Tag: claytor lake

I wore my wetsuit

October 25th, 2021

Saturday was a heavy chore day, which sucked, but getting everything done on Saturday meant we opened Sunday to goof off. The sky was clear, the leaves are falling, and we wanted to be out on the water. My husband put the paddleboards on the car while I collected wetsuits and towels, and we drove the half hour to our nearest lake.

This was the second time I wore my new wetsuit this season, and given how little time I actually spent in the water (read: none), it was a little too warm a day for a full wetsuit. About halfway through the paddle, I pulled the top down and the arms flapped free at my waist.

The day was glorious. It was just what I needed after a busy work week and the frantic planning for a last minute trip to New York City to take our daughter to see Harry Styles next weekend. The air was the crisp of late October, and a stiff breeze brought out the pretty white sails of sailboats.

Crunchy leaves floated on the lake’s surface in the coves we poked into. I saw two mallard ducks in a quiet, empty part of the lake — a brown and white female, and a male with his shimmering, peacock blue-green head — dunking their heads under the water with their butts in the air. I admired saffron-colored trees against the crystalline blue sky. I watched leaves fall gently down.

I wore booties on my feet to launch and recover so I wouldn’t have to step on the slippery boat ramp or wince as I walked on gravel, but I took them off to paddle. I feel more steady when the soles of my feet make direct contact with my paddleboard. My husband jumped into the lake when he got hot. Even with a wetsuit on, I wasn’t up for that. Instead, when I got hot, I slipped my paddle under the bungee, sat on my board, and dangled my bare feet off the side into the icy lake.
First fire, final sail

November 1st, 2020

It was cold for sailing yesterday, with a high of 48 ℉, but the wind was perfect. It was a steady Force 3 (or maybe Force 4?) breeze, and we knew it would likely be our last chance to sail for the season. We waited until afternoon to catch the warmest part of the day and to give the sky a chance to clear of its low, grey clouds. At 4:15pm we were headed out onto the water while the only other boat on the lake was going in.

One other sailboat on the lake, heading in as we were heading out

Running with the wind

The sail was glorious. The wind was the perfect strength to move our little boat near her top speed, and we sailed every point of sail. We ran with the wind behind us, where the water gurgles and and makes pliant sounds because we’re moving with it. We beat into the wind, where the water slaps and makes hard smacking sounds because we’re moving against it. And we sailed back and forth across the lake on a reach, the fastest point of sail, where the water makes fast rattling sounds, where the wind blew my hair from my face, and where we moved so fast we made our own little wake while under sail.

Moving fast under sail

Recent wind stripped the trees of leaves, so most of the fall color is already done. The light itself was beautiful, though. We dropped the jib upwind of the ramp, and took one more trip back and forth across the lake as the sun dropped. Halfway across, I started shivering, and I didn’t stop until we were in the car with the heat on. I’m going to have to figure out a better glove situation for cool weather sailing; my hands are useless when they’re cold and numb. But look at the light!

Golden October light just before the sun dropped

When we got out of the car at home, I started shivering again, despite wool socks and leggings under my pants, and a tank top, long sleeved shirt, fleece, light down jacket, and wool hat up top. Brian warmed tomato soup while I changed into different fleece layers, and only after the soup and a grilled cheese did I stop shivering. Just to be on the safe side, though, and because I started reading Jane Eyre yesterday and wanted to cozy up with some tea and my book next to a warm hearth, I built a fire while Brian played guitar. I lay next to it and read, warm and cozy after a gorgeous day in the wind.

First fire of the season
October sail with cirrus clouds

October 19th, 2020

We watch the weather in October, ready to jump if there’s a day warm enough and with enough breeze to move our little O’Day Day Sailer. The sailing season will end soon, and our every sail may be the last one for the year.

Sails and blue sky

The weather Sunday was glorious: crisp skies, high cirrus clouds, high of 60℉, and light wind. And by light wind, I mean barely a breath.

It was a great day to study light air. I wrote about Force 3 wind, the gentle breeze, from my living room. On our sail I observed what Force 1 wind, also known as light air, looks and feels like. The water is glassy, you might feel a cool breath on your cheek, but only if your face is angled exactly right. Force 1 wind is classified as 1-3 mph.

Force 1: light airs; glassy calm, some ripples

Between Force 1 and Force 2: glassy ripples

Force 2 wind, or a light breeze, is 4-6 mph and creates an overall ripple pattern on the water. When you’re sitting in a patch of glassy water, and you see ripples coming toward you, you can expect a puff of light breeze to come up and move you soon.

Mix of Force 1 and Force 2: ripples with a patch of glassy calm

Between Force 1 and Force 2 — glassy ripples

Our boat is small, so it doesn’t take much to push it. If there’s any air movement at all, including 1-3 mph light air, Egretta will sail, but it will take a long time to get anywhere. In this low wind, we moseyed up the lake to the dam in about twice the time is usually takes us.

The lake was quiet except for the honking of geese and the light taps of water against the shiny blue hull.

On the way back, the wind behind us, we turned on some music, Alex the Astronaut, and we let the wind push us home. Again, it took about twice the time it usually does. I didn’t care. The sun was out, and the cirrus clouds were beautiful.

Cirrus clouds

Our sailboat, Egretta, at the ramp