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Joe Dupere
07-28-2002, 02:15 PM
A couple of weeks ago, I finally had a chance to meet up with Ishmael. He and I took my Weekender out to Lake Sebasticook in Newport, Maine, which is about 5 miles long by about 3 miles wide. The winds were out of the west, about 20 knots or so with gusts up to 25 knots and coming down the long part of the lake. The Weekender design is a 16' LOD gaff rig with a flat bottom and deep(ish) keel. I'd had her on Sebasticook four times in the couple of weeks prior to sailing with Ish, but always in much lighter winds. Most of my sailing in her has been with my dad and that always off the Maine coast somewhere. Ish has a Drascombe lugger which has been stored for about four or five years, so it was his first time out in a while. We took turns at the tiller and had a pretty wet ride across the lake with three foot rollers in the middle part of the lake. We finally found a cove and hove to for a bit and reefed in the main. After that the ride was much more relaxing. The sailing that day was very good, but let's just say my docking needs a bit of practice, and let it go at that!!

We had a good six hours on the lake, talking about everything, and nothing, the way you do when you're getting to know someone. It was a very nice day and we have plans to do it again sometime soon. Ish is planning to get his lugger up here so we can do turn about. Can't wait.

And as they say, a good day sailing is better than a bad day at work.

Joe

ken mcclure
07-29-2002, 09:05 AM
Ah! So Ish does exist, and is not an AI-gone-wrong as has been proposed by some. This is good.

Sounds like you had a decent day.

Nothing quite like new friends.

ishmael
07-29-2002, 12:17 PM
posted 07-16-2002 08:04 PM
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I finally hooked up with Joe here in the North land of Bangor, and we took his 'Weekender' sloop out for a sail on Sebasticook lake. It was blowing an un-steady twenty, gusty to twenty-five(at least, I'll bet), very variable in the hilly bowl of the lake, and for we two rusty sailors it was quite a ride until in the lee shore we tied a reef in the main. Small sharpie/dory hull, no ballast, gaff rigged.

After the reef, she behaved as a lady and we had five hours of fine lake sailing. After too many years landlocked, without a boat, it was truly a treat.

Jack

Chris Coose
07-30-2002, 08:14 AM
You guys want to come to Portland some time and we'll take the cat for a ride?
About any day is a good one for me.