patio on the chaise to wait for me to get home and had fallen asleep. Lil had come over to find out where the kids were and when Lil woke her up she realized that, in her sleep, she’d wet herself. Elle said she was so embarrassed that she couldn’t speak at first. Lil never said anything about it and Elle said she just sat there. So, the “saved“ part was that she hadn’t changed. I probably shouldn’t have but I opened the door to look at the patio and, sure enough, the cement underneath the chaise was still showing the spot.

After a half assed apology I took her in my arms and got her attention in another way. Once my fingers were inside the leg elastic I found her ”button“ and she didn’t resist. It was almost dark before I got to eat my supper.

To be continued...

SUMMER... August, sailing (Part 87d)

In spite of her seeming displeasure with having to be ready at 7am, Bobbi was waiting when I pulled into her yard. Unfortunately, it was too early for any activity on the wash line. As was my practice, I parked the car on the mainland and we walked on to the ferry and then to the sailing club. My goal was to be among the first at the hoist so that we could get right in the water and have some practice time under sail. Because I was among the last to arrive at the sailing club with my boat I ended up in an out of the way parking place. It was out along the boxwood hedge that separated the club property and a neighbor. We put the sails on and were just about to move the boat and trailer to the hoist line when I remembered Elle’s sailing shorts. I gave them to Bobbi and told her to run over to the clubhouse to change into them. She stood there for a few seconds and then turned and went between the hedge and the boat. It took me a few more seconds to realize that she was going to change right there. I’d like to say that I got a real good look but I didn’t. All I saw was that her panties appeared to be a pale yellow.

Elle’s shorts were actually a little tight around Bobbi’s hips but looser around her waist. It took me a while to reconcile that but then remembered that Elle had given birth to two kids. I remember hoping that the loose waist would lead to some good DP’s during the day. Walking to the hoist I could see two types of VPL’s... the crotch line and leg bands. These leg bands were definitely the type found on cotton panties so my thoughts went immediately to them being Lollipop panties.

The wind was light so we didn’t really get much practice in before the races started. There were a few new faces as well as some of the people from other clubs that I knew. Among the few people from my sailing club was Cat. With the light wind I knew that she’d be tough to beat. However, she hadn’t been able to sail on Friday so we were starting out dead even. Among the new sailors there was one that seemed to know me but I didn’t really recognize him.

It was a perfect wind for Bobbi’s first race... mostly light with a few stronger puffs. I had to use all my “local knowledge” to stay near the front of the fleet. As we approached the finish line the new sailor who seemed to know me was leading with Cat second and me third. Playing the tides and eddys I was able to finish second with Cat winning. I had mixed emotions about that. I was still upset that my old sails were outperforming my new sails but I was happy for Cat.

On our way back to the clubhouse for lunch I was able to concentrate on Bobbi and the possibility of a decent DP. She was sitting inside the cockpit, facing forward with her knees pulled up to her chest. In that position I had a very nice and long DP view. It wasn’t like the night before but with the loose waist I was still able to get a nice peek. Included was a close up on the waist elastic and I was able to confirm that they were Lollipop panties.

Peggy, Bobbi’s mother, had packed sandwiches and a thermos of homemade lemonade for our lunch. We joined with Cat and a few others from our home sailing club to eat and while we did, the competitor who seemed to recognize me out on the course came up to us. He introduced himself as Herb and even with that it didn’t register with me. Seeing the blank look on my face he said that he’d been a member of the sailing club some ten or more years prior and remembered me at sailing lessons. He threw out some other names and I did recognize some, but not all of them. One thing the conversation did was to bring back some fond memories. He went on that he had been a part of the group of sailors that started giving lessons at the club and that for some reason he remembered me. Then he introduced his son, Geoff, a boy of about 13 or 14, who was crewing for him. I, in turn, introduced him to Bobbi, hoping that the two of them would find something in common to talk about. Bobbi had been clearly bored since there was no one even close to her in age in our group. It certainly didn’t happen right away.

As we prepared to go back out for the afternoon race I could see that the wind, as usual, was picking up. I made a special effort to have Bobbi practice getting her ankles wrapped around the hiking strap before the start. That was something she had to do on her own and something that, under racing conditions, was very critical. All the other things she had to do as a crew could be done by instruction as they were being executed. She didn’t have a major problem with the process but I could see that she was still uncomfortable... and that made me uncomfortable.

The wind, although stronger than in the morning race, was still something that I felt the two of us could handle. I got a good, clear start and was leading at the first two course markers. At the next bouy we had to do a maneuver called a jibe. I won’t bore you with the nuances of it but just believe me when I say it’s fairly difficult for even experienced skippers and crews. I won’t fault Bobbi because it was my fault that she wasn’t fully prepared. It got very “hairy”, with the boat almost tipping over. When we recovered we were behind a few boats. Luckily, Cat was still behind me but Herb was the boat right ahead of us. I asked Bobbi if she was OK and the look on her face told me that the experience had shaken her up a bit. However, she was continuing to do as she was instructed.

