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DOWNRIVER CRUISE
to FT. FOOTE
Our
third cruise to Ft. Foote was a little later than planned—but later
was better. Last year we
found ourselves in the presence of a near professional volleyball
player, Gigi MacLaughlin, an acquaintance of Rick Welch.
There were advantages to going on July 12 with the Alexandria
Waterfront festival that day. But,
our fleet captain Jeff made the correct call for Sunday.
Winds on Saturday were over 15 knots and would have presented
sailing and anchoring problems. Since
children were on some boats, safety is paramount.
A
lovely mid-80 degree day with NW winds of 5-8 knots at 11am greeted us.
We had 9 Lightnings with 35 passengers and crew which exceeded 8
Lightnings and 29 participants last year and 8 boats and 30 participants
in 2001. One Buccaneer
joined us, sailed by Bryan Lanier and wife Robin. They wanted in on the fun.
On the return trip, with several boats close to the Wilson
bridge, winds got very light at 3-5 kt from the SW.
Even a tow of 10 boats can be beautiful as Bryan remarked in his
e-mail message to the Lightning folks.
Some power boaters may have thought us crazy for going out in
such light winds—little did they know it was part of the plan. And, we never got stopped by the D.C. marine cops who were
checking on at least one powerboat.
Pretty good, in three years, only one tow back
The
prize for most people on a boat goes to Nabeel with seven including wife
Lura, Lura’s sister and her husband – Katie and Larry, Russ and
friend Hilary and Adam. And he got to Ft. Foote without being towed. Is he going for eight next year? Does the Lightning have a legal load limit?
David Thompson was second with five--wife Barbara, crew Joe Kimak
and his daughters Caitlin and Adrianne.
Frank Gallagher and Maryann and Jim and Joyce Dillard may have
felt lonesome with only two. Paul Maher had three friends.
Red Fehrle had wife Nancy and son Richard. New boat owner Jennifer Parrow who came by herself soon found
at least two folks on the dock looking to go sailing. She offered to take them.
Joe Warren and new crew Sam Zadeh were planning to go with the
Dillards when, suddenly, two excited people showed up—Lightning owner
Harvie Goddin and friend Heather Cameron; they were in town for just a
few days. Harvie and
Heather wanted to rent a boat, even a Flying Scot—he WAS desperate.
They were all rented out. Then
he saw us. Jeff Storck
generously agreed to allow his boat to be used if more folks came than
expected. So, off Joe went
with Sam, Harvie and Heather. Turns
out that Harvie and Heather lived in Alexandria for many years and
sailed together. She now
lives in Seattle and Havie moved to Mayesville, South Carolina 4 years
ago. He sails at Lake
Wateree Sailing Club. The
story grows stranger: Harvie had sailed with Chandler Owen many times
years ago. Chandler was
regular crew for Doc Gilbert in the Potomac Cup even after Chandler
moved to Tennessee. Chandler
has continued to sail in the Potomac Cup, skippering Lord Jim. But,
we had another strange occurrence.
Denise and her friend Cathyrn Sacra and C.J Fisher had just left
the dock when they were hailed by a woman on the dock. The woman was Jan Fox of Channel 9 news.
She and her cameraman were doing a story (a 90 second special) on
boating safety and wanted to come aboard.
Always considerate, Denise obliged.
Why she picked on Denise isn’t clear—Denise sensed that Jan
considered boaters a safety hazard and a burden on the local safety
forces. No distinction
between powerboaters and sailors was made.
Denise and C.J. were interviewed and Denise was filmed.
She was on T.V. later that night.
Unfortunately, most of us missed the interview.
Despite
the debris the anchorage site was in good shape—no sunken logs.
It’s easier to find now since the Park Service has put up a
bright orange sign at the foot of the trail.
Again some folks brought steaks for charcoal grilling and a wide
variety of fruit dishes. Those
of us who ate lightly (to be nimble in volleyball games) could hardly
resist. This writer broke
and ate a wonderful broiled kielbasa sandwich.
The
hit again was volleyball. Everyone
who wanted to play got into the games.
No ringers this year. The
sides developed at random, but play proved to be surprisingly equal. In the view of this writer, the adult star and most improved
had to be Frank Gallagher. Not
content with leading the fleet in the Spring series, he appears intent
on leading in volleyball. Several
times he set the ball up for a return, then hit winners that someone
else had set up. Some may
remember his impression of one one-legged player last year when he went
down with a thud. None of
that this year. In the
Junior division, the standout had to be 6 year old Richard Fehrle.
He served several balls using the proper form of closed thumb and
fingers. With regret, we
left the picnic grounds about 4 pm.
On
the way back Jeff arranged a tow which was setup without a problem.
Joe Warren wanted to demonstrate to those with him how not to
enter a tow line (anyway, that’s his story).
He was heading for Nabeel’s boat at 1mph and appeared out of
control. Jeff looked on
anxiouxsly, ready jump in and put his body between his boat and
Nabeel’s. The crisis
passed without damage when Russ Roberts pushed off.
There’s no doubt all participants had a good time. Some e-mails said this event was the highlight of the year. Something amusing, even bizarre always happens. Special thanks to Jeff Storck who ran the whaler in both directions. We were glad to see Ben Kuykendall back from duty in Iraq and wish him well on his next assignment to S. Korea. Can there be any doubt that we will do this again next year? How about 11 Lightnings and at least 3 other boats! |