Skunk, damp mud? Yes! Spring is in the air!
Issue 41 : Mar/Apr 2005
The days are getting longer. It’s light out when I leave the house for my walk after supper, and there’s more than just a hint of the sunset when I return an hour later. There’s a good month of ice fishing yet, and the robins are still a way off, but there’s the faint odor of fresh mud in the dampness every once in a while. And any day now there’ll be the lingering scent of a road-killed skunk, a sure harbinger of spring.
It seems like the last sail of the season was just a few weeks ago. It was too cold and windy to hoist the sails, and it looked like it was going to rain any minute, so we pulled the sails and got them bagged up and into the truck before we fired up the iron spinnaker, cast off, and headed down the river. My passengers were willing, but since neither had been sailing much they were a bit apprehensive about the whole experience. The small-craft warnings they’d heard on the marine radio didn’t do anything to assuage their fears, but they put their trust in me. I had told them that I didn’t want anyone on my boat to get so scared or seasick that they wouldn’t go again. This was my chance to prove it.
We poked our nose out into the big lake and went out about a quarter of a mile. The wind was blowing offshore, so the further out we got, the rougher it was. We puttered around for about 20 minutes, made a quick stop at the fuel dock to top off the tank for the winter, and headed back to the slip.
Tense moments
There were a few tense moments when the engine stalled under the drawbridge, but quick movements, and the fact that I managed to hide the rising panic, reinforced my overall image as captain. “You’re certainly in your element!” was the comment that reassured me that all was well. If I could hear that after my first season, I guess I must be doing something right. But I’m sure there’ll come a time when I’ll question that statement. Mustn’t get too cocky, you know.
That was the better part of five months ago. Five months from now we’ll be in the thick of another season. In the meantime there’ll be a few more snowstorms, the thermometer will come close to the zero mark, and we’ll have to let the car warm up before heading off to work. But we’re starting to get things ready. We’re making checklists, repairing equipment, deciding what new gadgets we need. Before we know it, we’ll be able to cast off and head for open water. We’ll feel the gentle rolling of the swell; sense the boat as she stiffens; hear the wind in the wires; see the spray flying across the bow. Yes, this will all happen! Soon! Real soon!
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