Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong...
That is what Murphy said a long time ago, and it was true on Thursday at the lake. What started out to be a nice relaxing day at the lake for some pre-4th fun turned into one of the most interesting sailing trips yet.
We just got a new (to us) SUV. We have been without a hitch for over a year, which means that our smaller sailboat has just been sitting in the backyard. We all thought that it would be a great time to take the Holder (this is the smaller boat) to South Holston lake where our larger sailboat is docked and sail them both.
Everything seemed to be going fine. We got the boat in the water without a problem and waited for the other boat to come over from the dock to bring us some life jackets. After getting those, we both head out onto the water. We motor out a good way and put up the sails..... and there is virtually no wind. I am to the point of wanting to throw things because there was so much wind while we were sitting at the dock and now it was gone (or so I thought...)
Since the wind was so low, we decided to go up the lake a little way to the largest part. Sometimes the wind is better there. Once we get to the open part of the lake, the wind is ripping. I have never seen this kind of wind on South Holston before. David and I did all we could just to keep the boat from tipping over. There were at least two times when we were just a foot or two from flipping the boat. It was so windy, we took the jib sail (the small sail in the front down) and were still flinging through the water. It gets so bad that we decide just to meet up with everyone else and beach the boat... They were swimming in the lake in a little cove area.
I get to the cove and swim around and cool off for a while (I had worked up quite a sweat at this point..)
After swimming for a few minutes, my dad wants to go out with me in the Holder. I am up to face the water again, and I am feeling confident at this point.... but this is where everything goes crazy.
We motor back out onto the middle of the water and put up the sail. As we are putting up the sail, the boom (which is a metal bar the runs on the bottom of the sail) comes around and smacks me in the head. I had already been hit by the boom earlier that day, but this one was right on my forehead. I still have a knot and it still hurts.. and this was 4 days ago. Everything seemed to be going fine after that when disaster struck. We were sailing along and all of the sudden the mast (the 20 foot metal pole that holds the sail) begins to fall... ON ME!!! It is almost like slow motion; I am seeing this pole coming toward me and I move about one foot to the left, which was just enough for it to miss my head. It hit my shoulder and my arm (which is also really sore..). By this time our sails are in the water, and all of our rigging is down. We hurry to get it all back in the boat and motor back to the shore where the other boat is tied up. Now instead of a sailboat, we have a flat boat.
I am still very sore from my independence day battle with the lake. I have never had so many things go wrong on one sailing trip. It was really like everything went out at the same time. I am a little sore, but at least there is a good story as to why my arm is bruised and knotted as well as having an enlarged forehead.
Murphy may be long gone... but his laws keeps on going and going.
This was a sailing day that I will never forget.
That is what Murphy said a long time ago, and it was true on Thursday at the lake. What started out to be a nice relaxing day at the lake for some pre-4th fun turned into one of the most interesting sailing trips yet.
We just got a new (to us) SUV. We have been without a hitch for over a year, which means that our smaller sailboat has just been sitting in the backyard. We all thought that it would be a great time to take the Holder (this is the smaller boat) to South Holston lake where our larger sailboat is docked and sail them both.
Everything seemed to be going fine. We got the boat in the water without a problem and waited for the other boat to come over from the dock to bring us some life jackets. After getting those, we both head out onto the water. We motor out a good way and put up the sails..... and there is virtually no wind. I am to the point of wanting to throw things because there was so much wind while we were sitting at the dock and now it was gone (or so I thought...)
Since the wind was so low, we decided to go up the lake a little way to the largest part. Sometimes the wind is better there. Once we get to the open part of the lake, the wind is ripping. I have never seen this kind of wind on South Holston before. David and I did all we could just to keep the boat from tipping over. There were at least two times when we were just a foot or two from flipping the boat. It was so windy, we took the jib sail (the small sail in the front down) and were still flinging through the water. It gets so bad that we decide just to meet up with everyone else and beach the boat... They were swimming in the lake in a little cove area.
I get to the cove and swim around and cool off for a while (I had worked up quite a sweat at this point..)
After swimming for a few minutes, my dad wants to go out with me in the Holder. I am up to face the water again, and I am feeling confident at this point.... but this is where everything goes crazy.
We motor back out onto the middle of the water and put up the sail. As we are putting up the sail, the boom (which is a metal bar the runs on the bottom of the sail) comes around and smacks me in the head. I had already been hit by the boom earlier that day, but this one was right on my forehead. I still have a knot and it still hurts.. and this was 4 days ago. Everything seemed to be going fine after that when disaster struck. We were sailing along and all of the sudden the mast (the 20 foot metal pole that holds the sail) begins to fall... ON ME!!! It is almost like slow motion; I am seeing this pole coming toward me and I move about one foot to the left, which was just enough for it to miss my head. It hit my shoulder and my arm (which is also really sore..). By this time our sails are in the water, and all of our rigging is down. We hurry to get it all back in the boat and motor back to the shore where the other boat is tied up. Now instead of a sailboat, we have a flat boat.
I am still very sore from my independence day battle with the lake. I have never had so many things go wrong on one sailing trip. It was really like everything went out at the same time. I am a little sore, but at least there is a good story as to why my arm is bruised and knotted as well as having an enlarged forehead.
Murphy may be long gone... but his laws keeps on going and going.
This was a sailing day that I will never forget.
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