Full and By

Looking west towards Lakeside

 Full and By: Making best speed to weather by keeping the sails full; sailing close-hauled but not pinching; that is, born off enough to keep the sails driving. This direction to the helmsman is a compromise since the ship will sail faster, but not as close to the actual course to the destination
 If there is a term to best describe my most recent sail then the title says it all. In my years of sailing I've not had a better day on the water. Couldn't have asked for better weather or better company. Ticked of a few bucket list items and had a generally great day messing about. The end could have been better and as I write this my boat is stranded 61 miles away on the hard. But how it got there, now there is a worthy tale.
 We left out of Wayfarers State Park right down the highway from Bigfork, MT. I've been in this area before when I go to visit the Q-Class sloops as the Flathead Resort. I've never launched out of this area before but there were rumors of a classic wooden boat show at the Marina Cay on Bigfork Bay and we thought it would be fun to annoy the power boaters. With me for this adventure were The Typesetter, Smee to my Hook, and Dan an aspiring sailor who's longing for the foam and crest made him an ideal companion on this journey.
 We launched with out incident and headed NWbN, beating in to lovely Force 3. With the Lido herself weighing less then the weight on the rail we sailed flat and fast, taking the waves in good turn and generally sailing "out there". I took the opportunity to do a quick Facebook live broadcast performing a sea shanty I'd written and it was back to wonderful sailing. What can I say other then that? The sun was hidden by high clouds so it did not beat upon our heads. The water was the famous Flathead blue as far as the eye could see and there was very little traffic to impede our progress. Indeed one of the mighty Q-Class sloops did come out upon our waters but wisely beat south to not cross tacks with our merry band.

That bridge is Lido height and not much more!

 Eventually we made our way back past the Flathead Resort and had Bigfork off our starboard bow. There is a bridge on MT-35 at the entrance to Bigfork Bay that I can now say with certainty is about a foot higher off the water then the mast head of a Lido 14 with the lake at full pool. We were not sure as we approached this obstacle if we would have clearance. I have been featured on a few episodes of "Doing Stupid Things In Small Sailboats" and was unsure if this particular shenanigan would make the cut. We managed to sail into the bay in style, something few sailboats I'm guessing have ever attained, not to mention attempted. And while sober even! As we came under the bridge was there ever traffic! SUPs, kayaks, pontoon boats, ski boats and all manner of craft crowded the bay as we attempted to thread the needle with shifty winds of varying strength. We were hoping to find a public dock to really thumb our nose but as with most things Flathead it was all pay to play. And to add insult to injury there were no fleet of classic wooden boats in sight. So we came about and tacked back out. Took a few dozen short, shallow tacks to do so and I'd be wrong to say I didn't almost suck up the throwable float cushion a few times. But we made it out, slapped a no wake buoy and headed out triumphantly back into the lake.

Dan manning the tiller.

 The wind was still up so we headed NWbN out across the lake. We had no real plans but we saw 3 to 4 knots as we charged across the north end of the lake. Granted we were not going fast by big boat standards but right hauling by Lido standards. We crossed the Sargasso Sea at the mouth of the Flathead River and bore off to avoid it. It gives you a right start when suddenly you're surrounded my marine growth that reaches up from the depths where moments before the bottom could not be seen!
 At about the half way point I queried the crew and asked them if we should continue on to Lakeside, far away on the other side or return home. The call was forward so forward we went. What followed was two hours of fine sailing, good conversation and decent food. We all took turns at the tiller and enjoyed finding the groove of the boat as she careened over the waves munching on the famed Flathead Cherry. The boat took it like the champion she is. Never once was she unsettled or unsure and footed along merrily. Not bad for a 56 year old! Esmeralda is a fine boat and I will miss her when she goes.
 We hit the doldrums around 1600 and with no wind at all attempted to paddle and nap for two hours within sight of our objective. At last the wind picked up and we sailed into Lakeside, a bone in our teeth and joy in our hearts. We docked under sail and decided we needed to get home. A call to my nephew set events in motion to do just that. A pontoon boat ride later and we had the boat on the trailer and were homeward bound.
 It was not to be. The trailer developed a fault and left it stranded in Pablo with my former brother-in-law. But even that cannot diminish what was. The finest day yet I've had. Looking forward to more like it.

Safe at Lakeside and looking forward to more.