Sailing season officially ended yesterday for "Dragonfly." We had hoped we would be able to sail into December, but as we looked at our calendar, we determined we better head to the lake or it would be after Christmas before we got there.
I had not recently looked at the weather, so I was surprised when I stuck my nose out the door and discovered it was cold...about 15 degrees according to the car thermometer.
Suz put on layers and I grabbed my gortex/thincellite hunting pants as we headed to the lake.
The wind was out of the NW almost on our nose as we arrived. We planned to take off the sails and put on the winter cover. We had winterized the head, water system, AC/heater, bilge and diesel a couple of weeks ago.
We started with the jib and then to the main. We have been doing this since 2003, so it is almost routine. We had the sails off, flaked and in the sail bags in less than an hour. We spread them out and reflaked them in the basement when we got home.
The cover went on without a hitch after Suz reminded me how it fit. The cover is in two pieces and protects D'fly from the cold and snow. We spread it out, zippered and bungied it in place.
We had everything loaded and stopped by the Rustic Oak Cabin for lunch.
Overall, we had a good sailing season. We got the thrills of sailing with reefed sails in 40+ mph winds on two different occasions. D'fly survived nicely as did we. It's encouraging to know when someday we decide to drop her in the big pond and sail the Carribiean for a couple of years.
Suz and I enjoyed many sunset cruises by ourselves and a few with others.
Ellie's heading off to college in August was one of the low points. Don't tell her that we miss her. The house is not the same without her around. We are fortunate she has a blog and regulary writes in FaceBook. She'll be home for Chrismas in a 10 days....but whose counting.
Only 110 days until next sailing season!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Better than sailing
We had a great Saturday...and we were at home and not on the boat!! I bet you have already guessed that the kids were home.
Friday, Andy and Ashlynn drove up from Austin with dog Porter to attend the MIZZOU football game. It was good to see them. Ashlynn is busy working on her PhD in environmental engineering at UT. Andy is a project engineer with National Instruments. We hadn't seen them is since May. It is fun to hear about their adventure with home improvement as they remodeled their kitchen last year and are about to complete their bathroom...the counter top should be installed soon. They have carpet ordered for the family room and a new sofa is on the way.
Amy and Sean dropped of the grand kids, Finn and Anna, on their way to St. Louis for an awards banquet. Sean had three projects that received recognition and Amy picked up an award for her firm for work in Greensburg, KS. They spent the night at a fancy downtown hotel.
We played with Finn and Anna all Friday evening. Anna fell asleep on the sofa with me while we watch a movie. She is just walking...she pushed a clothes basket all around the house and even took a few unassisted steps.
I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast Saturday morning breakfast. It was fun to catch up on all the things Andy is doing. He and Ashlynn left for the football game around 10.
We played with the grandkids, watched several movies, the NASCAR race and napped the afternoon away.
Andy is known for his pizza, so Saturday night after Amy and Sean got back from St. Louis he made a deep dish sausage/Canadian bacon and a cheesy, tomato, Canadian bacon.
We Skyped Ellie while the pizza was cooking. Ellie is a freshman at UW in Seattle. She was having a great weekend meeting new friends in her dorm and at Dawg Days.
It was good to see her.
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| From Anna Walking Sept 26 2010 |
Friday, Andy and Ashlynn drove up from Austin with dog Porter to attend the MIZZOU football game. It was good to see them. Ashlynn is busy working on her PhD in environmental engineering at UT. Andy is a project engineer with National Instruments. We hadn't seen them is since May. It is fun to hear about their adventure with home improvement as they remodeled their kitchen last year and are about to complete their bathroom...the counter top should be installed soon. They have carpet ordered for the family room and a new sofa is on the way.
Amy and Sean dropped of the grand kids, Finn and Anna, on their way to St. Louis for an awards banquet. Sean had three projects that received recognition and Amy picked up an award for her firm for work in Greensburg, KS. They spent the night at a fancy downtown hotel.
We played with Finn and Anna all Friday evening. Anna fell asleep on the sofa with me while we watch a movie. She is just walking...she pushed a clothes basket all around the house and even took a few unassisted steps.
I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast Saturday morning breakfast. It was fun to catch up on all the things Andy is doing. He and Ashlynn left for the football game around 10.
We played with the grandkids, watched several movies, the NASCAR race and napped the afternoon away.
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| From Anna Walking Sept 26 2010 |
Andy is known for his pizza, so Saturday night after Amy and Sean got back from St. Louis he made a deep dish sausage/Canadian bacon and a cheesy, tomato, Canadian bacon.
We Skyped Ellie while the pizza was cooking. Ellie is a freshman at UW in Seattle. She was having a great weekend meeting new friends in her dorm and at Dawg Days.
It was good to see her.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Perfect Sailing Weekend -- continues
We set sail for Florida Pool. The winds were a consistent 10-15 knot out of the SSE. "I'm hungry," Suz said as we entered Florida Pool. I scurried below, opened a cold Riesling, made a quick salad, sliced an apple and found a packet of Ritz crackers....a typical lunch while we sail.
A couple of glasses of wine and a little sun is all Suz needs for an afternoon nap. I sailed to the 107 bridge, tacked and sailed back across Florida Pool and back to Shaffer's Ford before Suz woke. Several sailboats were sailing across Spalding Pool. MAC II was among them! Dennis and Lois aboard MAC II spent 6 weeks driving to Alaska this summer. This was the first time we saw them at the lake since they returned. We sailed together and headed back to Florida with several other boat....Valhalla, Kokomo, MAC II and others.
It was 5 o'clock when we headed to Ski Cove and the evening raft-up. Myron and Terri aboard Endeavor had already anchored and was ready for us. We had a great evening cooking dinner and catching up with Dennis and Lois and Myron and Terri's adventures.
The moon was just rising over the eastern shore when Sandy and Tom sailed into the raft-up. Tom had spent the day reviewing an old boat in southern Iowa for Good Old Boat magazine. He reported a great sail with 15-20 knot winds.
We talked and laughed under the bright moon before finally heading to bed to dream of fair winds tomorrow.
