Superior Run

Mike just finished reading Superior Run by Tom Wells.  Check out our bookshelf for his review.  Looks like Brenda needs to add another book to her to-be-read list!

Non-sailing days.

Not all adventures have to be on the water. Today it was much too nice out to stay inside, so we made an impulse decision to grab Grama (Mike's mom) and head to an apple orchard and view the changing colors along the way. The trees are just starting to show their fall splendor and the bluffs around Baraboo were picturesque. The apple orchard was disappointing, but the carmel apple and apple turnover were good. We sat outside where the fall sunshine felt good on our backs.

The gem of the day turned out to be a stop at Delaney's Surplus just outside of Baraboo. It has been 20 years since we last explored this funky conglomeration of used, surplus, industrial materials and assorted junk. It hasn't changed. You just never know what you will find. However, the best part is the sculpture garden outside. Thirty some years ago, the owner started utilizing all the odd metal components and began welding them together to make some very unique sculptures. From six inch tall critters to house size structures that look like they are from a science fiction movie set, you are constantly ooohing and ahhhhing at every turn. Willy Wonka would be proud. For example, feathers on the bird-like creations were made from the blades of garden shears.

Chains, sprockets, gears, pipe, extinguishers. padlocks, engine parts...basically anything made of metal were utilized to make amazing creatures. In one area, 5-12 foot tall "musicians" were arranged in an arc around the 15 foot tall "conductor". All of the "muscians" had an actual instrument incorporated into their bodies. Some even moved to create chime and bell sounds when the wind blew.

The centerpiece, titled The World of Evermore, was just unbelievable. Tons of metal pieces and parts were welded together to create what looked like a model of a .... hard to describe. It was like a time machine and model of a futuristic city rolled into one. Why they were not charging admission was way beyond us. We must have wandered for at least 45 minutes to an hour and we didn't see it all. These pictures don't do the place justice. Here is the link to his website: World of Dr. Evermor

After that mind-boggling experience, we headed into Prairie du Sac for coffee and chai tea at the Blue Spoon overlooking the Wisconsin River. That lead to a walk down to and along the river so we could soak in a little bit more of the beautiful fall day. Grama recalled earlier days when she would canoe down this stretch of river and camp overnite on the sand bars.

Funny how we somehow always seem to end up near the water.

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The sailing was great...until we stopped!

We were sailing along on Saturday afternoon in typical Wrinkles fashion. An easy downwind point of sail, sun shining, talking about the big beautiful homes along the shore we were following just enjoying the day. The boat was gliding along so nicely until it came to a very quiet stop. Dead in the water, stuck on a low spot that neither of the attentive crew had noticed was all around them. This was the first time we had explored the shoreline of this particular bay and you would think the crew would be paying some attention to the water depth (or at least turn on that depth sensor).

We tried the usual solutions; power in reverse, weight to one side of the boat, weight forward with no luck at all. Our boom doesn't have a topping lift, so we couldn't swing it out to the side to use it as a lever. We'll try rigging up the spare halyard as a temporary topping lift next time. Time to either start kedging out with an anchor or jump in the water and see if the reduced weight would allow us to push the boat out. Since he weighs "slightly" more than Brenda, Mike jumped in and pushed Wrinkles to freedom. Another lesson learned along with a good laugh. We certainly sail with a Wrinkles In Our Sails mentality.

The rest of the weekend was wonderful sailing as the winds were better than predicted on Saturday which made for some pleasurable time on the water. On Sunday the winds really started to kick up with some nice strong gusts. The sailboats were all trying different tactics to deal with the stiff winds and it was fun watching how each of them was doing. There were boats with just their main sail up, others with jibs only, and some with their outboards on heading back in. Lots of flapping sails and luffing everywhere. We sailed Wrinkles with a double reefed main and a matching reef in our jib furler. This combo worked really well as the boat handled the conditions easily while still attaining hull speed. One gust still got our rail in the water which is surprising with so little sail up.

Sunshine, good winds, a great boat, and time on our hands to enjoy it all! Perfect!

 

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QUINCUNX the mystery word

I'd be amazed if more than one of you knew what this odd word meant. In maritime usage it means a piling with five posts: four in a rectangular shape with single vertical post in the middle.

This maritime lingo is just plain fascinating.

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Lights on the Lake

We were feeling water withdrawal. It had been two weeks since we had sailed when we got a text from our sailing buddies checking to see if we were available to watch the Lights on the Lake with them on their Hunter 235 sailboat. Mike had attended a funeral earlier in the afternoon while Brenda was delivering our son to another year of college. We rendezvoused at the house around 6 o'clock and headed to the lake. Lights on the Lake is a parade of boats all dressed up in lights so they would look like floats. The boats "paraded" along the shore of Lake Mendota to the applause and cheers of people gathered on land and those of us lucky enough to be on the water.

The marching band alumni were treating everyone to their favorite Wisconsin Badger songs while other floats had dance music playing to make it a festive atmosphere. After the parade we were even treated to a nice fireworks show.

Sometimes being on someone else's sailboat can be fun too!

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Sailing Lingo - QUINCUNX

It is hard to believe this is a real word, but it is and your challenge is to decipher it. I won't even dare to try coming up with my usual silly alternative meanings. Although if you play Scrabble this may be your new favorite word.

Good luck!

 

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