Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Lake Entiat: Sailing and More

Well, we did it. Vince and I took "Duet" out of storage after nearly four years of neglect and sailed for two days in a row. I must admit though we had a comical Laurel and Hardy start, rigging the boat and trying to remember which line went where. Vince was beginning to question the work-to-fun ratio. What had once been a thirty-minute process to rig this fifteen-foot wonder (a Montgomery 15) quickly turned into a two-hour fiasco, with a lot of head-scratching and staring at instructions. But our efforts did eventually pay off. 



Duet was a beautiful sight when the sails were finally hoisted. She was the only sailboat on Lake Entiat last weekend. Sailing is all about the moment, not the destination. One glides along at the mercy of the wind on a zig-zag course. In a world spinning faster the older I get, I find this pace relaxing at times, but the work getting the boat ready was hard in the hot sun. (Note to V&S: do not rig in 90-plus heat!!)

Vince at the tiller, his favorite position.
At the tiller or on the bow. Either spot, I like both!

Lake Entiat is a large reservoir located near Rock Island Dam, one of Washington's many hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River.




Near Orondo, Washington next to the Wenatchee Mountain range, Lake Entiat is a nice recreational destination for campers and boaters. It is about four hours away for us. Vince and I camped three nights on its shore at Daroga State Park along with my brother and wife's family.

Site 24. Where we camped.





Lots of food and good company!

 


 Delicious campground beef stew with home grown vegetables, made by my sister-in-law. I was surprised to learn that this is the same Coleman stove my parents used when I was a girl. My brother had discovered it recently in storage. Still works great!

Besides sailing, I also tried water skiing behind my brother's boat, but alas . . . after a hiatus of probably thirty years, my legs just were not strong enough. ~Sigh~ I so much wanted to be up on those skis. I still remember skiing under the Narrows Bridge in Tacoma, Washington behind my father's boat as a teen. The water was quite choppy that day in Puget Sound under the Narrows and there had been whale sightings nearby. I held fast to the rope and avoided jumping over the wake, as was my usual form, on the lookout for anything black and unusually large.

 (Brrr . . . Don't worry, I can do this! I think I can, I think I can . . .)
 


 My brother remembers a similar experience skiing over a swarm of yellow jelly fish when he was younger, also worried he would fall. By the way, he bounced right up on those skis when it was his turn. Way to go, Bob!!

Vince and I brought bicycles, too, and enjoyed the bike trails that run through the park and beyond alongside the lake. Five hours of sailing and and an hour or two of biking gave us a good workout, and yes, I was a bit sore when I came home. Not bad for a couple getting ready to retire in a year or so, huh?




Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl




Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

13 comments:

  1. Wonderful pictures. Mike's cousin worked at Rock Island Dam for his career. We took an adventure over the weekend, too, and then yesterday, I went to Silverwood with the Fiorillo family. So much fun.

    We need to enjoy the last few weeks of summer.

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  2. Oh what fun, Cathy. We have not been to Silverwood in a long time--another area treasure. Sometime soon I hope.

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  3. If we could go before the weather turns chilly--and that's a bit "if", the water park is so much fun. I love the wave machine. Then there's the rest of the park--the rides. It's definitely worth $33 for a long, enjoyable day.

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  4. Oh, let's try soon! Whenever Mike can break from harvest. Weather is perfect.

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  5. You rigging the sails sounds like me threading the sewing machine every time I bring it out. Although, I can have a fan blowing on me.

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    Replies
    1. Ha-ha. Sewing was my thing years back, now not so much.

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  6. How cool that you have a sailboat and can sail. I love the pictures - it looks like so much fun. I can relate to your rigging, it took us hours to hitch our fifth wheel the first few times, when it should've only taken minutes. Turns out we could never see if it was hitched, until we got the idea to paint the claw things with flourescent paint! It was quick everytime after that. :)

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    Replies
    1. What a great solution painting it flourescent, Kimberly. I always ask though why things are so difficult. Life I guess.

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  7. This looked like fun! I wish I could go sailing sometime.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  8. Loks like a fun time sailing! My dad and I went out on his folkboat in San Francisco bay a few weeks back and had a good time, but whew we had a rough ride when the weather picked up:)

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  9. My goodness, what gorgeous pictures! I'm a wee bit on the jealous side now. How I'd love to get away and enjoy the outdoors, and memories! We always went camping (occasionally with a trailer) when I was a kid.

    First time visitor here--love your blog header. Too cute.

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  10. "work-to-fun ratio" ... LOVE IT! that's what we think when we go camping sometimes. :)

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  11. Hi Sharon,
    My name is Jane and I'm with Dwellable.
    I was looking for blogs about Entiat to share on our site and I came across your post...If you're open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
    Hope to hear from you soon!
    Jane

    ReplyDelete

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You could call me an eternal optimist, but I'm really just a dreamer. l believe in dream fulfillment, because 'sometimes' dreams come true. This is a blog about my journey as a writer and things that inspire and motivate me.