Dinghy on a downwind haul...AKA Wheeeeee!

The PIC (partner in crime) and I have been hauling our dinghy to the lake quite a bit since it fell into our laps a few weeks ago. Getting it there has been an adventure in and of itself and then, once there, we have usually found that there was the barest puff of a wind. Somehow there seems to be a dome covering the lake area that keeps all wind out except during dramatic thunderstorms. Then it will rush through making the tree tops sway frighteningly over your house and then disappear as quickly as it came.


This past Saturday we looked at the weather forecast and whooped with excitement when we saw the predicted windspeeds. 11mph!!! Now that is some real wind. So we rolled the dinghy to the lake and the wind was blowing so hard that it whipped the sail around as soon as we put the mast up. We lashed it around the mast to keep it still until we got further out into the cove. I was excited but not the least bit alarmed. Until we decided to put the sail out that is. I was at the helm and as soon as the sail was out the wind grabbed it and it felt like a giant hand was trying to push us over. I realized I was out of my element and traded places with Brian.


We then spent many happy hours sailing fairly steadily from one end of the lake to the other. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful hot summer day and then.....POOF....the wind disappeared almost completely while we were at the far end of the lake. Capricious hussy. So there we were in our 10' sailboat mostly bobbing in the water with dark clouds looming up behind us and our beach much too far away. It was late afternoon and the perfect time for a summer thunderstorm. Folks in their powerboats motored by us and laughed. At one point I'm pretty sure I saw a turtle swim alongside that also pointed and laughed before swimming away and leaving us in its wake. We had managed to drift about a nanometer before Brian finally gave in and started paddling with our daggerboard. More people went by in their boats and laughed but we were making actual progress now. Still, even the main beach seemed far, far away and our own beach was even further past that.


The sky was conflicted. On the right it was bright and blue, but bright and blue's evil twin, dark and ominous, threatened to our left in addition to the ones at our backs. The fact that people were now asking if we were okay and needed help didn't do anything to ease my anxiety. Then the wind from the approaching storm finally decided to show up and instantaneously we went from Are We Ever Going To Get There to Hold Onto Your Collar Toto! I was back at the helm by this time, while my poor PIC laboriously paddled us along, and I think I might have uttered a bad word or two when I felt the wind grab the sail and nearly tip us over. But this time I knew what to do! I let the sail out all the way and we went zooming across the lake like a bullet. We were probably going 5-7 knots in our little dinghy on a downwind haul. The water got choppy, the wind was gusty, and the rudder was suddenly so sensitive the barest movement sent us veering off-course. But I managed to keep her steady and got us back to our cove lickety-split. I handled it quite well, if I do say so myself. And, I must say, it's pretty exhilarating to go flying across the water under windpower. We had a great day on the water and didn't spend a cent on fuel and didn't pollute a thing.