It didn’t look good as we headed for the finish line. The only thing I had going was my knowledge of the tides, currents and back eddys. We had to pretty much sail right into the outgoing tide. Desperate, I had to try something different. I won’t bore you with the details but it worked to the extent that we ended up second. After the near disaster we’d experienced it felt like a win to me.

To be continued...

SUMMER... August, sailing (Part 87c)
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In trying to write this portion I'm having trouble with what I call "time lining", meaning putting events in chronological order. So, I've gone back to adjust the description in the first two posts of this part (87). I've done this a time or two in the past choosing to go by subject. I'm presently on "Sailing". Sorry for the late change...
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You have to be asleep to have a nightmare. That night was a total nightmare as both Elle and I were awake more than we were asleep. She couldn’t get comfortable and kept rolling around which kept me awake. At one point, when we were both wide awake, she asked if I was still going to race. I hadn’t verbalized the subject even though I’d thought about it. I’d even gone over the possibilities for a crew but hadn’t come up with anybody. The club members who weren’t racing all had their wives as crew and I just knew that none of them would be interested in sailing with me. So I told her that I wouldn’t be racing. Being dark I had no idea of her facial expression but she didn’t answer. After that we both went back to trying to get some sleep.

By morning the swelling in her wrist had started to go down. The biggest problem that she had was in getting her panties up and down with only one good hand. I’d helped her right until it was time for me to go to work. She experimented with having our oldest daughter help her and it was laughable. I told her that, worst case, she she should just go through her panties while sitting on the toilet. She rolled her eyes at that suggestion but I told her I was serious.

I came home at lunchtime to check on her and the pain had finally subsided. She had called her mother to come and get the kids so that was one less thing for her to have to handle. She told me that she was going to try and sleep after I left so I helped her put on a regular night time “package” and headed back to work. I’ll admit that even though I’d told her that I wasn’t going to race I was still trying to come up with some way to pull it off. It was in mid afternoon while I was really struggling with the Dog Catcher exam questions that a thought came to me... Bobbi.

By the time I left work I’d come up with a “game plan”. First, I’d call Peggy, her mother, to see if it would be OK to ask Bobbi. If the answer was “yes“ then I’d try to sell her on the idea. I’d even worked up a ”spiel”. But... I had to run it past Elle first.

At home I found Elle in relatively good spirits. She’d been able to sleep most of the afternoon. She, of course, was wet and I helped clean her up. However, she wasn’t in a good enough mood for me to get a little “frisky” though. Just as I was about to broach the subject of sailing she said something about how sorry she was to have ruined my chance to defend the championship. I was about to respond but she continued by asking if there wasn’t some way that I could still race. Sensing that I could escape without being selfish and hard hearted I asked if she was sure that she’d be OK if I did. I remember her giving me one of those “loving” looks while nodding her head affirmatively.

I had to be careful not to have her realize that I’d pretty much scripted a plan when I called Peggy. That, in itself, was a bit of a struggle. I’d not seen her to talk to in many years so after the initial contact had to do the reminiscing bit. I’m guessing but it was probably a good fifteen minutes before she said that she’d get Bobbi to the phone. Getting her to say “yes” was actually easier than getting past Peggy. I told her that I’d do the exact same thing she did when she was teaching her junior sailors and that she should look at the experience as if they were lessons. The hard part came when I told her I wanted to come and pick her up within the hour.

As I’ve written in prior posts, the host sailing club for this championship series was located on a small island serviced by three small ferry boats. My reason for wanting to pick Bobbi up that night was that I wanted to tow the boat over to the island and get it set up so as to avoid the “crush” in the morning. As I drove down her driveway I saw the same clothes line that had been there back in the days I delivered newspapers on my bike. There were a few towels blowing in the early evening breeze. I hoped there would be some panties the next day.

Pulling up in front of the garage I was surprised that there were no longer any doors and that the space was filled with a picture window and a normal door. Bobbi was waiting for me and I liked the outfit she was wearing It was a light blue checked shorts set very similar to the one that Elle had made the first Summer after we’d returned. Once on our way she was being shy so I decided to ask about the transformation of the garage. When her grandparents had died the place had been left to her mother and aunt. The aunt, unmarried, didn’t want to live with her sister and her family so converted the garage to a cottage. I remember that Peggy had a brother so, trying to keep the conversation going, I asked about him. Bad move!

Bobbi turned away from me and just stared out the front window. I was smart enough to realize that I’d hit a sore spot so just kept my mouth shut until we got to the ferry slip.
There was a short line so we had to wait. We got out of the car and walked down to the boarding ramp. It was hard to believe when Bobbi told me she'd never been on the ferry or over to the island as she'd spent all of her sixteen Summers in the area. Once on board she immediately went up to the front for the trip over. In writing this I'm somewhat reminded of Kate Winslet in the movie Titanic as Bobbi seemed transfixed.

When we got to the sailing club it was starting to get dark. I wanted to get the mast in and the stays attached before it got dark. My goal for the evening was to go over some things that Bobbi would need to know before we set sail on Saturday. Never having sailed in a boat with a cockpit it was going to be all new for her but she seemed eager for her lessons.

To be continued...