Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Overboard

Thirty something knot winds don't scare us anymore, but as we sat down below eating our soup for lunch as if nothing was amiss cans, boxes, books, etc. sliding all over the place, poor Turlock took a spill.

Upon hearing a loud splash, we peeked outside spotting our red gas can floating away. "Oh, Sh--!" Turlock was on his belly, outboard submerged, floor missing. We struggled wildly trying to turn him over as gusts of winds kept knocking him back over. Finally, Ryan pulled real hard, slicing his hand and Turlock was upright.

Ryan quickly rowed to the gas can, which luckily did not leak, scooped it up and tried to fight his way back against the wind. I felt like I was watching an Olympic event. The dogs and I cheered from the sidelines as Ryan paddled a resistant Turlock home to Prudence. As he crossed the finish line, I tied them off. Sarah kissed him. Dillon went back to his donut position in the shade sorry that today's games were over.

Cost to fix
25% of the original outboard cost

Could've purchased
3 nights in a slip at a high end marina
100 blocks of ice
40 six packs of beer
40 bottles of fancy nail polish (Well, I don't use that anymore anyway.)

Learned
Turlock is a wimp. Ryan is not a wimp, rather he's quite strong for such a slim frame he's been sporting recently. Turlock must be tied off closer to the boat and from two points in high winds. Outboard should always be brought onboard despite the fact that it's 50 pound weight makes it difficult for Ryan to balance in the dinghy atop moving water and lift up and down 4 times a day.