After a couple more hours on the road we arrived at the lake. We went to a boat yard to have the boat lifted into the water. It may have been possible to launch it from the trailer but Uncle Fred thought this was safer.
Uncle Fred had told us about sailing a small sailboat with a friend when he was in high school. He said that was twenty years before but he remembered the basics of sailing. Since I hardly knew what fore and aft meant I could not question his knowledge. We took the cover off the boat then transferred the food and other supplies from the back of the truck to the boat. The lift operator put large straps at each end of the boat and lifted it into the water. Uncle Fred had held onto a rope tied to the front of the boat and pulled the boat up to the dock where he tied it fore and aft -- that's front and back for you landlubbers. "Ernie, I brought a lot of extra rope along of different sizes. When we get going I will show you how to tie the different knots that you need to know to be a real sailor." The only knot I know how to tie is for my shoe strings. It has been good enough for my first fourteen years. Uncle Fred drove the truck and trailer to a parking area nearby then walked back to the dock with a few things he did not want to leave in the truck. We both climbed on the sailboat.
"Ernie, we'll start the outboard motor to take the boat away from the dock. There is enough of a breeze that we can put the small sail up to pull us around today while we learn how the boat maneuvers," he called to me as he leaned over the outboard motor on the stern--that means the rear end of the boat. He set the choke and flipped a couple levers. Then he cranked. And he cranked. And he cranked. After about ten of these cranks and pulls on the rope he opened the fuel lid to verify there was gas in the tank. He replaced the gas cap and cranked another ten times without success.
"Ernie, where did the gas in this tank come from?"
"I used the gas in the plastic gas tank we use for all the power tools at the house."
"When did you fill that container last?"
"I don't know for sure. Either Dad or I filled it probably in September or October. I used the gas in the leaf blower in October."
"So the gas is seven or eight months old?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right...why?"
"Because gas loses its volatility after being stored that long. It is difficult to ignite as you can see. I think we should pump it out and put in some fresh gas."
That cost us another hour. Uncle Fred was not happy about it but my cold was bothering me so all I wanted to do was take a nap so I leaned against a post on the dock and slept. I woke up when I heard the motor start and climbed on the boat. Then I had to get off and untie the rope holding the fore part of the boat to the pier. I tossed the rope onto the front of the boat and climbed over onto the deck. Uncle Fred steered the boat away from the dock and towards the lake. As he was not yet used to the motor or the boat his steering caused the boat to swing back and forth a lot. What I was not aware of at the time was that the rope I had tossed onto the front of the boat had fallen over the side of the boat. As we moved out onto the large lake the speed increased. Somehow the rope from the front went under the boat and was sucked into the prop of the motor. There were a couple of jerks and then the motor stopped. We were well away from the dock. Uncle Fred looked into the water and saw pieces of the rope floating under the water. Then he realized that the rope had become entangled in the prop. He looked at me in an unpleasant way but did not say anything except "Ernie, those fittings around the side of the boat are to tie the ropes to. They are not just there for decoration. After I get the rope out of the prop I will show you how to fasten the ropes to the fittings."
I replied very quietly, "Yes sir, Uncle Fred. I'm awfully sorry."
The rest of the day went pretty well. The weather could not have been better. Sunny and warm. Much warmer than it had been at home. We had a detailed map of the lakebed to guide us. The lake was natural, not man-made, which meant there was less chance of coming across previously land-based trees, houses, and other discarded trash. We had a fish finder/depth gauge bought on Epay mounted at the back of the boat. Uncle Fred showed me how to use it then he showed me how to tie some different knots that would be immediately useful. For stowing the docking ropes, for example. We sprayed all the fittings with a good lubricant to make all the moving parts move more smoothly as well as to protect them better from the water. We raised the mainsail for the first time. It looked really good We sailed around in a very large circle to get the feel of moving the boat. Then we sailed in figure eights. Uncle Fred explained how to take advantage of and adjust for the wind. He said there was no current to speak of here so we did not have to take that into consideration but if we had been on a body of moving water that would have been an added factor. It was good we were learning the boat in a less demanding situation. The exercise was good for both of us. We found a good place to anchor the boat. I set the anchor where I thought would be a good spot and let out enough anchor rope to let the light breeze put us in a safe position. By dinner time we both had good appetites. There was plenty of food, some fresh , some canned, and other freeze dried. We wanted to eat the fresh food while it was still fresh so Uncle Fred made a large pot of beef stew on the propane stove. He had precut lots of vegetables and put them in bags so there was very little required in preparation. We had many bottles of fresh water which we used for both the cooking, drinking, and brushing our teeth. We had a couple large plastic jerry cans with water for cleaning.
