Although the Escape was scheduled for Saturday, Friday brought a load of
emails and conversation. The weather witchdoctors were trying to wreak their
havoc. With the forecast of high winds and rain, the core group feared the
worst. We considered our options, finally deciding that the best option
would be a beach decision...just prior to us pushing off Saturday morning.
Especially given the fact that some folks were making a commitment to drive
an hour or two to come.
As John Bauldry wrote to me, he awoke Saturday morning to the sound of the
trees rustling. That is a both a good thing and a bad thing. Wind is good.
But early morning wind can lead to heavy afternoon wind. The "weather on the
8's" forecast called for scattered thunderstorms - that thought stuck in my
mind as I pulled out onto the road. The sun was shining at 7 a.m., making me
feel a bit optimistic.
John Bauldry and his Tiger pulled up behind me as I approached the Metro
Beach metropark tollgate. One by one, more cats arrived and we took over the
first row of parking. Hobie's, Hobie's, everywhere. Boat assembly started
and stopped, as we all helped each other carry our crafts from trailer to
grass. Sails were hoisted, as we all kept an eye on the sky. Whitecaps on
the water deserved some attention as well.
I spoke with some of our most experienced sailors...John, Matt Bounds, and
Gregg Kittinger. With Fleet safety being Job 1 (sorry GM guys), I valued
these opinions. I found out what it feels like to make the decision for the
fleet to leave the beach. I found it easier to take a show of hands..."Who
is in favor of making an attempt to reach the island?" All the hands went
up...albeit, some faster than others. Nonetheless, it was unanimous. To make
sure, I made a rule...all for one, one for all.
If anyone felt uncomfortable, and wanted to turn back, we all would. That
would keep Doug (food shuttle, safety boat, and VHF radio communicator) from
having to choose whether to follow the boat back to shore, or follow the
fleet to the island. Everyone agreed...all for one, one for all. With that
settled, and Doug's boat filled with everything needed for a barbecue island
fest, I made the call -"Off the beach!"
Like sea lions sliding down into the water, cat after cat found its way into
the Lake St. Clair waters. The boats took of on a beam reach from the beach,
with skipper and crew scrambling to get aboard. Mark Colby, with GPS in
hand, and a previous sail to Gull Island under his belt, assumed the pole
position. Soon, however, he assumed the pitch pole position - his third
pitch pole in the last 3 trips out.
Fleet newcomer Josh circled Mark for a minute, offering help. Nice thought,
until a sudden gust sent Josh and his crew, for a St. Clair bath (not sure
whether one should use St. Clair and bath together). With two boats over
within 5 minutes of launching, I began to question myself...and even told a
couple people that the trip to the island was off. However, within moments,
the boats were righted and the parade of Hobie's was pointed toward Gull
Island.
It was nearly a straight, downwind, 7 mile run to Gull. The waves were
fairly sizable, but with adequate separation between them. You could imagine
the smile on Hobie Alter's face, as he surfed down the face of his first
waves on the Hobie 14 so many years ago...The fleet stayed mainly together,
with a few stragglers and reaching enthusiasts making their own way. My
daughter gave me frequent boat counts...everyone seemed to be doing well.
As we neared the island, most went around the west side of the island, while
my daughter and I chose the east side. As we got within 200 yards of the
island, we could fell the hulls skipping across the sandy bottom - oh
please...no sudden rocks. Without incident, we pulled our 16 up onto the
beach, on the lee side of the island, where the 20 mph wind seemed like a
tropical breeze. The trees gave us the shelter we were looking for...an
ideal spot for a barbecue.
The other boats continued around the north side of the island, and came
ashore on both sides of our boat. Soon, there were nearly a dozen boats
lined up. Our attentions now turned to two things: a single Hobie 16 in the
distance, with ------- on board with his daughter. They were off in the
distance, although they seemed to be making progress. Matt Bound's wife
suggested we send out the food barge/safety boat. Great idea. If we knew
where the food barge/safety boat was.
