To say I was tired the morning we left for the Lake Rathbun would be an understatement. During my 12 hr. shift at the hospital, I received a phone call from the marine mechanic telling me that the 7.5 hp outboard motor was shot. I was instantly upset at the fact that our motor was junk and the mechanic suggested that I would be better off buying a new motor. After calling a marine shop which suggested a long shaft (which is preferred for sailboats) 6 hp motor at a cost of 1800.00, I thought I would look else where. Craiglist revealed that for 300.00 I could get a outboard that is from the 1950's or 1960's but who knew how long it would last. Than Karl pulls a "Hail Mary" pass and got me in touch with a friend that sold me a 6 hp Johnson that ran like a top for 200.00. The Weekend was back on!!

I found out in the morning more good news. My second oldest step daughter, Jordan was going to join us at the lake for Barely Awake's first sail. Jordan is the first daughter to show any interest in boating. Later I found out that she was promised a pair of "Sperrys" (nice boat shoes) if she got into boating. She decided to ride with me in the boat as we launched the boat from the trailer, because she thought that it would involve less work. She was sorely mistaken.

We learned many lessons over the weekend. The first lesson we learned was that sailboats do not back up. Jordan and I exited the trailer and drifted into a shallow cove as we panicked to drop the keel and steer the boat. After asking Jordan to take over the motor while I maned the keel, Jordan began to panic and caused me to panic. Jordan started to scream, "I don't know what I'm doing". To help her I just let the keel fall. While the winch spun as the 400 pound keel fell I learned my second lesson. You are not a bumper to stop a boat, or any of its parts. As the winch handle flung around it caught me on the wrist causing it to swell to twice its normal size. If I suffered a hairline fracture I would not have been surprised. Amy asked me to go see a doctor, but my stubbornness prevented that. Even though our trip to the slip was frightening and slightly confusing we made it without looking too stupid. While Jordan relaxed from her exciting boating experience with a swim, Amy and I put up the head and main sails. We decided that for the first sail, Karl and I would go out and he would teach me how to sail our boat. Barely Awake is a fine ship! She floats (always a plus), has no leaks, and starts to sing when she gets moving.

We then said good bye to Jordan as she was heading home, and prepared to have dinner with the members of the Rathbun Yacht Club (RYC). After having dinner at the Albia brewing company, which had amazing beer, we returned to the marina to sleep on Barely Awake. We also received a wonderful 45 min fireworks display that easily rivaled most large city shows.

During the middle of the night I was woke up by a sudden buzzing sound. The source was a hive of paper wasps that we missed earlier in the day. I got Amy up and out and then sprayed them down with wasp killer. We spent the rest of the night out in the cockpit. What a wonderful night sleep.