We cleaned everything before sunset then positioned the sleeping bags to make it easier to go to bed in the dark. We placed the portable toilet in the front of the boat and hung a towel on a line in front of it for a little privacy. As the evening became darker we lit the propane lantern. We talked about what we wanted to do the next day then I called my parents on the cell phone to give them a short summary of the day. I did not tell them about my mistakes so it all sounded quite successful.
By 9 pm I heard Uncle Fred snoring so I knew he was asleep. The boat was very still as the water was calm so it surprised me to hear noises coming from the boat. I thought it must be lose pieces or trash settling into place. After a while I ignored the noises to go to sleep. We were in a cove in the lake so there was no reason to worry about being hit by anything. We had left a small mooring light on so we could be easily spotted. It was warm enough that I slept without feeling at all cold.
The chirping of birds woke me before the sunlight. I lay comfortably in my sleeping bag. While it was becoming lighter I listened to the different sounds but I didn't hear the noises I had heard before falling asleep. Maybe everything was settled now. After an hour the sun rose and it started warming up so I got up and dressed myself with a jacket I could take off when it got warmer. Uncle Fred said it was supposed to be a hot day. Not hot enough to swim because the water was still pretty cold but the air temperature would be in the 80's and it would be very sunny. I put the coffee pot on the burner. Uncle Fred must have been woken by the sound and smell of the coffee percolating.
"How did you sleep, Ernie."
"Fine, Uncle Fred. I thought the boat was being attacked by beavers but then I realized it was just your snoring."
"Hah! Beavers, eh? That's what I brought the 410 shotgun along for. Just point to the beaver attacking the boat and I'll make him pay for the damage in beaver pelt. How does a beaver steak sound?"
"Not too appetizing. Now if you can find a wild boar, I might change my mind."
"The 410 isn't going to do much to a wild boar except make him mad. They can be vicious when they are upset."
"OK, I'll settle for the canned spam or whatever you bought. I like just having canned juice and rolls for breakfast. Less to clean up."
"That's the idea. After we eat you can pull up the anchor and we'll motor into the main body of the lake to raise the sail. There's not enough wind yet to go anyplace but it will pick up as the temperature rises."
&nbs
p; When we finished eating and cleaning up I went to the front of the boat to pull up the anchor. The boat had drifted a little in the night. The anchor line was taut. I pulled on it but the boat moved rather than the anchor. When I had pulled in the slack so that we were now directly over the anchor, there was no more I could do.
"Uncle Fred, the anchor seems to be stuck."
"You checked the bottom on the depth display before you dropped the anchor, right?"
"Sure, but I never used one of these gauges before. It was a little confusing what was on the bottom."
"Let's take a look," he said as he turned on the display. "Yes, it is a little confusing. Unfortunately it looks like the anchor is caught in some large boulders. I'll start the motor. We'll move around a little to try and break it free." I let out slack line while Uncle Fred started the motor. We moved around to the side where it looked like there was a gap for the anchor to emerge from, but it did not want to emerge. It liked being anchored in one place. After an hour of different attempts, we gave up.
"I'm going to cut the anchor line. If it had been warmer I wouldn't mind putting on a mask and diving down to free the anchor but this water is just too cold. In the future remember to look for a smooth