Weenies on the Water

Mondays are Laser racing nights at the sailing club. The last couple of weeks, they have been having the Weenies on the Water boat show up and sell hot dogs to the post-race crowd. Kris and I got in a sail last night and shared some weenies with the Laser peeps.

It was hella hot, but very nice wind for most of the evening's sailing. I was down early and sailed downwind/upriver a bit, before saying heck with that, and turning it around to enjoy some apparent wind in my overly hot face.

Those of you not connected on Facebook with Kris or I, will possibly not be aware that it's been hitting triple digits here in the Northwest, where we are more attuned to weather that is Northwet.

I fell off and sailed back to the club, taking a couple of minutes to sit on my transomless stern and drag my feet in the water.

After docking, I fell off the end of the dock into the river and got some of nature's AC working to make it a little more bearable.

I hung around and killed an hour until Kris showed up and we launched for our own sail.

We made the downwind run past the Sellwood bridge and then tacked our way back to the club, taking about an hour and fifteen to accomplish all of this, and dodging about one hundred and fifteen speedboats.

I decided that it may be a good thing if we were allowed to shoot at the jetskis and wakeboats. Not just for us, but I think it would make their outing more exciting, too. Careful observation leads me to believe that they are attempting to live out secret James Bond water chase adventures. So, why not help bring it to life (or the alternative) for them?

I volunteer.

As we made our way back in to the club, we fell off and tacked an extra tack or two, to ensure we would trail the Lasers as they made their leeward mark rounding doo-hickey thing, and we glided in to the launching area.

I drove it a little fast at the dock and later I got pointers from the club secretary on taking some speed off before easing up to the dock. Apparently, they don't think sacrificing your wife on the bow is kosher.

Huh.

Things to do near the Sailing Club on the Willamette

From Carol Anne's blog writing project, here are some things to do near WSC in Portland. Similar to Captain JP, our sailing ground runs right through the heart of the city where we live and play.

Get up above it all on the tram or Mt. Hood. The tram link has a picture of the river, just behind the condos in the middle ground, and Mt. Hood in the background. The mountain is about fifty miles from town and an easy day trip.

Get lubricated with some sailors at the Fulton. Part of the McMenamin Brother's Northwest brewpub dynasty, this one is fun, but only picked because it's nearest to WSC. Peruse their other options, which include a couple of classic old movie houses converted to pubs/restaurants, as well as the old county poorhouse and an elementary school, both of which have overnight accommodations and multiple entertainment options.

See Kris on the West side of the river, or Greg on the East side, during the work day. Come on out to Garden Home (G-homeys, represent!) in the evening and have a glass of wine with us on the front porch as the sun goes down across the street.