Rain!

Not much rain, at least not here at the lake. But at this point any time water falls out of the sky we all do a happy dance and hope for more. Heavier rain fell all around us, some of it up north in the watershed for the lake, so there is some small hope that the lake level has bottomed out (as it were) and may soon be on the rise. Kintala may actually leave the pier one of these weekends. How cool would that be?

A night race Saturday gave us a chance to crew with Joel, Emily and Thor on Joel and Emily's boat. "Pascagoula Run" draws 5 feet with a thin, racing type fin keel. I asked Joel if he was going to plant some corn in the row we were cutting in the bottom mud.  "Beans,"  he replied, "Its too dry for corn."

Eight boats crossed the start line in the fading sunset. Joel and Thor chose a different tactic than the rest of the fleet so we got an excellent view of the clutch of boats all looking for traction in the light to moderate winds. It was a beautiful night's sail with the nearly full moon on the rise in the east, lightning off in the distant west (with the promise of rain) and a crew of good friends making the most of a good boat. About an hour after all the boats were safely home it did rain some, but the serious weather passed around us.

The night race was my second sail of the weekend as I had gone out with other friends earlier in the day. There was a bit more wind and, though this crew are as good friends as the race crew, they are not nearly as experienced as sailors. In fact little 'ol me was the most capable sailor on board - kind of a scary thought, that. We did good if you don't count the one little broach that had water splashing up against the starboard side ports. No harm, no foul, and a good learning experience for everyone. 

We also took some time to lay out the dodger kit and take a good look at getting that project started. I'm kind of excited about getting it going.  Next week we will be drilling holes and cutting tubing. " Laissez les bons temps rouler!"