Sunday morning broke bright and clear with a light breeze. We relaxed over breakfast and took a quick swim before weighing anchor and heading for a sail.
The winds did not disappoint us with a steady 10-12 with gusts to 22 knots. We made a quick pass across Spalding before heading to Florida Pool. In less than 3 hours we had sailed the 8 miles to the 107 bridge and back. Our only tack was to turn around at the bridge.
Good winds and good friends made it a weekend we will not soon forget.
A couple of glasses of wine and a little sun is all Suz needs for an afternoon nap. I sailed to the 107 bridge, tacked and sailed back across Florida Pool and back to Shaffer's Ford before Suz woke. Several sailboats were sailing across Spalding Pool. MAC II was among them! Dennis and Lois aboard MAC II spent 6 weeks driving to Alaska this summer. This was the first time we saw them at the lake since they returned. We sailed together and headed back to Florida with several other boat....Valhalla, Kokomo, MAC II and others.
It was 5 o'clock when we headed to Ski Cove and the evening raft-up. Myron and Terri aboard Endeavor had already anchored and was ready for us. We had a great evening cooking dinner and catching up with Dennis and Lois and Myron and Terri's adventures.
The moon was just rising over the eastern shore when Sandy and Tom sailed into the raft-up. Tom had spent the day reviewing an old boat in southern Iowa for Good Old Boat magazine. He reported a great sail with 15-20 knot winds.
We talked and laughed under the bright moon before finally heading to bed to dream of fair winds tomorrow.
Sunday morning broke bright and clear with a light breeze. We relaxed over breakfast and took a quick swim before weighing anchor and heading for a sail.
The winds did not disappoint us with a steady 10-12 with gusts to 22 knots. We made a quick pass across Spalding before heading to Florida Pool. In less than 3 hours we had sailed the 8 miles to the 107 bridge and back. Our only tack was to turn around at the bridge.
Good winds and good friends made it a weekend we will not soon forget.
Perfect Sailing Weekend
We had one of those weekends that's about a perfect as you can have.
It started a little late on Friday night. I had a 5:00 p.m. retirement reception for Al Black, a colleague for many years. The reception was in Blue Springs, near Kansas City...and about 3 hours west of Mark Twain Lake.
When Suz heard I would be going to the reception, she started looking for a ride to the lake. She was not surprised to learn that Tom and Sandy were headed up after work on Friday. They were happy to let Suz ride along.
Suz reported that they arrived a the lake at about 6:00, unpacked and stowed the supplies, and headed for Hannibal for dinner. Melissa, who owns Rustic Oak Restaurant at the lake, purchased another restaurant in Hannibal right on the Mississippi River. It's a great location with good food at a good price.
I celebrated Al's retirement and headed back to Columbia with my suburban full of passengers. It was right at 10:00 when I left my last passenger out at her car and headed for Mark Twain Lake. I gave Suz a quick call and learned they were on their way back to the marina after a great evening with Sandy and Tom. She would be ready to set sail when I arrived.
True to her word, Suz had most of the cobwebs cleared from Dragonfly when I arrived. I stowed my bags and changed into shorts and t-shirt before dropping the dock lines, unfurling the Genoa and sailing out of the slip to the light of a recently full moon. It's hard to beat a night sail with 5 knot winds, a bright moon and Suz snuggled up beside me.
We dropped anchor in Ski Cove at 1:30.
Clear skies and cool breeze awoke us the next morning.
Suz cooked pancakes while I planned the day. Surveying the cockpit and cabin top verified that a good scrubing was high on the list. Suz finished breakfast dishes as I grabbed a brush, deck cleaner and began the task. Two hours later we had a clean boat . We were both hot so took a quick dip in the lake to cool off and a quick shower on the stern swim platform to wash our hair. We were ready for the day.
I had just finished toweling off when a small John boat came around the point. As they passed about 50 ft away, the young lady on the bow flashed a big smiled and pulled down her top. I gave her a double tumbs up as they passed by.
The day was off to a good start.
It started a little late on Friday night. I had a 5:00 p.m. retirement reception for Al Black, a colleague for many years. The reception was in Blue Springs, near Kansas City...and about 3 hours west of Mark Twain Lake.
When Suz heard I would be going to the reception, she started looking for a ride to the lake. She was not surprised to learn that Tom and Sandy were headed up after work on Friday. They were happy to let Suz ride along.
Suz reported that they arrived a the lake at about 6:00, unpacked and stowed the supplies, and headed for Hannibal for dinner. Melissa, who owns Rustic Oak Restaurant at the lake, purchased another restaurant in Hannibal right on the Mississippi River. It's a great location with good food at a good price.
I celebrated Al's retirement and headed back to Columbia with my suburban full of passengers. It was right at 10:00 when I left my last passenger out at her car and headed for Mark Twain Lake. I gave Suz a quick call and learned they were on their way back to the marina after a great evening with Sandy and Tom. She would be ready to set sail when I arrived.
True to her word, Suz had most of the cobwebs cleared from Dragonfly when I arrived. I stowed my bags and changed into shorts and t-shirt before dropping the dock lines, unfurling the Genoa and sailing out of the slip to the light of a recently full moon. It's hard to beat a night sail with 5 knot winds, a bright moon and Suz snuggled up beside me.
We dropped anchor in Ski Cove at 1:30.
Clear skies and cool breeze awoke us the next morning.
Suz cooked pancakes while I planned the day. Surveying the cockpit and cabin top verified that a good scrubing was high on the list. Suz finished breakfast dishes as I grabbed a brush, deck cleaner and began the task. Two hours later we had a clean boat . We were both hot so took a quick dip in the lake to cool off and a quick shower on the stern swim platform to wash our hair. We were ready for the day.
I had just finished toweling off when a small John boat came around the point. As they passed about 50 ft away, the young lady on the bow flashed a big smiled and pulled down her top. I gave her a double tumbs up as they passed by.
The day was off to a good start.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
5 o'clock on Mark Twain Lake
It's been a busy summer away from the lake. Thursday night we listened to the weather...Saturday high about 88 with 5-10 mph winds. Perfect!
We were packed and on the road by 5 o'clock Friday night.
The spiders and bugs had made a mess of the boat. I turned on the AC to cool her down. Suz grabbed a scrub brush while I put stuff away down below and packed the frig. We finished about the same time so Suz started the diesel as I cast off the line and we motored out of the slip.
Five minutes later we were raising the sails to enjoy at nice evening sail to Ski Cove. There was only one other sailboat on the lake. It was Mucky Duck!!
Mucky Duck sat at the end of F Dock unsailed for almost ten years before being drug out and up to the upper storage lot. She was purchased and restored last year. This was the first time I had seen her on the lake. She looked great.
As we entered Spalding Pool Suz looked at her watch and said, "It's way past 5 o'clock!"That was my clue to get a Marguerite.
We arrived in Ski Cove just a the sun was setting. We enjoyed the last few minutes of sunshine, dropped the anchor and then cooked supper -- salad with garden fresh tomatoes, grilled pork loin, and potato wedges.
The stars were shining brightly as we went to bed. It was good to be back on the lake.
We were packed and on the road by 5 o'clock Friday night.
The spiders and bugs had made a mess of the boat. I turned on the AC to cool her down. Suz grabbed a scrub brush while I put stuff away down below and packed the frig. We finished about the same time so Suz started the diesel as I cast off the line and we motored out of the slip.
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| From August 8 |
Five minutes later we were raising the sails to enjoy at nice evening sail to Ski Cove. There was only one other sailboat on the lake. It was Mucky Duck!!
Mucky Duck sat at the end of F Dock unsailed for almost ten years before being drug out and up to the upper storage lot. She was purchased and restored last year. This was the first time I had seen her on the lake. She looked great.
As we entered Spalding Pool Suz looked at her watch and said, "It's way past 5 o'clock!"That was my clue to get a Marguerite.
We arrived in Ski Cove just a the sun was setting. We enjoyed the last few minutes of sunshine, dropped the anchor and then cooked supper -- salad with garden fresh tomatoes, grilled pork loin, and potato wedges.
The stars were shining brightly as we went to bed. It was good to be back on the lake.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Seattle
Our daughter Ellie is enrolled in the University of Washington. She hopes to study bio-medical engineering. We traveled with Ellie to freshmen student and parent orientation. Ellie stayed in the dorm and had a two day program.
Suz and I had Thursday free so we explored downtown Seattle and took the ferry to Bainbridge Island. We saw the fish and farmers market, had a great lunch of clam chowder and a glass of wine before boarding the ferry.
"Let's Go Sailing" was a large sailboat -- we guessed about 60 ft -- available for a 2 or 3 hour sail. We saw it in dock the out on Puget Sound.
Bainbridge was a nice island. We took the harbor walk to the marina and enjoyed the weather.
Suz and I had Thursday free so we explored downtown Seattle and took the ferry to Bainbridge Island. We saw the fish and farmers market, had a great lunch of clam chowder and a glass of wine before boarding the ferry.
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| From Seattle |
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| From Seattle |
"Let's Go Sailing" was a large sailboat -- we guessed about 60 ft -- available for a 2 or 3 hour sail. We saw it in dock the out on Puget Sound.
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| From Seattle |
Bainbridge was a nice island. We took the harbor walk to the marina and enjoyed the weather.
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| From Seattle |
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Diving in San Salvador - the rest of the story
Suz visited the local clinic on Monday morning. They confirmed a small hole in her ear drum. They gave her several medicines and sent her on the way with instructions not to dive for 4-6 weeks. Total bill was about $45.
Suz napped and laid in the sun for a couple of days then was ready to be on the water. Dennis offered her a pair of soft earplugs to keep water out of her ear. She accepted the offer and snorkeled above us while we dove. She saw many fish including a shark and swam with a turtle.
Diving the rest of the week went without a hitch. Dwain, Capt. Nemo's Dive Shop, offered to replace Suz as my dive buddy. We slowed down and focused our dives on exploring the coral and sand for the wild and wonderful varieties of fish. The highlights were being up close to French and Queen Angelfish; finding a very small juvenile spotted drum fish (to small for my photographic skills); and swimming with a small hawkbill turtle. Oh yes, we did see a hammerhead shark and several reef shark...and there was the night dive....
As I became more relaxed, my air lasted longer and I had better buoyancy control. I ended the week with 14 lbs of weight...4 lbs less than the first day. I was one of the last ones to surface on a couple of dives!
Our adventure ended with our flight back to Nassau then on to Atlanta and St. Louis. I wonder when our dive gear will find its way home?
A big THANK YOU to Dwain and Mary at Capt. Nemo's for a great adventure.
Check our Picasa site for pictures...more coming just as soon as I find time to work through them!
http://picasaweb.google.com/DragonflyB331/SanSalvador#
Orange filefish...I think
Site where Columbus is thought to have anchored when he "discovered" America.
Dwain and a turtle.
Mermaid Suz swimming above us as we dove.
Suz napped and laid in the sun for a couple of days then was ready to be on the water. Dennis offered her a pair of soft earplugs to keep water out of her ear. She accepted the offer and snorkeled above us while we dove. She saw many fish including a shark and swam with a turtle.
Diving the rest of the week went without a hitch. Dwain, Capt. Nemo's Dive Shop, offered to replace Suz as my dive buddy. We slowed down and focused our dives on exploring the coral and sand for the wild and wonderful varieties of fish. The highlights were being up close to French and Queen Angelfish; finding a very small juvenile spotted drum fish (to small for my photographic skills); and swimming with a small hawkbill turtle. Oh yes, we did see a hammerhead shark and several reef shark...and there was the night dive....
As I became more relaxed, my air lasted longer and I had better buoyancy control. I ended the week with 14 lbs of weight...4 lbs less than the first day. I was one of the last ones to surface on a couple of dives!
Our adventure ended with our flight back to Nassau then on to Atlanta and St. Louis. I wonder when our dive gear will find its way home?
A big THANK YOU to Dwain and Mary at Capt. Nemo's for a great adventure.
Check our Picasa site for pictures...more coming just as soon as I find time to work through them!
http://picasaweb.google.com/DragonflyB331/SanSalvador#
Orange filefish...I think
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| From San Salvador |
Site where Columbus is thought to have anchored when he "discovered" America.
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| From San Salvador |
Dwain and a turtle.
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| From San Salvador |
Mermaid Suz swimming above us as we dove.
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| From San Salvador |
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Diving San Salvador, Bahamas
We have made it to San Salvador, Bahamas. We plan to dive for a week.
We flew out of St. Louis early yesterday morning for our dive vacation in the Bahamas. We are diving with 23 others out of Riding Rock Resort on San Salvador. San Salvador is reported to be the island where Columbus first landed in America.
Our adventure began when we reached Nassau about noon. We were supposed to meet a guide and board small plane for the hop to San Salvador. We checked through customs, retrieved our dive bag and headed for the charter. Our guide was waiting for us. We sailed through check-in and even had time for a hamburger.
Then the wait began. First, we were said to have missed our 1:30 flight. I looked at my watch. It was 1:45. Hummm. No problem mon! There is a 4:30 flight.
4:30 arrived and went…no flight. At 5:00 we learned the plane had arrived and was refueling. It held 19, so who wanted to go on the first flight? A second plane was right behind the first, so only a short delay was expected. Dwain selected the 19 and we prepared to go.
5:30 – we’ll be boarding in 5 minutes.
5:45 --- just a few more minutes…they had to match luggage to passengers.
6:00 – we’re off!! We rounded the corner and saw a VERY SMALL 19 seat plane. We crowded in and roared down the runway. Everyone felt like they needed to raise our feet in unison so we could lift off! Finally we were airborne.
An hour later we landed on San Salvador. We taxied to the terminal, safe and happy to be on the ground. We unloaded and waited for our luggage. 12, 13, 14, 15…..where’s my luggage? Back in Nassau.
No problem mon…it will be on the next flight.
We checked in, found our room, had a cup of rum punch at the reception and sat down to dinner. Suz had grouper, I had steak. We were just getting our food when the remaining 6 arrived…without our luggage. A small cardboard box was all the luggage that had arrived with the others! Eight of the 21 divers and two non-divers were without luggage.
Suz and I had made a good decision…we kept our carry on with us for the hop to San Salvador. We had our clothes and Suz’s dive gear.
Lynn, our dive master, said not to worry. She had enough equipment that we could all dive.
We were up early on Sunday July 4. A quick breakfast and we were off to the boat. It took about an hour to sort through all the rental equipment and get us outfitted. I guessed on about 12 lbs of weight as I would dive in swimsuit and t-shirt…no wet suit. Suz had her own equipment so she was set.
We hit the water and sank to the bottom. I was about right going down. We headed along the reef, and turned around when I had about 1500 lbs left (half tank). Dwain saw us, and switched with Mary and headed back with me. We arrived back at the boat without a hitch.
We saw several parrot fish, black beauty angelfish and a lot of black durgeon.
Second dive was not as successful. We swam along the reef to a gap then headed back. I was low on air (less than 1500) so headed back. You use less air at a shallower depth so we accessed to 30 feet. Unfortunately, I couldn’t control my buoyancy. I didn’t have enough weight or couldn’t get all the air out of my BC, so I struggled to say down for my safety stop. Heavy breathing didn’t help either. But we made it back to the boat safely.
Our luggage arrived as we finished lunch. We swapped equipment and cruised out for our afternoon dive. I guessed on 16 lbs weights for my equipment with the wet suit. We jumped into the water and tried to descend. I was a little light, so had problems going down. I had to stop and clear my ears a couple of extra times. On previous dives we had swam out with the reef to our left and back with it on our right. Our dive master took us around a hump and headed out. When I got down to 1500 lbs, I didn’t have a clue where I was. I ascended to 35-40 feet and hovered waiting for the dive master to turn around. Suz came up to me pointing at her ear. I finally got the dive masters attention and we headed back.
We learned that Suz had gone over a ridge and tried to equalize as she headed back down. She heard a “pop” and felt cold water in her ear when she tried to equalize.
We guessed she had did something to her ear drum and later confirmed it as we filled her ear with water and it bubbled when she held her nose and blew.
Oh well, no pain, but she is done for the week. Now she has a chance to enjoy the beach!
We flew out of St. Louis early yesterday morning for our dive vacation in the Bahamas. We are diving with 23 others out of Riding Rock Resort on San Salvador. San Salvador is reported to be the island where Columbus first landed in America.
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| From San Salvador |
Our adventure began when we reached Nassau about noon. We were supposed to meet a guide and board small plane for the hop to San Salvador. We checked through customs, retrieved our dive bag and headed for the charter. Our guide was waiting for us. We sailed through check-in and even had time for a hamburger.
Then the wait began. First, we were said to have missed our 1:30 flight. I looked at my watch. It was 1:45. Hummm. No problem mon! There is a 4:30 flight.
4:30 arrived and went…no flight. At 5:00 we learned the plane had arrived and was refueling. It held 19, so who wanted to go on the first flight? A second plane was right behind the first, so only a short delay was expected. Dwain selected the 19 and we prepared to go.
5:30 – we’ll be boarding in 5 minutes.
5:45 --- just a few more minutes…they had to match luggage to passengers.
6:00 – we’re off!! We rounded the corner and saw a VERY SMALL 19 seat plane. We crowded in and roared down the runway. Everyone felt like they needed to raise our feet in unison so we could lift off! Finally we were airborne.
An hour later we landed on San Salvador. We taxied to the terminal, safe and happy to be on the ground. We unloaded and waited for our luggage. 12, 13, 14, 15…..where’s my luggage? Back in Nassau.
No problem mon…it will be on the next flight.
We checked in, found our room, had a cup of rum punch at the reception and sat down to dinner. Suz had grouper, I had steak. We were just getting our food when the remaining 6 arrived…without our luggage. A small cardboard box was all the luggage that had arrived with the others! Eight of the 21 divers and two non-divers were without luggage.
Suz and I had made a good decision…we kept our carry on with us for the hop to San Salvador. We had our clothes and Suz’s dive gear.
Lynn, our dive master, said not to worry. She had enough equipment that we could all dive.
We were up early on Sunday July 4. A quick breakfast and we were off to the boat. It took about an hour to sort through all the rental equipment and get us outfitted. I guessed on about 12 lbs of weight as I would dive in swimsuit and t-shirt…no wet suit. Suz had her own equipment so she was set.
We hit the water and sank to the bottom. I was about right going down. We headed along the reef, and turned around when I had about 1500 lbs left (half tank). Dwain saw us, and switched with Mary and headed back with me. We arrived back at the boat without a hitch.
We saw several parrot fish, black beauty angelfish and a lot of black durgeon.
Second dive was not as successful. We swam along the reef to a gap then headed back. I was low on air (less than 1500) so headed back. You use less air at a shallower depth so we accessed to 30 feet. Unfortunately, I couldn’t control my buoyancy. I didn’t have enough weight or couldn’t get all the air out of my BC, so I struggled to say down for my safety stop. Heavy breathing didn’t help either. But we made it back to the boat safely.
Our luggage arrived as we finished lunch. We swapped equipment and cruised out for our afternoon dive. I guessed on 16 lbs weights for my equipment with the wet suit. We jumped into the water and tried to descend. I was a little light, so had problems going down. I had to stop and clear my ears a couple of extra times. On previous dives we had swam out with the reef to our left and back with it on our right. Our dive master took us around a hump and headed out. When I got down to 1500 lbs, I didn’t have a clue where I was. I ascended to 35-40 feet and hovered waiting for the dive master to turn around. Suz came up to me pointing at her ear. I finally got the dive masters attention and we headed back.
We learned that Suz had gone over a ridge and tried to equalize as she headed back down. She heard a “pop” and felt cold water in her ear when she tried to equalize.
We guessed she had did something to her ear drum and later confirmed it as we filled her ear with water and it bubbled when she held her nose and blew.
Oh well, no pain, but she is done for the week. Now she has a chance to enjoy the beach!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Will and Rob
Suz and Ellie went back to Cunningham, KS this weekend to celebrate her dad's birthday. They stopped by KC and spent the night with Amy, Sean, Finn and Anna. The took Finn with them on Friday. Anna, Amy and Sean went after work on Friday.
Andy and Ashlynn drove up from Austin, TX to join the celebration.
I had several projects and meetings on Friday, so I stayed behind and decided to sail on Saturday. I needed a crew, so I asked Rob to crew with me. Cindy was out of town, so Rob and Will signed on for the day.
We had the sacrifice cloth on our Genoa come loose. We tried to repair it on Suz's home sewing machine, but it was not powerful enough to stitch through all the layers of sunbrella and sail.
Sandy volunteered to try to repair the sail with the sewing machine on their boat, Higher Porpoise. I brought the sail back to the lake on Friday night. Sandy pulled out her machine, settled down with the sail around her and within about 10 minutes.
Tom helped my get it back on Dragonfly! Thanks Sandy.
We celebrated by driving to Hannibal and having dinner at Mellisa's new Rustic Oak Restaurant on the Mississippi River.
Andy and Ashlynn drove up from Austin, TX to join the celebration.
I had several projects and meetings on Friday, so I stayed behind and decided to sail on Saturday. I needed a crew, so I asked Rob to crew with me. Cindy was out of town, so Rob and Will signed on for the day.
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| From June 25 |
Sandy volunteered to try to repair the sail with the sewing machine on their boat, Higher Porpoise. I brought the sail back to the lake on Friday night. Sandy pulled out her machine, settled down with the sail around her and within about 10 minutes.
Tom helped my get it back on Dragonfly! Thanks Sandy.
We celebrated by driving to Hannibal and having dinner at Mellisa's new Rustic Oak Restaurant on the Mississippi River.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Summer Sailstice
Suz had Friday off, so we ran up to the lake on Thursday night. We cast off the docklines and sailed to Florida. We enjoyed a great sunset. Unfortunately, the pictures don't do the sunset justice.
We sailed by the light of the half moon back to Ski Cove an anchored for the night. I had to work Friday, so we enjoyed the sunrise on the ride back to the dock.
MTLSA had our Commodore's Cup and Summer Sailstice celebration this weekend. Trailor sailors from the Rockford, Ill joined our event. See more pictures at MTLSA photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/MTLSAphotos
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| From June 19 |
We sailed by the light of the half moon back to Ski Cove an anchored for the night. I had to work Friday, so we enjoyed the sunrise on the ride back to the dock.
MTLSA had our Commodore's Cup and Summer Sailstice celebration this weekend. Trailor sailors from the Rockford, Ill joined our event. See more pictures at MTLSA photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/MTLSAphotos
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Ellie's Graduation
We have missed a few sailing weekends this spring as Ellie is a senior in high school. She graduated on May 29 as class salutatorian. My totally unbiased observations based on years of training and experience is that she did a great job with her speech! She was articulate and funny; very expressive in her gestures...yes, she takes after her mom.
Siblings Amy and Andy and their families joined the celebration.
Here is Suz with Ashlynn, Amy holding Anna, and Ellie
Ellie is off to University of Washington this fall where she plans to major in biomedical engineering...yes, she takes after her mom.
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| From Ellie Graduation 2010 |
Siblings Amy and Andy and their families joined the celebration.
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| From Ellie Graduation 2010 |
Here is Suz with Ashlynn, Amy holding Anna, and Ellie
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| From Ellie Graduation 2010 |
Ellie is off to University of Washington this fall where she plans to major in biomedical engineering...yes, she takes after her mom.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sailing on Mark Twain Lake
Warm weather has finally come to Missouri. It had been wet and rainy with highs in the 60's. The sun came out last week and it warmed to the high 80's. This gave Suz a chance to get some sun.
Sunday we had good sailing with consistent winds of 12-15 knots.
A video of our May 23 sailing is available atMTLSA YouTube site
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Sunday we had good sailing with consistent winds of 12-15 knots.
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| From May 5 |
A video of our May 23 sailing is available atMTLSA YouTube site
Spinnaker
We have been wanting to buy a spinnaker to fly on light wind days. We found a used on at Bacon Sails online. It came with a dousing sock that should make raising and lower the sail easier.
Here is a video of our first try.
We have learned that it works best for Suz to be at the bow and manage the spinnaker. Mark can pull up the halyard and trim the gib sheet. We attach a block to the toe rail near the wench.
We also learned we need to be careful of the wind speed. We tried to fly it in 12+ knots of wind and almost ran aground trying to bing it down.
It will be fun to learn more as we sail this summer.
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| From April 11 Thursday nite race |
Here is a video of our first try.
We have learned that it works best for Suz to be at the bow and manage the spinnaker. Mark can pull up the halyard and trim the gib sheet. We attach a block to the toe rail near the wench.
We also learned we need to be careful of the wind speed. We tried to fly it in 12+ knots of wind and almost ran aground trying to bing it down.
It will be fun to learn more as we sail this summer.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Road Trip to Texas
Last week was spring break at Hallsville and University of Missouri. We hadn't seen Ashlynn and Andy since Christmas, so we decided a road trip was in order. We picked up Ellie when she got off work from her evening shift at Ruby Tuesday's and headed south.
We arrived in Austin 14 hours later after driving all night...just in time for lunch. Rudy's BBQ seemed like the best option. We were not disappointed.
Andy took off Monday to show us the area around Texas. We headed SW of Austin to the Hill Wine Country. We stopped by several wineries and sampled several different wines. Our overall impression was that the wines were good, but the wine tastings were not.
Maybe it was a Monday afternoon, but the servers didn’t appear to know much about the wineries or wine and were not in a very talkative mood. Our last stop at Wood Rose was the best. The young lady was happy to see us and knew the basics about her wine. They had a nice outside patio and reasonably priced cheese and cracker plate.
Back in Austin and Andy cooked us his famous sausage pizza for supper. It was great!
Thanks to Ashlynn, Andy and Porter for a great stay!
We arrived in Austin 14 hours later after driving all night...just in time for lunch. Rudy's BBQ seemed like the best option. We were not disappointed.
Andy took off Monday to show us the area around Texas. We headed SW of Austin to the Hill Wine Country. We stopped by several wineries and sampled several different wines. Our overall impression was that the wines were good, but the wine tastings were not.
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| From Spring Break 2010 |
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| From Spring Break 2010 |
Thanks to Ashlynn, Andy and Porter for a great stay!
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| From Spring Break 2010 |
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sailing Season Here at Last!
Spring weather finally made it to Missouri. When a late afternoon meeting was cancelled, I called Suz. "Let's go sailing!" She shut off her computer and headed home. We were packed and headed to the lake listening to Jimmy Buffet and Eric Stone.
We plotted and planned to be as efficient as we could be to minimize the time in the slip and mazimize the time sailing. We arrived at the marina at about 4:45. To our surprise, Sail La Vie was sailing out of her slip!
We grabbed a cart and headed for "Dragonfly." Our plan was flawless. Suz released the bungee cords on the winter cover while I pulled up the bubbler. We folded the cover and threw it in the cart. I ducked below, turned on the battery power, opened the engine through hulls and grabbed the Genoa while Suz opened the lazarette for the gib sheets and wench handle, and to stow the companion way doors, pedestal cover and wench covers.
We had just finished hoisting the genoa when we heard an excited "Ahoy Sailors!" Shirla, Dennis and their little dog Fritz were on the dock. "Come aboard" Suz instructed as she started the diesel. I caste off the dock lines and glanced at my watch...5:15. We had made great time.
The warm breeze blew us gently down the lake. A bottle of wine later, we returned to the dock. It was a short sail, but a good one. Sailing season is here at last.
We plotted and planned to be as efficient as we could be to minimize the time in the slip and mazimize the time sailing. We arrived at the marina at about 4:45. To our surprise, Sail La Vie was sailing out of her slip!
We grabbed a cart and headed for "Dragonfly." Our plan was flawless. Suz released the bungee cords on the winter cover while I pulled up the bubbler. We folded the cover and threw it in the cart. I ducked below, turned on the battery power, opened the engine through hulls and grabbed the Genoa while Suz opened the lazarette for the gib sheets and wench handle, and to stow the companion way doors, pedestal cover and wench covers.
We had just finished hoisting the genoa when we heard an excited "Ahoy Sailors!" Shirla, Dennis and their little dog Fritz were on the dock. "Come aboard" Suz instructed as she started the diesel. I caste off the dock lines and glanced at my watch...5:15. We had made great time.
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| Suz at the helm with a glass of wine March 18 |
The warm breeze blew us gently down the lake. A bottle of wine later, we returned to the dock. It was a short sail, but a good one. Sailing season is here at last.
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| Dragonfly back in her slip as the sun sets March 18 |
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Let's go Sailing!
That's what Suz said when I got home from a week at an out of state conference. "It was 55 degrees and sunny today. It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow.
I looked at the weather on my PDA...cold, windy with a chance of rain. Oh well, it had been several weeks since we had been up to Dragonfly. It would be fun to go up to the lake.
Suz was up early and ready to go. She had on her new Nautica jacket, Lattitude & Attitudes "Love for Sailing" t-shirt and new West Marine boat shoes. She gave me time for a cup of coffee before we pulled out the sails and new safety tether and head for the boat.
"What's that?" Suz said with dissapointment as we pulled into the marina parking lot. The lake was covered with ice. Only the marina was open.
"Maybe we can still put on the sails and motor through the marina to open water on the north," Suz suggested as we loaded the sails in a cart and headed for the boat. Her plans changed quickly when we got to Dragonfly. The wind blowing off the ice was cold!
We stowed the sails, checked the other sailboats in the marina and headed to lunch at the Rustic Oak Cabin before heading home.
The weather forecast suggests the ice will be gone in a few days.
Sea you at the lake soon.
http://picasaweb.google.com/MTLSAphotos/March6#
I looked at the weather on my PDA...cold, windy with a chance of rain. Oh well, it had been several weeks since we had been up to Dragonfly. It would be fun to go up to the lake.
Suz was up early and ready to go. She had on her new Nautica jacket, Lattitude & Attitudes "Love for Sailing" t-shirt and new West Marine boat shoes. She gave me time for a cup of coffee before we pulled out the sails and new safety tether and head for the boat.
"What's that?" Suz said with dissapointment as we pulled into the marina parking lot. The lake was covered with ice. Only the marina was open.
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| From March 6 |
"Maybe we can still put on the sails and motor through the marina to open water on the north," Suz suggested as we loaded the sails in a cart and headed for the boat. Her plans changed quickly when we got to Dragonfly. The wind blowing off the ice was cold!
We stowed the sails, checked the other sailboats in the marina and headed to lunch at the Rustic Oak Cabin before heading home.
The weather forecast suggests the ice will be gone in a few days.
Sea you at the lake soon.
http://picasaweb.google.com/MTLSAphotos/March6#
Thursday, February 11, 2010
What's for dinner?
Our friends always wonder how we can go to the lake and sail every weekend, rain or shine. "Don't you get tired of sandwiches and cold meals?" they ask.
They don't believe me when I tell them we eat better on the boat than at home. At home we always seem to be in a hurry, get home late, or just don't seem to have time to cook.
It's different on Dragonfly. We are more relaxed. We take time to enjoy the evening on the lake, the friendship of fellow sailors and a good dinner.
Our typical dinner consists of a garden salad, cooked vegetables and grilled meat. We have a Magma Marine Stove & Gas BBQ. We bought it several years ago for about $125 from West Marine. The 14" grill is great for vegetables and meat.
We use a variety of vegetables...whatever is fresh and in season at the local grocery store. Last weekend they had fresh yellow squash, baby carrots, onions, mushrooms and new red potatoes. Fresh green beans are often in the mix. We cut the veggies into bite size pieces and place in an aluminum foil cooking bag.
Lay out a double layer of foil on the counter ...about 18" long. Place the diced veggies in the middle. Add about 2 table spoons of butter/margarine, pull the ends of the foil together and roll to seal the top. Roll one end together to seal. Add about a 1/4 cup of water or your favorite marinade...we like teriyaki or Italian Dressing. Seal the bag.
We cook the bag on the Magma BBQ. Heat the BBQ on high with lid on for 2 minutes. Put on the vegetable bag and turn the heat to medium. They are cooked in about 20 minutes for a small bag for two. Two small bags or a large bag for 4 takes an extra 5 minutes.
We like to cook pork chops, sirloin steaks or chicken. Marinated in teriyaki or Italian dressing complements the vegetables. We marinade while the veggies are cooking.
Remove the vegetable bag and add the meat. One inch thick steaks cook to medium in about 5 minutes per side. Pork chops are done in about 7 minutes per side. Boneless chicken breasts cook in 4-5 minutes per side.
Add a good merlot, pinot noir, or white dinner wine and we have as good a meal as we can buy in a nice restaurant.
They don't believe me when I tell them we eat better on the boat than at home. At home we always seem to be in a hurry, get home late, or just don't seem to have time to cook.
It's different on Dragonfly. We are more relaxed. We take time to enjoy the evening on the lake, the friendship of fellow sailors and a good dinner.
Our typical dinner consists of a garden salad, cooked vegetables and grilled meat. We have a Magma Marine Stove & Gas BBQ. We bought it several years ago for about $125 from West Marine. The 14" grill is great for vegetables and meat.
We use a variety of vegetables...whatever is fresh and in season at the local grocery store. Last weekend they had fresh yellow squash, baby carrots, onions, mushrooms and new red potatoes. Fresh green beans are often in the mix. We cut the veggies into bite size pieces and place in an aluminum foil cooking bag.
Lay out a double layer of foil on the counter ...about 18" long. Place the diced veggies in the middle. Add about 2 table spoons of butter/margarine, pull the ends of the foil together and roll to seal the top. Roll one end together to seal. Add about a 1/4 cup of water or your favorite marinade...we like teriyaki or Italian Dressing. Seal the bag.
We cook the bag on the Magma BBQ. Heat the BBQ on high with lid on for 2 minutes. Put on the vegetable bag and turn the heat to medium. They are cooked in about 20 minutes for a small bag for two. Two small bags or a large bag for 4 takes an extra 5 minutes.
We like to cook pork chops, sirloin steaks or chicken. Marinated in teriyaki or Italian dressing complements the vegetables. We marinade while the veggies are cooking.
Remove the vegetable bag and add the meat. One inch thick steaks cook to medium in about 5 minutes per side. Pork chops are done in about 7 minutes per side. Boneless chicken breasts cook in 4-5 minutes per side.
Add a good merlot, pinot noir, or white dinner wine and we have as good a meal as we can buy in a nice restaurant.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Mom’s homemade bread!
I walked into the back door of Mom’s house on Christmas Eve and stepped back 40 years to my childhood. The aroma was unmistakable. Mom was baking bread! Growing up in south central Kansas, we were surrounded by wheat fields. Mom baked bread 2-3 times a week to feed Dad, my six brothers, a sister and me.
There’s nothing like a slice of fresh bread just out of the oven topped with real butter and homemade sand hill plumb jelly!
I gave Mom a hug and asked if she needed help with the bread. She smiled and said all that was left was to slice it. I was good at that. As we sampled a piece or two, we discussed her favorite recipes and techniques she used to make it raise just right and bake into a golden brown loaf. She lamented the fact that she couldn't make as good a loaf as she used to. She uses Crisco shortening now. Yes, it was a vegetable base and contained no cholesterol. But it didn't make as good a loaf of bread as lard! We agreed fried chicken was also better with lard!
Suz and I had been thinking about making bread on “Dragonfly.” We have an oven, cook biscuits for breakfast, but never got around to bread. At home we have a bread maker and make bread for pizza crusts, “Aunt Viv’s” cinnamon rolls. Suz used to make a lot of bread when we farmed in the late 70’s.
Wouldn't fresh bread be great with a hearty stew on those early spring sails that are just around the corner?
So with the Super Bowl a week behind us, I hit the web and started searching for bread recipes for cruisers. Suz pulled out her essential cruisers recipe cookbook she had just bought at Strictly Sail in Chicago. We also pulled out a couple of old recipe books including a 1974 version of “Betty Crocker” we received for a wedding gift.
Our criteria was a good bread, few ingredients, and easy to make one loaf. We settled on a small version of Mom’s recipe.
1 cup flour
1 ½ tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon margarine
1 ½ to 2 cups additional flour
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the margarine to the water and heat in the microwave to 125 degrees to melt the margarine.
Combine water/margarine with dry ingredients. Add additional flour until it starts to make a ball. Dump onto a floured cabinet and kneed in additional flour until it the dough is soft and silky, but not sticky.
Put back into the bowl and let rise until it doubles. We heated the oven to 100 degrees, turned it off and place the bowl inside. It took about half an hour.
Punch the dough down and dump out onto the floured cabinet. Form into a loaf and place in a greased bread pan. Let rise until it doubles again. We put it back into the warm oven for another 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. More detailed description can be found in any good cookbook.
The bread turned out great on the first try! Almost as good as Mom’s.
As we finished our second slice, we began to plot other options. One had used beer. Suz always has Bailey’s Irish Cream on board. One suggested olive oil and Italian seasoning. What about “Aunt Viv’s” cinnamon rolls?
We decided on beer bread as the second option. We used the same recipe as above, substituting a cup of Killian’s Red Irish Beer for the water. Everything else was the same.
It was also great! It had a little more of a “yeasty” taste. The color was also a little darker.
This was a fun afternoon project. We are looking forward to more experimenting and have fresh bread on the boat this spring.
“How would you make Bailey’s bread?” Suz wondered out loud. Would you use ¾ cup of water and ¼ cup of Bailey’s; or substitute Bailey’s for the tablespoon of butter; or …..
An update... more bread
We have tried several different recipes for bread over the last few years. We've found an Italian dried tomato bread. It goes great with spaghetti, lasagna and most soups and chilies.
Italian Dried Tomato Bread
1 cup flour
1 ½ tsp. yeast
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
¼ cup diced dried tomato's
¾ cup water
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg
1 ½ to 2 cups additional flour
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, Italian seasoning, and tomato's. Mix the olive oil and egg with warm water.
Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients. Add additional flour until it starts to make a ball. Dump onto a floured cabinet and kneed in additional flour until it the dough is soft and silky, but not sticky.
Follow the instructions above to form the loaf and bake.
Enjoy!!
There’s nothing like a slice of fresh bread just out of the oven topped with real butter and homemade sand hill plumb jelly!
I gave Mom a hug and asked if she needed help with the bread. She smiled and said all that was left was to slice it. I was good at that. As we sampled a piece or two, we discussed her favorite recipes and techniques she used to make it raise just right and bake into a golden brown loaf. She lamented the fact that she couldn't make as good a loaf as she used to. She uses Crisco shortening now. Yes, it was a vegetable base and contained no cholesterol. But it didn't make as good a loaf of bread as lard! We agreed fried chicken was also better with lard!
Suz and I had been thinking about making bread on “Dragonfly.” We have an oven, cook biscuits for breakfast, but never got around to bread. At home we have a bread maker and make bread for pizza crusts, “Aunt Viv’s” cinnamon rolls. Suz used to make a lot of bread when we farmed in the late 70’s.
Wouldn't fresh bread be great with a hearty stew on those early spring sails that are just around the corner?
So with the Super Bowl a week behind us, I hit the web and started searching for bread recipes for cruisers. Suz pulled out her essential cruisers recipe cookbook she had just bought at Strictly Sail in Chicago. We also pulled out a couple of old recipe books including a 1974 version of “Betty Crocker” we received for a wedding gift.
Our criteria was a good bread, few ingredients, and easy to make one loaf. We settled on a small version of Mom’s recipe.
1 cup flour
1 ½ tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon margarine
1 ½ to 2 cups additional flour
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the margarine to the water and heat in the microwave to 125 degrees to melt the margarine.
Combine water/margarine with dry ingredients. Add additional flour until it starts to make a ball. Dump onto a floured cabinet and kneed in additional flour until it the dough is soft and silky, but not sticky.
Put back into the bowl and let rise until it doubles. We heated the oven to 100 degrees, turned it off and place the bowl inside. It took about half an hour.
Punch the dough down and dump out onto the floured cabinet. Form into a loaf and place in a greased bread pan. Let rise until it doubles again. We put it back into the warm oven for another 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. More detailed description can be found in any good cookbook.
The bread turned out great on the first try! Almost as good as Mom’s.
As we finished our second slice, we began to plot other options. One had used beer. Suz always has Bailey’s Irish Cream on board. One suggested olive oil and Italian seasoning. What about “Aunt Viv’s” cinnamon rolls?
We decided on beer bread as the second option. We used the same recipe as above, substituting a cup of Killian’s Red Irish Beer for the water. Everything else was the same.
It was also great! It had a little more of a “yeasty” taste. The color was also a little darker.
This was a fun afternoon project. We are looking forward to more experimenting and have fresh bread on the boat this spring.
“How would you make Bailey’s bread?” Suz wondered out loud. Would you use ¾ cup of water and ¼ cup of Bailey’s; or substitute Bailey’s for the tablespoon of butter; or …..
An update... more bread
We have tried several different recipes for bread over the last few years. We've found an Italian dried tomato bread. It goes great with spaghetti, lasagna and most soups and chilies.
Italian Dried Tomato Bread
1 cup flour
1 ½ tsp. yeast
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
¼ cup diced dried tomato's
¾ cup water
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg
1 ½ to 2 cups additional flour
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, Italian seasoning, and tomato's. Mix the olive oil and egg with warm water.
Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients. Add additional flour until it starts to make a ball. Dump onto a floured cabinet and kneed in additional flour until it the dough is soft and silky, but not sticky.
Follow the instructions above to form the loaf and bake.
Enjoy!!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Welcome to our blog
Welcome to "Dragonfly" a Beneteau 331 - hull #241. We purchased "Dragonfly" in March 2003. We sail out of Mark Twain Lake in NE Missouri. This blog is designed to share events, thoughts, improvements and experiences as we learn to sail.
The Captain and First Mate are Suzanne and Mark Stillwell.
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