MORE SUMMER... Ups and downs (Part 46d)

I picked Rick up at 6am. He’d gotten to his parents home around midnight and was definitely tired. The weather report was for 15 to 18 mph winds which meant we, with our extra 30 pounds, would have a bit of an advantage. I thought of poor Chip, sailing with his little sister and who would probably be sailing 20 pounds light and totally unfamiliar with tidal waters. We arrived before 8am, the time boat and sail inspections were to begin. I thought I’d be near the front of the line but found myself in the middle. I wondered just what time some of these people got up. The boat in front of me was skippered by a girl who had raced in my first championships. I really didn’t know her but I remembered her boat name... ”Party Party“. Rick ended up talking with her and found out that she attended the same college as my 2nd cousin. When he told me I went up to her to ask if she knew her. I quickly checked her out and was impressed with her looks and especially how she filled out her blouse. I found her name was Lola (really) and she actually did know my cousin and told me a story about her that confirmed it. I told her I’d look her up later after the boats were weighed and measured.

The yacht club provided a box lunch for the competitors prior to the first race. There were two races, back to back, that afternoon and everybody was bemoaning the strong winds we would race in. I made a point of finding Chip to give him encouragement. The look on his sister’s face told a story though. She was scared to death. Even though the wind was blowing somewhat off the shore we could still see whitecaps (waves with the tops breaking off). My next stop was to find Lola just to see what she was wearing to race in. I couldn’t tell as she had baggy shorts and a rain slicker on. Common sense would say it was probably a bathing suit. I figured that I'd check again after the races. When lunch was over we launched the boats and were off to the races.

It didn’t take long for the fleet to break into two parts. The lead pack was the one who could handle the windy conditions, us included. The other half was obviously struggling. Most of the 42 boats finished but as soon as some of them crossed the finish line they headed for shore. We’d done relatively well but were really hurting physically. Not sailing for a month showed. But we were psyched to get on with the next race. During the second race there were a number of boats who dropped out because of equipment breakdowns and a few more who just gave up. We did well, again, and when we got to shore found we were in 8th place and that our club mate was in 4th. Almost everybody was exhausted, just flopping down by their boats after getting them out of the water. I thought about looking for Lola but was too tired. It didn’t take long for the twins to find us. They were more excited about our success than we were. Of course they hadn’t just spent about 5 hours battling the waves and strong, gusty winds. Rick was complaining about having to drive the one and a half hours to get back home. One of the twins piped up that he/we could stay in the loft over their garage. I hadn’t given any thought at all about staying near the yacht club. In all the other years that I’d raced there I always went back home. But as tired as I was I wished I had. Rick had brought dry clothes for the trip home in anticipation of it being a wet day sailing. He immediately piped up that he’d love to stay over. The way he looked at it was that he’d get an extra hour and a half to party that night and an extra hour and a half to sleep in the morning. But I’d already told Elle I’d be back so, after loading all the gear up I headed home, alone.

I really struggled on the drive home. The setting sun was in my eyes for a whole hour. They were already bloodshot and irritated from all the salt spray I’d raced in all afternoon. By the time I pulled into my driveway all I wanted was a nice shower and to lay down. Because of the engagement announcement Elle was uncomfortable about coming over to my house so, after showering and eating, I went over to hers. Her parents were watching TV and that was the last thing I wanted to do so we went out to her back yard. I lay down in the lawn chaise and promptly fell asleep. Elle woke me up around the time her parents went to bed but I just wasn’t up for any romance. My body just craved rest. Before I left I told her that I’d probably stay over the next night. Because I was within the range of getting a trophy (top seven) I told her that I’d bought her a ticket for the awards banquet. That made her happy.

My father had a hard time getting me up. I don’t think my whole body had ever hurt more. But the thought of just how close I was to getting a trophy got me going. When I got to the yacht club I found everybody in pretty much the same condition. I looked up Chip and found that he was one of those who had given up after the first race. While I was talking to him his sister told him that if the wind made any waves at all she wasn’t going to sail. Typical thinking for a lake sailor. The morning winds were normally light and from the North at about 2 to 5 mph. I told Chip that it should be OK. Since we were going to have a lunch break after the first race, he could decide about the second race then. I told him the conditions should pretty much match those of lake sailing only with a tidal factor added. Because he seemed to be a nice guy I also told him where he should and shouldn’t go to take advantage of the tides during the race so that he could, hopefully, be competitive. His sister still looked scared.

To be continued...