David and Cheri Howard's Sailing Stories

Preston, my brother and I came down on Friday morning and spent the day cleaning up the boat in anticipation of the weekend. We were excited about the goings on in and around town. After getting to the dock, I made my normal stop at Bob’s boat to chat and catch up on things, which is always fun. On Saturday morning, my sailing buddy, Tony, his wife April, and her son joined us. They had left Marietta at three in the morning and were here by 8:30. Wow, that’s dedication. Upon arriving, we all strolled around town and visited some booths to see what was for sale. We bought a few things and then headed back to the boat. We loaded up the boat with lots of food and drink for our two days we expected to sail. The refrigerator on the boat is out right now, so we brought a lot of ice and put another cooler aboard. We then pulled away and left the dock for our day sail. The winds could not have been any better. They were from the Southeast at 15-20. We fought the current a bit going out of the river but then raised the sails and took off at a steady 6 knots. My boat, an older Beneteau is actually heavier than most of the production Beneteaus and has a shoal keel. It was built in France, not at the SC plant. So it is not the fastest but it feels good in the water and takes the waves and rough seas quite well. Anyway, we sailed all day and then headed back in to the docks. When we docked, we were greeted by a few of the folks from the Yacht Club, who helped us get tied up. Remember, docking at Lang’s is not for the faint of heart. It is always an experience trying to judge the crazy tides. We had gotten in around 4PM, so we all relaxed to get ready for the club house party and town fireworks. At about 7, we got a lift from Tom over to the clubhouse to meet and greet with everyone. It was a lot of fun. They had a crab bowl set up on the back and plenty of beer and wine. We had a great time talking with folks and touring the giant catamaran that had docked beside the clubhouse “houseboat”. The clubhouse is a houseboat that the St Marys Yacht club has bought and is a work in progress, but it has turned out to be fantastic idea and a fun place to meet. After dark, the town set off their fireworks, much to the delight of everyone. It was a long presentation and a lot of fun to watch. After the fireworks, we were ferried back to the docks by Roy and headed straight for beds. It had been a long day.