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I took my "new" boat for a sail today in some lovely warm autumn weather before it turns bad. Here's my blog posting:
After hauling the boat up the slipway, I got a bit sweaty, but took a selfie all the same - 13 months.
It's still growing...
Anthony
Hi Anthony,
Looks like you had a great day to sail and you sure do look the part with that shirt and hair! Your hair looks fantastic at this juncture so I'm sure your planning on going for more length ;)Thanks for the update and showing us you vessel :)Cheers
Mârk
Mark,
Many thanks for the kind words. I seem to have taken on the image of the Sea Dog, and so I bought a pirate-style tricorne hat for the big boat gatherings in Brittany next year. My hair will be much longer by May and I trust all-ponytailable. It will alleviate much suffering as I comb and brush my hair.
Indeed, I plan on going to mid-back. Any more than that and it will be difficult to look after, as I am often outdoors and in wind. I have just finished making the adaptations to my trailer for this boat to make transport and launching much easier. The boat weighs a little less than I do! I hope still to get a few outings before the real winter sets in.
Anthony
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Hi again Anthony,
That will look so cool with the hat and your longer hair by next year!You certainly will be the standout at the gathering which could be a good or bad thing I suppose.LOL.Depends how much you enjoy being in the limelight;)Oh I'll bet there will be some jealous boaters but hey, your the inspiration now for them.I also agree the longer your hair gets you'll have to restrain it to prevent nasty tangles while outdoors in the wind.It can be done so don't worry.Anyway can't wait to see you in that hat next year as you can then be known as "Walter Whitetail 2"! :)Cheers
Mârk
GREAT pic, Anthony, really nice in every way!!
When I was a teenager still in high school, I was a member of a local Sea Scout troop (older boy's version of Boy Scouts, only water-related). Our troop had a 42 foot schooner donated to us, which we kept at the harbor owned by the Great Lakes Naval training Center (in a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois).
Although of course very different from an ocean, Lake Michigan is HUGE -- you can't see across it, for example, as well as there's plenty of wind, waves, storms, etc.; so it feels "oceanic" (except no salt in the water!)... In the far north of it, there's lots of islands, bays, etc. to explore -- great sailing territory!
Now that I live very near to the gigantic Pacific Ocean, I still think back to my high school days of sailing and swimming in Lake Michigan. Too bad the summers are so short there, though!
- Ken
I was born in the Great Lakes Naval Hospital in 1973 while dad was stationed there. He returned in the late 70's as a fire instructor before he retired in 1980.
Dad had an 17ft runabout that we would take out on Lake Michigan for rainbow trout fishing. My earliest fishing memories are of fishing just outside of the harbor breakwaters. It got crazy in that little boat a few times.
Never went swimming in Lake Michigan, dad would always tell us that the water was too cold for swimming even as we would be looking at other people swimming along the shore.
I do miss the big water of Lake Michigan and I would go back if there wasn't so dang much winter up there. I'll probably just head for the gulf in a few years after my youngest child heads off to college. That will be in another decade.
Daniel
Cool to hear you were born in Great Lakes Naval Hospital, and that you have some history with the region! I was born in Lake Forest Hospital in 1953, lived up in Waukegan until 6 months old, then my parents move to the little town of Lake Bluff -- where I lived until I turned 18 (couldn't wait to get away from there!!)...
Swimming in Lake Michigan can be a joy! Although, yes, the water can often be pretty damn cold -- especially if the wind is out of the West, the IL and Wisconsin shores will then be extra-cold (the warm surface water blows over to the other side, over to Michigan state, causing the cold water from the depths to rise up on the Illinois & WI sides... kinda like a giant bathtub!
If you ever do go back there in summer or fall, and you have the spare time, check out the Traverse City area, especially Glen Arbor and the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore. It is drop-dead GORGEOUS!!! It is rumored that when Queen Elizabeth cruised through the Great Lakes in her giant yacht many years ago, she felt that area was the most beautiful part of North America she'd ever seen... and in many ways, I'd have to agree -- especially in fall, unbelievable!
- Ken
Nice! I've wanted to learn to sail for several years now, but sailing just isn't too big of a thing in the Ozark Mountains (Hills really) where I live. We have plenty of lakes around, but they are primarily used for skiing and fishing.
Daniel
Lookin good Anthony,
Thanks for the pic and those on your blog...
Have fun on the water.. The Spaf Man