First Time Sailing With A Crew of Four

It was an unseasonably warm and clear weekend here in Cincinnati. Taking full advantage of some of the last beautiful days of the year we grabbed our gear and headed north for an evening of camping and a day of sailing. Esta and I were fortunate enough to have two guests, Tara Pittsburgh and Rebecca Neighbor (pictured below), as well as a small army of dogs join us on this particular trip.


It was dark by the time we arrived and therefore had to set up camp by lantern. But soon the palette of bonfire wood we purchased roadside and transported in a Chevy HHR was burning brightly. We made some food, had some drinks, took a walk to the dock and spent some time practicing sailing technique with a crew of four. This was to be the first time we attempted any more then one extra passenger.

The next morning Rebecca and I took the boat out while Tara and Esta broke down camp and tried to figure out what to do with the dogs. As usual there were minor difficulties launching.


While the two of us were out we met a grumpy gasser who cut me off, and then complained that I ran over his fishing line. We also had a brief chat with a couple of very nice fellow Rebel owners. These exchanges supported my hypothesis regarding the general attitude of sail versus motor boaters. About and hour later we came back to shore, picked up the rest of the crew and headed for the far side of the lake. As it turns out the anxiety we experienced of sailing with four was somewhat unfounded. Sure there was less room to move around as the boat heeled and one more head to be worried about smacking with the boom while coming about. But in the end it was not much different then sailing with two or three. I'm proud to say the only head whacked was my own. It was a nice calm day at the lake. The kind of wind that lent itself to leisurely sailing, yet still enough power to get the blood pumping with an exciting run. We ran into our new buddies with the 1950's Rebel and played an odd game of follow the leader, where we unknowingly seemed to be the leaders.




We had to head back a bit early due to a prior engagement so we tacked our way back to the campground boat launch. When we arrived, there was little time to spare which quickly turned into tardiness as boat after boat lined up to get in or out of the water. We dropped the sails and drifted for a while until we realized that aggressiveness alone would be the only thing that would get us to dry land.





We finally made it out and brought the rigging down in record time. Good times, good company and another first checked off the list.