[Rhodes22-list] Camping/Sailing Trip With My Boy Scout Troop

Tue Sep 21 08:23:42 EDT 2021

Happy birthday Roger!
“May you always be willing and able to paddle your own canoe.”
—Troop 19 Eagle slogan.

Slim
Fandango

On Tue, Sep 21, 2021 at 6:56 AM ROGER PIHLAJA <Roger_Pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> This past weekend, I took my Boy Scout Troop on a camping/sailing trip.  I
> have a friend, Dan Schweitzer, that has a 42 ft LOA sailing catamaran (S/V
> Now What).  He keeps it at Linwood Beach Marina & Campground on Saginaw Bay
> in Linwood, MI.  Linwood is about halfway between Bay City, MI and
> Pinconning, MI on the W side of Saginaw Bay.  The campground is mostly for
> RV’s.  But, they have 6 primitive sites for tent campers.  We’ve stayed
> here in previous years and they always donate the use of the primitive
> campsites because we’re a Boy Scout Troop and they know me.  It’s good to
> have friends in low places!
>
> We arrived Friday night and set up camp.  We sailed on Saturday afternoon,
> camped Saturday night, and most of the troop left Sunday morning.  Two of
> the Scouts and myself stayed behind to help Dan unrig and fold the sails,
> pump out the holding tank, winterize the boat’s water system, retrieve the
> boat onto it’s custom made trailer, and then park the boat & trailer in
> it’s winter storage spot in the Marina’s storage yard.
>
> The sailing conditions were great: sunny, temp 75 deg F, wind N @ 10-15
> knots, waves 2-3 ft!  S/V Now What was sailing a beam reach flying her full
> mainsail and 130% genoa with neither centerboard lowered.  We averaged  ~7
> knots, hitting 9-10 knots in the gusts if the helmsman responded properly.
> Some of the youth were better at steering than others.  A boat this fast
> also slows down quickly if the helmsman screws up.
>
> All the Scouts got to hoist and trim sails, handle the dock lines, set and
> retrieve the anchor.  Everyone that wanted to steer got a chance to be
> helmsman.  After motoring out of the marina and down the dredged channel
> until the water got deep enough, we hoisted sail and sailed ~ 9 nm to the
> so-called “Spoils Island” at the mouth of the Saginaw River.  Spoils Island
> is so named because it’s an artificial island created by decades of
> dredging in the Saginaw River by the US Army Corps of Engineers in order to
> maintain a commercial ship channel.  We went around the S side of the
> island to get out of the wind and waves and anchored.  We had multiple
> members of the troop having birthdays, including myself (I’m 68 years
> old).  We had a birthday party at anchor.  I brought my kerosene fired
> anchor light, so it became the ceremonial “birthday anchor light”.  I took
> the Fresnel lens assembly off so it was just the oil lamp & wick.  All the
> birthday boys stood around the lit lantern while the rest of the troop sang
> Happy Birthday and then we all blew out the wick together.  Then, we had
> cupcakes and lemonade.  After the party, when everything was properly
> stowed away, we hoisted anchor, stowed the flags, raised sails, and sailed
> back to Linwood.  All told, we were on the water about 3-1/2 hours, motored
> about 4 nm and sailed about 18 nm.  Dan joined us for dinner that night in
> our campsite, turkey chili – YUM!
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
> Here are some photos from the trip:
>
> [cid:image002.jpg at 01D7AEBE.25885570]
>                                                        Adam & Tyler Ready
> To Hoist The Mainsail @ The Marina (Note The Lazy Jacks On The Mainsail)
>
> [cid:image005.jpg at 01D7AEBE.25885570]
>                                                                       Adam
> Hoisting The Mainsail
>
> [cid:image008.jpg at 01D7AEBE.25885570]
>                                              Unfurling The 130% Roller
> Furling Genoa
>
> [cid:image011.jpg at 01D7AEBE.25885570]
>                        Not All Helmsmen Were As Happy As Sam!  He Was
> Grinning Like This All Afternoon
>
> [cid:image014.jpg at 01D7AEBE.25885570]
>                           Roger Giving Henry His 1st Driving Lesson.  I’m
> Not Scared Of His Driving, It’s just That Rough, So I Have To Hang On!
>
> [cid:image018.jpg at 01D7AEBE.25885570]
>                                                The Troop Hanging Out On
> The Foredeck Just Before We Ducked Behind Spoils Island
>
> [cid:image020.jpg at 01D7AEBE.25885570]
>                                                         Flying The Flag
> Set @ Anchor
>
> [cid:image023.jpg at 01D7AEBE.25885570]
>                                   It’s The Most Fun You Can Have @ < 10
> MPH!
>
> [cid:image026.jpg at 01D7AEBE.25885570]
>
>  Tyler & Adrian Aboard A Really Big “Trailerable Boat”
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