Goin’ Back To School

It felt like it was school time…Friday night football game type of weather…when Matt Bounds and I arrived at the beach area on Whitmore Lake. As so many of this summer’s mornings, it was a bit cool, but the blue skies provided an umbrella of beauty. A light breeze darkened the waters, promising the potential for an early start to our Hobie 102 program.  

Within a half hour, boats and sailors began to arrive and we progressively loaded their Hobies onto the grass, just a few feet from the sand shore. As we all assembled, we began turning the area into a landscape of Hobie sails, both new and not-so-new. Once again, just like our Hobie 101 class, the Harbor Cove Apartments had offered to supply food and drink for the whole day; and the smell of fresh-brewed coffee was in the air. 

The plan for the day was to throw a couple buoys out in the lake, and give a bit of racing instruction to those who were interested. With the gentle breeze beckoning us to the water, we all decided to push off and get out thereto take advantage of it. With the wind blowing at about 9 mph, the solo Hobie 16 sailors found the conditions to be perfect and everyone spent the next few hours raising a bit of hull! Matt took 2 passengers on board and still managed to fly the hull, spinnaker flying, as they ripped across Whitmore Lake on his Tiger! 

By noon, the event was drawing some significant attention! Passers-by stopped to talk to the sailors, and quite a few folks stopped by after their visit to Midwest Sailing. They had the opportunity to jump on a few different boats and ride them with experienced sailors, as well as jump on the Hobie Wave for a sail on their own!  

By lunch time, the apartment residents filled the deck, sunbathing and enjoying the complementary food and beer! Paul and Kim Krutty arrived after picking up their new Tiger, and sacrificed a beautiful day of sailing to be the on-the-water photographers on a jet ski. They rode up behind each of the boats and snapped numerous photos, capturing the thrill of the moment with digital photos that will most likely end up as screensavers on the fleet members’ computers! 

The wind eased slightly in the afternoon, as the sun continued to bathe us in an almost San Diego-ish temperature. The sailors were having so much fun screaming around the lake that getting them all together for any kind of on-the-water instruction was impossible. The smiles were proof enough that they were getting what they wanted! 

The huge buffet of hot dogs, burgers, chips and desserts fed the group and then some. Everyone sat around and swapped sailing stories and tuning ideas, while consuming their share of the barbeque feast. The new sailors had the perfect opportunity to pick the brain of the more experienced guys, and the non-sailors had the chance to examine the boats up close.  

Late in the afternoon, the wind began to really let up, often leaving large windless spots around the lake. Add to that, the shifting winds near shore, and the lake became a great classroom experience for everyone. Getting the boat off and back onto the beach required both patience and skill! As we all packed up, everyone commented about how much fun they had had…even though we didn’t have the chance to go through the racing drills. The event was obviously successful…you could see it on their faces! 

We are looking forward to the Swing and Sail…that should provide a boatload of laughs! We again would like to thank Midwest Sailing and the Harbor Cove Apartments for their support. There is no doubt in my mind…if I needed an apartment; I would live in a complex that offered a beach, as well as a beautiful beach house. It’s a great location. There is no doubt…we will be back.