4th of July 2011 - A Very Full Weekend

Looking at a four day weekend and there is a heat warning. Temps of 96 with heat index of 106. That won't stop us though. Mike got up early Friday morning and pulled the boat over to Marshall Park in order to avoid the afternoon holiday traffic - and the heat. On his lunch break, he rigged the boat so all would be ready for sailing later on. (What a gem!). After a light supper at home and a respite from the heat, we headed over to the lake, reefed the sails and were on the water by around 7pm. We sailed over to Picnic Point and dropped anchor for the night. Not many boats on the water, but the bugs were terrible. We had to hide in the cabin and it was HOT.

The winds shifted in the middle of the night by 180 degrees causing some major rocking and rolling, so early in the a.m. we pulled anchor and moved to the other side of the peninsula, dropped anchor and went back to sleep. Much cooler and calmer. Conditions must have been right because we slept past 9 o'clock! Mike tried out his new coffee press and really like the flavor and convenience. Breakfast was instant oatmeal with fresh blueberries. Mike played at being a fisherman and Brenda read for awhile. Then we were off. Winds picked up to 10-15 and we were able to sail on a beam reach. After our last outing with minimal winds, it was fun to kick up our heels and go. We even did a little "technical maneuvering" as we practiced rounding some of the buoys set up for the local races.

We headed over to Warner Bay early in the afternoon. We wanted to be sure to get a good spot for Rhythm and Booms. We were surprised to find only a few boats anchored along the park shore. We stayed off to one side of the swimming area and dropped anchor. We dove out of the boat into fairly clean water and headed to the swimming area. As we went under the rope marking the outer boundaries, the lifeguard approached us and said, "You can't come into the swimming area from there. You have to come into the beach and then enter the marked swimming area from there." Liability issues they said. We thought it would be safer to enter the marked area directly from the boat - but no - we had to swim around the outside of the markers, walk on the beach for two feet, and then go back inside the markers. And of course we had to reverse the whole process to get back to the boat. Oh well, it felt so good to swim in clean water that we didn't really mind.

Relaxing after our swim

As sundown approached, more and more boats entered the bay and dropped anchor. By dusk, the bay was full of boats. The shimmering navigation and anchor lights put on a splendid show long before the fireworks started.

Boats settling in for the fireworks

As we were enjoying the view, we heard bagpipes. Mike, who is not a big fan of bagpipes, thought that someone had cranked up their boat stereo, and was not pleased. But in a few minutes we discovered where the sound was coming from. A power boat was slowly parading through the anchored boats with a girl waving an American flag off the bow and their O'Connor flag flying off the stern. In the middle were three men with their bagpipes, two in costume, playing "The Casons go Rolling Along". Next up, "America the Beautiful". All movement on the other boats stopped, people whistled and cheered and saluted. Mike commented, "Now that is cool.", I couldn't say anything - something must have been stuck in my throat. We quickly grabbed the camera, as did many others, and recorded a very moving, obviously traditional, patriotic celebration.

Then came the real fireworks. Rhythm and Booms is billed as the Midwest's largest fireworks display. It is timed to music that is broadcast on a local radio station. All the boats in the harbor were tuned to the same station. We were in the perfect seats. Fireworks blossomed over our heads in well choreographed presentation. One of the first songs was "Proud to be an American", followed by a few John Phillip Sousa marches. Again something was stuck in my throat and my eyes were watering. By the time the grand finale came around, both the fireworks and the waterworks were flowing freely. The "Overture of 1812", with the gun salutes and bells ringing, was an indescribable way to end the fireworks display.

 

The bay was silent, in awe, for several minutes. Then the cheers went up and the boats, with their red, green and white lights flickering, exited the bay as if carried out by the tide. We stayed put. We were in good anchorage and wanted to hold on the the magical feelings for as long as possible. As we settled in for the night, we both commented that this evening ranked in our Top 10.

