Debbie and I pulled Splendido up to the dock around 3 p.m. yesterday to await the arrival of our guests, Bob and Pam Shriver of Reno. As we gussied up the boat below decks, I was startled to feel a jarring “thunk thunk thunk” as some swells from a passing speedboat caused Splendido to smack her keel against the rocks about a foot below. I quickly “beat feet” above decks and pushed the boat back about 10 feet so there was a little more room beneath her keel. Clearly, the lake level has dropped from where it was just a few weeks ago, and the reminder of my mistake can be seen by the blue bottom paint on the rocks just off the pier. I put on my goggles and jumped overboard, swimming down to inspect the keel on both sides. Nothing major to report–luckily–except a little chipped bottom paint. I ran my hands over the keel bottom and everything seemed OK, then did the same thing along the keel-hull interface. I was a bit rattled by the experience, but that seems to be a weekly occurence when owning a sailboat.

Bob and Pam arrived and we shoved off. Winds were light and very shifty, so we headed north to Dollar Point, hoping to see some of the classic wooden boats celebrating the Lake Tahoe Concours d’Elegance at Sierra Boat Works in Carnelian Bay. We were thrilled to see a number of beautiful woodies, including the famous Thunderbird of Thunderbird Lodge fame.

The winds were so twitchy–swinging wildly from WNW to S–that I decided to tack right off Dollar Point, rather than go deeper into Carnelian Bay with all its boat traffic. It was 5 p.m. at that point, and I figured it would take a couple of hours to get back, tidy up, and get dinner going. The winds picked up considerably on the ride home, so Debbie drove while I manned the mainsheet. My rule of thumb with guests onboard is to keep the boat relatively flat and comfortable, so it was a bit of work to get upwind in the face of some pretty good gusts. We had spray coming over the bow from time to time, but we managed to stay dry and sailed over to  within view of Obexer’s, then tacked back toward home. Because the gusts were getting a bit hairier, I had Debbie fire up the engine and motor into the wind while I did my best to flake the sail over the boom. After finally getting her buttoned up, we tied up to the dock and sat down for some amazing ribs and fresh corn salad, courtesy of Bob and Pam, while Debbie served up a rich, fruity Zinfandel. Afterwards, she broke out a fresh Marionberry pie with a wonderfully flaky crust. I sat back and could’ve fallen asleep in the cockpit, exhausted but fulfilled after a fun afternoon on the water. The winds died down completely; Tahoe’s skies took on their rosy hue, and we bid our guests a safe trip back to Reno. I shooed Debbie off the boat with our bags and baggage, as it was getting dark fast, and I was a bit concerned about finding the buoy without a deck light to guide me (still haven’t replaced that #@&! bulb!). But, I just took it slow and got the line on the first try while Debbie watched from shore. I went through my security checklist one more time (Seacocks closed? Check. Head pumped dry? Check. Boathook put away? Check.), turned out the lights, and rowed the dinghy in the blackness toward shore.

Next weekend, I’m hosting some folks who won the “afternoon sail aboard Splendido” silent auction at Reno Chamber Orchestra’s 2013 Derby Day celebration…which means I’ve got a couple dozen things I need to do to make the boat pretty. Nothing like a hard deadline to inspire massive action!

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB