Flying Scot Fleet 126 Annual Cruise

LTYC Rescue Squad swings into action!

The annual Flying Scot cruise on Smith Mountain lake was a great trip as usual. The weather and temperature were perfect, but driving up Hwy 220 it appeared that maybe there'd be no wind for sailing. It's usually just the opposite - cooler, overcast and very windy. As we left Rocky Mount I began to see some leaves shaking in the treetops and except for occasional light air periods the wind on the lake averaged 8-10 knots.

Steve and Debra Raper (Flying Scot 4051), Bill Grossie and Sonja Hughes (Precision 18), and John and Susan Hemphill shared quarters at Bernard's Landing. John and Susan were in my sailing class this year. George and Betsy Bageant (Mirage 5.5) and Jorge and Dana Corbo and crew (Catalina 22) stayed at Crazy Horse Campground and Marina. Crazy Horse is close to Bernard's Landing by land but is more than 6 miles by water.

Debra and I arrived after lunch on Friday and I rigged Baby and went for my usual afternoon sail before bringing her back to the docks in front of our place. I always really enjoy that first solo sail - I love sailing with my friends but it's nice at times to just have the boat and lake to yourself for a short while. Especially in such a beautiful setting. Later that afternoon, John and Susan arrived and we drove to Crazy Horse to catch up with the Bageants and Corbos and to have dinner. Bill and Sonja were running a little late but caught up with us at the restaurant.

Saturday morning there was a nice little breeze and we sailed west towards the Blackwater River to meet the Bageants and Corbos. We got around the corner headed for Christmas Tree Island when the wind died for a while. This spot is a busy intersection with power boats whizzing by constantly. We were close to shore and getting beat up by the power boat wakes so we tacked over to the middle of the channel and away from most of the traffic. In the meantime, we hailed George on the radio and could spot each other's sails in the distance. We cruised along the shore admiring some of the beautiful homes until George caught up with us. We were going to all go back to our place for a break but the wind picked up to 10-12 so we decided to sail to Saunders Marina instead. As we approached we saw a lot of activity on shore. There was a carousel, classic cars lined up along the seawall, food, games, arts, crafts, etc. As it turns out they've moved the annual fall festival that was formerly held at Hales Ford to Saunders Point. John, Susan and I and Bill and Sonja stopped in for lunch but since it's a long way to Crazy Horse, the Bageants and Corbos headed back. Coming out of the marina we eased along the seawall to get a closer look at the cars. John was on the helm and I was sitting up on deck snapping photos when a jerk with a large powerboat came by and created a huge set of wakes that really rocked us for a minute. We were on a reach so the boom gybed back and forth several times until John slowed it down with his head. Even though he was probably seeing a few stars, John did a great job in managing the boat during that mess. Of course, by the time we left the wind had died. I expected it to die, but thought maybe we'd have another hour. Anyway, Bill and Sonja gave us a tow home.

Sunday morning brought pretty good winds so after breakfast we got everything organized to check out later. The plan was to put the vehicles with trailers at the ramp so they would be there after our morning sail. When we arrived at the ramp, there was a guy who had tried to launch his boat but was sitting in his vehicle holding the foot brake. Actually he was sitting in water up to his dashboard and the boat was floating next to his truck because the winch assembly had broken off. His parking brake had given way and he jumped in to stop the truck from sinking. The security officer said it would take at least 45 minutes for a tow truck to arrive. We were worried about this fellow being in the cool water for so long and maybe his brake giving way. So.... the LTYC Rescue Squad swung into action! John waded in to put chocks behind his wheels so the truck wouldn't go in any deeper while Sonja and I got his boat out of the way. Bill and John looped several wraps of some Polypro line I had brought between his truck and Bill's Blazer. Surprisingly, the line held and Bill was able to pull him most of the way out. Bill and John had to get pretty wet to help this guy so I hope he knows how lucky he was. By the time the Rescue Squad had finished it's work, the wind had started to lighten again. So, we had a short sail and motor back to the ramp where we packed up and headed home. Another great sailing adventure!

Thanks to everyone for making this such a pleasant weekend. Next year, I'll try to set this up a little sooner and get even more of our friends to participate.