My first sailing camping experience......

Posted By: Ruth Dawson
Date: 5/8/09 6:43p.m.

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Hi! I'm a city girl, through, and through. Most of my life experiences happened at or below sea level on concrete or airport tarmac. I considered family outings to such places as the mountains, forests, and large bodies of water other than the nearby ocean, to be 'Brady-Bunch' stuff, and not for a paid professional aka head-of-household-working-mother-on-a-limited-income person. However, I sent my kids to school and church camps, so they were at least exposed to the basic concepts of outdoor living. I stayed a home. This was my first camping trip, ever, and I loved it! In the beginning I was reluctant to commit to more than a night away from home. Home was warm, dry, the bathroom 6 feet from the bed, and the kitchen a few feet further from there. But I finally agreed to 3 days and 3 nights. We, mostly me, over-packed everything, especially the clothing and food. There was enough clothing for a 2 week vacation, and as things turned out, I could have easily gotten by with a couple of pairs of pants and tops, and a daily change of underwear which could have all been stuffed into a grocery bag and called good. And the prospect of eating out of cans and dehydrated food packages just didn't make the trip any more appealing, so I cooked way too much food, froze it, and took it with us (along with all of the can goods that Sumner assured me were also necessary.) And then the adventure began. After we got to the McPhee Reservoir and after numerous starts and stops, we finally got underway around 6:30 pm that first day, and I got to actually use the boat's new toilet for the first time. It was surprisingly comfortable. Quite frankly, using a port-a-potty had not been something I had been looking forward to, and I was glad this toilet thingie was working out. We put the anchor down (or however they say it) and in the process of looking for clean clothing, pots, pans, and food to prepare, we totally trashed the cabin in about 20 minutes, and that's the way it stayed until we got back home. I was ok with it because after all this was a camping trip not a house party. We couldn't find the food but ate 'something' and went to bed. Then the most wonderful, amazing thing happened: the waves started to rock the boat from side to side. It was bliss, plain and simple, I loved it! I slept more soundly those first 3 consecutive nights than I can ever recall. I awoke the next morning, drank my coffee, ate my Cheerios, manned the tiller, and sailed 25 mph winds for hours! I didn't know I could do that! I made lots of mistakes and it was great! But that night the camp stove died (it was too dark to use the grill) so I couldn't fix dinner. I think we ate cheese and crackers and fruit cocktail before going to bed. However, it was another good night's sleep. I guess that night had been a portent of things to come. The next morning the winds were barely 5 mph and kept changing directions which made attempting to sail arduous and difficult at best. I didn't realize how stubborn Sumner could be or that he knew such descriptive cuss words until after I had spent most of the day watching him fight God (the wind) and man (the boat) for control of the vessel's sails. It was a valiant effort to no avail but funny. The winds were 'capricious' and the boat handled like a floating log. In spite of it all, Sumner said he was having a good time, and we decided to stay another day. Later that night we found the food, and had hamburgers for dinner before going to bed. One more good night's sleep. The next day was perfect with winds from 10 to 12 mph, and we both learned or more truthfully, lucked-up on a lot more sailing maneuvers. We left the next afternoon. We were quite pleased and happy with ourselves, and closer friends than ever. The waterways, and the surrounding forests were peaceful and serene and conducive to uncluttered thinking and simple behavior patterns that were refreshing and healing. A house with walls, doors, and a roof is a definite comfort zone: living outside of that structure, in the open, for more than a day or two, is daunting. But doable. And, I discovered, enjoyable. I can hardly wait to go again, Ruth