12 boats... 24 sailors... no food. One food barge... two guys on
board...beer and food to last a few days. Oh boy. Matt tried on his
hand-held VHF to reach Doug...Channel 69. Unfortunately, this was a one way
deal...more like a 6, or a 9. No response. So there we stood...24 hungry
sailors, looking at a boat hopefully bringing in 2 more Hobie sailors, but
without food or a boat to check on the progress of our final boat.
Within minutes, the Hobie caboose arrived, and moments later, the food
flotilla. With the shallow water, the speedboat had to anchor about 40 yards
off the beach. We all walked out and carried the barbecuing items in...as
Jim Vander Jagt put it, like natives on the Learning Channel, exchanging
goods for trinkets.
We found a spot isolated from the breeze and set up. Chairs and coolers.
Grills and food. Mark Colby brought a small propane grill, that allowed John
Bauldry to cook his Bauldry Burgers in style. My white gas grill, cooked our
hot dogs "college style" according to John - burn 'em on the burner! - Sure,
we had all the condiments...ketchup, mustard, onions, and sand. While some
questioned the sterility of the cooks' hands, no one offered to take our
places, and many protested when we offered to go wash them in Lake St.
Clair. Second helpings were common...so the flavor was not affected.
As we stood there on the beach, everyone lifted their glasses to the sky,
and saluted me, thanking me for putting it all together...ah, the vision. I
have to admit, it was a great site to see. I saluted everyone back, for it's
the sailors that make the fleet.
We spent a couple hours talking about sailing. It was great to see everyone
together, laughing and joking. We ate like pigs...Rocio's salsa again took
all the attention. It needs to be labeled, bottled, and sold...Fleet 276
salsa...wow, the possibilities...
When the feast was done, we took a return trip out to the food barge...the
load was significantly lighter this time! As we waded thought the ankle deep
water toward our boats, everyone knew what would lie ahead...a 7 mile sail
into the wind, and into the waves. The food was fuel.
We all headed east after pushing off from the sandy shore of Gull
Island...toward the channel marker, there we would tack south, toward the
beach of Metro Park. The winds were still strong - between 15-20 mph I would
guess - and the waves were still sizable. Most of the boats had at least one
person on the trapeze, and John later told me that my daughter, who decided
to ride with John on the Tiger back to Metro, never came in off the trapeze
all the way back.
My daughters friend Danielle had sailed with John out to the island, but
joined me for the ride back. As we made our final tack for Metro, I asked
her if she would like to try to trapeze. She did, and managed to get out on
the wire without too much difficulty. After a few minutes of practice, she
looked pretty stable out there, so I joined her. We double-trapped as we
screamed toward shore! It's a great feeling to be double-trapped on a 16!
John, Matt, and Gregg had all beaten us to land, their superior skills
showing once again. One by one, boats arrived, and we helped each other
bring them up to the grass for disassembly. The only excitement came when
Josh arrived...half sloshed. I mean, one hull was full of water, almost
completely submerged! He did a fine job just getting that broken kitty back
to shore! When he pulled the drain plug on that hull, it was as if a fire
hydrant had sprung a leak...for the next 20 minutes or so. Speaking of drain
plugs...
Just when you thought the story had moved past your moment of glory John, I
found my way back to it. You see, there is no doubt in my mind that the
Tiger is fast. There is also little doubt in my mind that John is one of the
best sailors around. But like Tiger Woods, he proved he was human on
Saturday. As he pulled his normally light Tiger up on the beach at Gull
Island, it seemed a bit heavy...yes, he forgot to screw in the plug on the
port hull. It was still hanging there, by the little tab that keeps it from
falling out while trailering. Now I don't feel so bad about forgetting to
tie down my sails after the round the bay race.
Sails...that Brings up another point...hey Jim, you need the boat and the
sails. Sorry - as I have said before, no one is immune from harassment! That
is all part of the fun of fleet sailing! I could go on and on about the
day...course some would say I already have...but let there be no doubt...we
had a great time. I have received a number of emails from folks and they all
say the same thing - it was a great day.
With that it mind, the Return to Gull Island has been planned for Saturday,
August 9. Let's do it again...with more boats. It was fun to see those board
sailors and kite sailors bumbed out cause we had all the good parking
spaces! More info to follow, but put in on your calendars!
See you on the water!
Jeff