Hobie Fleet 51, Boulder City, Nevada
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What a great turn out ! All together, there must have been 18 boats, 3 of them had come all the way from Phoenix (Fleet 42). As the sun set, there were storm cells on all sides of us, yet a lack-of-wind hold was in effect. The sailing would wait until we had dined on steaks (thanks Rex) & consumed many refreshments around the Tiki torches Faisal had provided. Finally, the breeze freshened at approximately 11:30 a.m. A skippers' meeting was held, we paired up with "sailing buddies," for safety reasons, & a Lemans-type start was underway with typical Fleet 51 efficiency. While cleaning up my main sheet, I managed to get tangled up with one of the Fleet 42 boats, a Prindle 19 I think. I was impressed that my mangy little H-16 had been able to overtake the much more powerful & speedy P-19 & unintentionally speared it lightly from leeward &astern. They repelled boarders & pushed us off before we were able to slice them in two. It wasn't much later when I noticed we were being overtaken by a more menacing force than a catamaran. Lightening was bearing down on us & I certainly don't like being on the water with a 25-ft lightening rod & a zillion volts in the air. Scott, who was out front, was the first to come to his senses & yelled something about abandoning the race before we were all fried. The fleet was headed in the opposite direction in a matter of seconds. Upon landfall, I've never seen so many sails come down so fast as this evening. Then the rain began to lightly pelt us. The wind started to kick up, our attention then turned to the fleet awning which came down remarkably well considering the number of skippers involved. With the storm upon us & everything stowed, as well as could be expected under the conditions, it was time to seek personal shelter. We could sit back & enjoy the show from the safety of our vehicles. During the lulls, there was a large group that looked & sounded as if they were at a 4th of July picnic, sitting on their lounge chairs, oohing & awing, comparing lightening bolts. We may not have completed a single race, but we witnessed a beautiful show. |
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