(This is an image heavy post)
It's past time to enlist some crew, so here we goooooooo!
Took Zoe first. She was the first person on Bella Claire besides me. We went to Falls Lake, since it's super nice and quiet there. I didn't figure there'd be a problem with that section of the lake being smaller since I figured we wouldn't stay long.
Honestly, she didn't spend long in the boat.
We stayed a little too long because it was a little too hot, but overall, we had a great time. I ended up rowing back to the dock because it was dead upwind, and Zoe got a little overheated and didn't want to wait while we beat back.
Fortuntely, Bella Claire rows like a dream...
Me?
Not so much.
Zoe sat in the AC in the van while I put Bella Claire to bed, and we headed home, having had a great time.
The following weekend, I took Caleb.
We went back to Falls Lake again, since it worked out so well with Zoe. We had slightly better weather since there were a few clouds and it was a degree or so cooler. I suspect it was also lower humidity, but I'm not sure of that.
He didn't stay in the boat, either...
As Caleb says, we "ran aground" by drifting into a downed branch that was sticking out into the water. We were drifting in the wind with the sail down (it's amazing how much the wind can push Bella Claire around with so little freeboard, that is, height to the waterline) and we caught the rudder over the branch. I had the daggerboard pulled up so we sat there and ate our lunch.
We were downwind of the dock at the end so we sailed back. I even sailed her right up to the dock. We had a bit too much way on and I had to grab the cleat on the dock to stop, but it worked really well. I probably should get some fenders, but again, the freeboard is so low that it'd be hard to get them in place, and the rails are so thin that it'd be hard to hang them. I do tend to bang her up against the dock quite a bit. Also, once again I damaged the daggerboard, this time by forgetting it was still down when I went to load Bella Claire on the trailer... (facepalm)
Great couple of weekends, but I definitely get more sailing time without the kids along. I kept the sail down when they were in the water, so I didn't have to manage much except keep an eye on my crew. I'm pleased to report nobody got sick or hurt. Both of them had a good time and did a good job, so we'll definitely be going back, maybe all three of us at once.
That's it for now. Until next time, fair winds!