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

On the way to my boat I had to go past Lola’s boat. There were a couple of guys working on it. Hers had been one of the boats that had a breakdown in the second race. She was just standing there, basking in the fact that she had some good looking guys working on her boat. I liked her outfit though... white shorts and a tight, revealing, sleeveless blouse.

Rick got a ride from the twins house and couldn’t wait to tell me about the party he’d attended. The twins had taken him to one hosted by an officer of the yacht club and it had all kinds of food, liquor and music. I asked him how he was able to stay awake after what we’d gone through and he just smiled. Because the winds were light I didn’t have high expectations for how we’d do in the morning race. But my knowledge of the tides more than made up for our extra weight. We actually finished 5th, our best finish so far. When we came ashore for lunch someone told me that unofficially we’d moved up to 6th overall. My club mate had actually won the race and was now, supposedly, in 3rd place. The twins were beside themselves with joy. The father of one of the local sailors had some sort of connection with the New York Times and he called the paper to let them know that two ”locals“ were doing so well. He was told that they would send a reporter out so that was the "talk" of the lunch break.

As I’ve mentioned, the prevailing southerly wind usually came up in the afternoon and could be counted on to blow from 10 to 12 mph. As we set out from shore for the next race I was really excited even though there was no sign of any more wind. We sailed the first two legs with about the same wind we had in the morning race. The difference was that we were about in the middle of the fleet. On the third leg the wind died completely. We were now drifting with the tide. This had happened a couple of times in years past and I was trying to think of just what I did back then. It would be too complicated to explain but suffice it to say that I took what is called a ”flyer“ in sailing terms. I sailed the boat away from the direction that almost all the other boats were heading. There was a small sandbar that diverted the tide and I wanted to take advantage of it. With little to no wind it was agonizingly slow going. It was the tide moving us rather than the wind. After awhile I looked behind me and saw others starting to follow. But I’d been the first to do it so had them all covered. The race committee ended up shortening the course and we ended up with another good finish. Chip and his sister came in right behind me and that made me feel good. I couldn’t wait to get to shore to find out where we stood overall.

The twins were waiting for us. I don’t remember which one it was but she waded right out into the water to grab hold of my boat. Rick jumped overboard in a cannonball position and I followed. The twin that hadn’t come out into the water was standing on the beach and Rick ran out of the water and grabbed her, throwing her in. We were all giddy with happiness. It was obvious that the girls didn’t care about being wet. Their blouses didn’t reveal much but when we finally took the boat out of the water I got a good VPL from one of them. In all the years I’d sailed and in spite of all the races I’d won, doing well against the tops in the country was the best feeling I’d ever had. Because there were so many boats still out on the racecourse there was no way to find out our overall position. Someone came by saying he thought that my club mate was now in first place. The boat that we thought had been first was still out there and there were now over 20 boats that had finished. I couldn’t wait to know.

Officially, we were fourth. It was mind boggling to be ahead of so many really good sailors. As I remember it there were five former champions in the fleet. My club mate was, indeed, in first place. The rumor about a Times reporter coming out to get a story was true and although I wasn’t his primary interest, I did get interviewed. It was just a great day.

I’d told the twins that I would be joining Rick (and a few others) at the loft over their garage and when I did I got a hug (wet) from one of them. I’d brought dry clothes and was set for the night and for the last day of racing. Rick was a bit ”scruffy“ but he didn’t seem to care. The party that night was at the house (estate) of another yacht club officer. I knew, and had raced against, his son so I felt fairly comfortable in those surroundings. The twins weren’t there which, in a way, was a downer. But Lola was. She was definitely the center of attraction for both older and younger men. Rick tried to make a play for her and she brushed him off. I was smiling when she did. There’s no doubt that I would’ve liked to have seen her in just her underwear but she wasn’t my type, personality wise. The twins, in spite of the obvious riches her family had, were anything but spoiled. Seeing Lola doing her ”act“ reinforced that fact for me. I remember wishing that they were there.

In spite of Rick’s love for a good party it was he who suggested that we leave at a reasonable hour and get a decent night’s sleep. We had good intentions but as the other ”squatters“ (what the twins called those of us staying in the loft) arrived at various times, noisily, we were awakened. It turned out to be a long, long night for both of us.

To be continued...