Boats drifting home after the fireworks

But our weekend was not over yet. We awoke late Sunday morning to another beautiful day. The skies were a brilliant blue and the winds were a perfect 10-15. After a "shower in the lake" and some more fishing attempts by Mike (he has a lot of talents, but fishing is not one of them), we sailed back across the lake to the University of Wisconsin's Memorial Union. We set the anchor and then relaxed for awhile to be sure the anchor set. Then we pulled up the dinghy, gracefully (haha) boarded the dinghy and Mike rowed us to shore where we wandered State Street looking for supper. After walking up one side and then down the other, we settled on State Street Brats. We got a table by the window so we could people watch. And what a show we got. It is unbelievable how eclectic this area is. Anything goes! From couples pushing strollers to studded and black clad groups, to multi-colored hair to cute elderly couples, to clean-cut gaggles of teens. You can see it all on State Street. And where else can you have dinner with a cow. That's right - at State Street Brats there are outside tables that set around a life-size fiberglass cows!

After a stop for liquid refreshments and a bag of ice, we were back to the dinghy and a quick row back to the boat. Surprisingly one of the frat houses was playing our music from the 70's and 80's. We couldn't believe that we would be listening to some our favorites, one after another, coming to us clearly over the water. The same frat house, next to the Student Union, was trying to set off some fireworks. They got a "boo" from the Memorial Union crowd for their first fizzling attempt. Then it got comical/scary. They were having some "technical difficulties" setting off the remaining fireworks. Some went up well, but others went sideways or didn't go up at all. There were several "@#@'s and lots of laughter. No major mishaps, or at least no ambulances came. As the sun set, we were able to watch the fireworks going off from various communities around the lake. Calm night, good company, and the end of another great day.

Monday we decided to row back into State Street for breakfast. We had seen the Sunprint Cafe's advertisement for breakfast while we were wandering the previous night and had worked up an appetite for omelettes. The food was great and we got a second floor table with a view of State Street. Then back to the boat to start heading to the launch for pull-out. It was dead calm, so we motored along the shore checking out the gorgeous houses and a small harbor we hadn't explored before. The ramp was not busy and the tear down went smoothly. What a busy weekend. But no---we aren't done yet!

We pulled the boat across town six miles and re-launched on Lake Monona so we could meet up with our son and some friends on their power boat to view the 4th of July fireworks on that lake. Aren't trailer sailers great! Watching the fireworks on this lake has become an annual event. It is not as crowded as Rhythm and Booms and it is always fun to raft up, share snacks and drinks, and enjoy the show of lights around the lake. We motored to the ramp at 11:00 p.m. and were home by 11:59. That's using up the weekend!

 

 

 

 

Father's Day Sail 2011

Here's another memory from the past while we wait out another snow storm.

What a fantastic weekend! Mike got off of work early on Friday and we got onto Lake Mendota by 4 p.m. We sailed around for awhile and then anchored outside the UW Memorial Union to listen to the bands. Later we had a short night sail to a protected bay where we anchored for the night.

The UW Memorial Union

Night sailing is unbelievably beautiful. The lake is so quiet and the sailboat just makes small splashes in the waves. The lights on shore just add to the beauty of the scenery. We went to sleep on a dead calm night and even slept in a little late the next morning. The memory foam we added to the V-berth, along with the cushion on the galley counter greatly added to the comfort of our evening. We tried out our cheapo Gasone butane stove (we've used this stove for one season now and it continues to impress us. We heat water each morning for breakfast needs and have yet to use up one gas canister) and by golly it heats water for oatmeal, coffee and tea in a big hurry.

French Press and Gasone Butane Stove

As the morning broke, Brenda stayed on board while Mike took the little dinghy for a row and threw out the fish hook a few times. One more tiny bluegill knows who the boss is now. The wind never showed up, so we rowed into shore and took a nice three mile hike on Picnic Point.

Our landing at Picnic Point

It is a city kept park with lots of trails, fire pits (with free firewood), mechanical pump for drinking water and great views of the city and the lake. After getting back to the boat we put up our shade and took a relaxing nap.

