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Today (Saturday, September 10th) was a very momentous day for me.  Still enjoying the glow of our sail on the 6th, I was awakened in the early morning to Janet Benton and Mike Butler taking off my sail covers.  Boy did that make my heart start pounding!  They were soon joined by Ralph Clark, Wes Hostetler, Alan Thompson and John.  I heard them talking about taking me out three times today.  I should be so lucky!

Alan, Ralph, Wes, Janet and Mike, and John (behind the camera).

As they were getting ready to sail me away, six more people arrived.  Since they were not in costume, I surmised (I learned that word today) that they were guests along for the ride.  They all seemed pleased to be going out for a sail, but they could not have been as pleased as I.

Ralph, Mike, Phil How, Alan, Gail How, Ruth and Roger Hutchinson, Wes, Annette and Ray Furnal, and Janet.

 John snuck off to a choir rehearsal, leaving Captain Janet to give the briefing on safety and instructions on rowing.  They were soon rowing me away from the dock.

Janet and the crew sailed me out on the water for almost an hour in a lovely (but a little gusty) 5-10 knot breeze, tacking and gibing back and forth from shore to shore and around the bend toward Winfall. It was a perfect day, and so far we had not hit anything or run aground or over-worked the guests.

As Janet brought me in under oars for a safe landing, we were met by some of our next guests, including the Mayor of Hertford in his familiar red colonial waistcoat.

For the 1030 sail, it was John’s turn to take the helm, so I was ready for some action. (John pushes what he calls my “performance envelope,” which of course suits me fine but worries some people – mostly the uninitiated.)

Our guests: two friends of the mayor, Mayor Sid and Susan Ely, and Donna and Bill Jackson. (Don had a hand in building my masts and sweeps here in Hertford and has sailed on me once before.)

After just a little rowing by our guests to get us away from the dock and get my nose into the wind, my sails went up.   I was sailing again on the river! 

Underway!!  Mike, Bill Jackson, Janet and the Mayor

With kayaks all around, we tacked and jibed in the now gusty breezes, back and forth and up and down the waters I now call home - the Perquimans River.   About an hour later, the spell of wind and water was gently lifted as we glided in for a perfect landing under sail alone.  I think my guests were pleased that there was so little rowing.

While my crew went for lunch, I had a chance to rest and be admired.  It seemed to me that my friend the wind was blowing harder in anticipation of our afternoon sail. 

My third sail for the day was scheduled for 1300 (1 p.m. for land-lubbers), and people started gathering as my crew came back from lunch.  My friend the wind was indeed building steadily.  Although my dock was fairly sheltered, behind me I could hear some of his gusts blowing through the bridge.

This sail was to be my longest one.  One of the guests had won a silent auction prize that put them aboard me for an afternoon sail, and had invited another couple along.  In addition, BettyJo, one of Senator Burr’s staff whom we met on August 31^st, had asked John to book her on a sail some time, and this was it.  It would be a sail to remember.

John gave me some fresh crew for the afternoon.  In addition to John, Janet and Mike, they were joined by Kent Saunders, an Odyssey veteran, and Rod Mueller, who has been out with me once before.

These are the folks who, John said, won the ride with me at an ‘auction’ (whatever that is):  Jean Lahr, Joan and Don McLeod, and Paul Lahr.  Were they ready for the ride?

Taking their positions on my thwarts.  BettyJo is about to board, while her husband (behind Don), Don, Jean, Joan and Paul look on. (Photos by Ray Furnal)

Rub-a-dub-dub!  This is us getting ready to depart.   (Photo by Joan Ernst)

Rod, Jean Lahr behind Mr. Shepheard, Paul Lahr and Betty Jo Shepheard, and a bit of Don MacLeod  (Photo by Joan Ernst)

While Mike walked across town to check out the winds on the other side of the bridge, John gave a safety briefing and rowing lesson.  They finally cast off my lines and rowed out into the PerquimansRiver.  Since they wanted to go through the swing bridge into the broader river, and the wind was blowing against us through the bridge, John kept the sails down to reduce wind resistance.  Mike stayed on the helm as John and five others rowed.

The bridge tender opened the S-Bridge as we approached.  As they rowed me through with great difficulty against the wind, the bridge tender jokingly asked us if they would make it through “today.”  Out of every three stokes with the six oars, they only made progress on two – certainly not up to 18^th Century standards!  But that was enough to get me through.

The wind was stiff, 15 gusting to almost 20 knots, and persisted even when we got out of the funneling effect of the land around the bridge.  John had to work the crew (himself included) and guests hard just to keep me from being blown back to the bridge or ashore, and those guests who were not busy rowing were looking a little concerned.   As soon as they had me in better position and some of the crew could stop rowing, John had them put up my sails to work us away from the land to our lee.   Mike, at the helm, tacked me three times through the eye of the wind to get me clear of the bulk head on the west side of the river (which we bumped gently with my stern).

Finally they had me on a good course to make the Rte 17 Bridge, but John and the crew made the decision to turn back.   The bridge tender said he would wait until we were a little closer, but John said we would be running (I think he actually said ‘screaming’) through down wind at 7 to 8 knots and could not stop the boat if the bridge jammed.   The tender opened her up early, Mike turned me down wind and we shot through with sails pulling hard and a glorious “bone in my teeth” (a white wake off my bow)!

There was visible relief on my guests’ faces as we re-entering the calmer waters.  John brought out some champagne to celebrate the anniversary of Paul and Jean Lahr, and everyone relaxed for the first time in about 40 minutes.  We sailed around some more, but with the increasing gusts, managed to be blown aground on a submerged log under some trees while taking down my main sail. (Once my forward momentum has stopped, the trouble begins. And I am very difficult to steer once “in irons” or when drifting backwards!). 

Through the efforts of guests on oars, the crew ‘gigging’ on the foresail and Kent using a sweep to push against the bottom, they got me free and John sailed us cleanly back across the river into the dock.  

The whole time that we were sailing (or doing other ‘interesting’ maneuvers) this afternoon, we had the welcome company of a crew on the local Police Boat hovering near us to help if needed.  They were ready to throw a line when we came close to shore on the broad river and when we went aground on the log.  I think John felt that we came close to needing it, given the strength of the gusts against us.  The crew and I are very grateful for their presence!

My weary “trial by wind” crew at the end of the last sail.  (John said afterward that everyone was a “little too busy” to take pictures during my wild afternoon sail.)

What a finish to the day: just me at my dock, with my 1701 “Union Jack” flag and a (now) gentle breeze. No broken parts, no bad dents and none of the guests had “mal de mer” in my bilge.   Life is good!

-Periauger

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