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

Tue Sep 21 08:28:28 EDT 2021

Looks like it was a great adventure, thanks for sharing!

Jesse Shumaker
S/V Zephyr

On Tue, Sep 21, 2021 at 7:23 AM Steven Alm <stevenalm at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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”
> > -------------- next part --------------
> > A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
> > Name: 790055C2CD7B4B1B93ABA456A5B6948B.jpg
> > Type: image/jpeg
> > Size: 132619 bytes
> > Desc: 790055C2CD7B4B1B93ABA456A5B6948B.jpg
> > URL: <
> >
> http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20210921/1f3be2d9/attachment.jpg
> > >
> > -------------- next part --------------
> > A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
> > Name: 7A1469BF82E94433B4B1605604F3F1C0.jpg
> > Type: image/jpeg
> > Size: 171584 bytes
> > Desc: 7A1469BF82E94433B4B1605604F3F1C0.jpg
> > URL: <
> >
> http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20210921/1f3be2d9/attachment-0001.jpg
> > >
> > -------------- next part --------------
> > A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
> > Name: 44280BE785EA432392C407FA09AA931B.jpg
> > Type: image/jpeg
> > Size: 132315 bytes
> > Desc: 44280BE785EA432392C407FA09AA931B.jpg
> > URL: <
> >
> http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20210921/1f3be2d9/attachment-0002.jpg
> > >
> > -------------- next part --------------
> > A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
> > Name: FE24E39B324F49E8A0BA784660BED551.jpg
> > Type: image/jpeg
> > Size: 138454 bytes
> > Desc: FE24E39B324F49E8A0BA784660BED551.jpg
> > URL: <
> >
> http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20210921/1f3be2d9/attachment-0003.jpg
> > >
> > -------------- next part --------------
> > A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
> > Name: 4D385F6530D84212ADC1EF92D6A00BD6.jpg
> > Type: image/jpeg
> > Size: 141083 bytes
> > Desc: 4D385F6530D84212ADC1EF92D6A00BD6.jpg
> > URL: <
> >
> http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20210921/1f3be2d9/attachment-0004.jpg
> > >
> > -------------- next part --------------
> > A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
> > Name: CBB46A7D6A244C9D95B6BB36BED66B94.jpg
> > Type: image/jpeg
> > Size: 168341 bytes
> > Desc: CBB46A7D6A244C9D95B6BB36BED66B94.jpg
> > URL: <
> >
> http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20210921/1f3be2d9/attachment-0005.jpg
> > >
> > -------------- next part --------------
> > A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
> > Name: 13AA7B8AE4094A8F989B2485F596257D.jpg
> > Type: image/jpeg
> > Size: 144893 bytes
> > Desc: 13AA7B8AE4094A8F989B2485F596257D.jpg
> > URL: <
> >
> http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20210921/1f3be2d9/attachment-0006.jpg
> > >
> > -------------- next part --------------
> > A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
> > Name: 2C3E97C5B65D468184978F489BF95BFD.jpg
> > Type: image/jpeg
> > Size: 146870 bytes
> > Desc: 2C3E97C5B65D468184978F489BF95BFD.jpg
> > URL: <
> >
> http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20210921/1f3be2d9/attachment-0007.jpg
> > >
> > -------------- next part --------------
> > A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
> > Name: A3C520979DD6490F82CB1EE4A9F76D5E.jpg
> > Type: image/jpeg
> > Size: 133279 bytes
> > Desc: A3C520979DD6490F82CB1EE4A9F76D5E.jpg
> > URL: <
> >
> http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20210921/1f3be2d9/attachment-0008.jpg
> > >
> >
>