Nice day for a nap!

We decided to motor over (no wind at all Saturday) to the UW Union again for supper. We anchored out near the other sailboats in a mooring field (the one they always show on TV during a Badger game), and rowed into the shore. We walked a couple of blocks to State Street and went to Chipotle for burritos and a really good margarita. Great place to eat and people watch - State Street is the perfect place for this hobby! We rowed back to the sailboat and decided that we would just stay anchored there for the night. Dumb move. We should have gotten a weather forecast and moved to a more protected anchorage. During the night we had a nice storm with rocky waves kicked up by the wind. Our dinghy ended up with 2" of water in the bottom of it, but our anchor held tight.

Sunday morning cleared up by 10 a.m. and we raised the sails for the nice breeze that showed up.

Sunset on Lake Mendota

We checked out some areas of the lake we hadn't yet explored and circled a bunch of sailboats in a race. It was a nice leisurely sail back to the dock where we put the boat on the trailer for the trip home.

What a great way to spend Father's Day weekend.

First Sail on our Com-Pac 19/II

May 22, 2010 - Still getting caught up on old posts

It was a beautiful day in Madison with mild winds to get a feel for our new boat.  After packing the 19 for a day sail we trailered it into Lake Mendota.  We found the 19 to be easily pulled with a 6 cylinder vehicle.  We used Marshall Park ramp on the west side of Lake Mendota as it is the most sailboat friendly ramp on this lake.  We backed the boat in and found we needed to go far enough down the ramp that the exhaust pipe was blowing bubbles in order to float it off the trailer.  I guess a hitch extender will have to go on the "to-do list".  The outboard started right up and we excitedly backed out feeling pretty proud of ourselves until we saw one of our keel guides float out from underneath the hull.  Ooops.  After some fancy steering in a tight area, we were able to snag the keel guide and strap it onto the lifeline stanchions.  So much for a picture perfect launch. 

Brenda claiming her bow spot (couldn't do this on the 16).  Note the rogue keel guide strapped to the stanchion.

The 8 HP Mariner is definitely more motor than the 19 needs, although we could give the kids a pretty good ride on a tube if we decided to pull it behind us. 

We set the sails, turned the motor off, and sailed in winds of 6-12 MPH.  We were very surprised how well the 19 moved along on so little wind.  Having a boat with crisp sails was a pleasure.   Instead of heeling with a gust of wind the boat just accelerated.  We pulled out the genoa (135 I believe) and found it was brand new.  The previous owner never used it and it was clean, crisp and new.  We wish it was a 150 or 155, but we shouldn't complain.  The other pleasant surprise on the sail was the performance of the NACA 0014 foiled rudder that Mike had just finished.  It gave the tiller a very light feel with just enough weather helm for comfort. 

It was really nice to walk around on the foredeck and feel safe and stable.  The lifelines and the 19's stiff sailing characteristics accounted for this feeling. One of the reasons we bought the Com-Pac 19 was that it prefers to be sailed flat - which with our limited sailing experience makes for more relaxed sailing.  After all, that is what we are all about - relaxation!  We enjoyed a fine afternoon of getting a feel for her and enjoyed the views on beautiful Lake Mendota practicing our tacks and jibes.  As the day wound down, we headed back to the ramp wondering what entertainment we would provide for those at the docks.  Surprisingly the docking went without a hitch and the boat floated smoothly onto trailer even missing a keel guide. 

Overall our decision to move from the 16 to the 19 proved to be a great one.  The 19 rigged quickly, the mast was easily raised by one or two people, it sailed flat, and the extra cockpit width was really nice.  Extra points were awarded by the female crew for the onboard potty facilities. 

Things we need to do:  redo all the bunks and keel guides on the trailer, find an easier way to connect the front stay (for our non-sailing friends, this is one of the wires that holds the mast up) when stepping the mast.  We also missed the halyard cam cleats mounted on the mast on the 16.  Have to think on that one.

Overall it was a great day of sailing and the boat is a keeper.