Monday, September 7, 2009

A Beautiful Day Sailing

Church went well on Sunday. Kind of an odd Sunday since we had a substitute musician to fill the one-Sunday-gap between Matthew and Eric. The fill-in was Kim Kendrick, our Cantor Laura's mom. I know Kim and her family from my St. Mary Magdalene days (she sings in the choirs there). She did well--it certainly is not easy to lead worship in music!

Attendance was good. Picking up now that summer is ending and kids are going back to school. My sermon was good, but short. But that's okay!

After church one of my parishioners invited out for a sail that afternoon. He was taking some kids out to see the Toronto Air Show from the water. We made arrangements for him to pick Betsy and I up at a certain pier on the city-side of the Inner Harbor. At the appropriate time the "nonsuch" sailboat pulled along side and we tied her up and Betsy and I got aboard. The wind was solid, so we didn't have to motor far before hoisting up the sail of the Nonsuch 30'. Once we got through the eastern gap of the harbor, the wind and the swells picked up. The F-18 jets from the air show were streaking overhead and skimming the water and trees. We ate sandwiches and enjoyed the air show. Pretty soon we were going between 6 and 7 knots (max 7.1 knts) and heeling pretty well. The surges were making it interesting as I took the helm. The skipper and his son were on the bow enjoying the surges and resultant sprays. Two of the girls were hanging onto the lifelines on the windward side in a way that made me kind of nervous. After heading south for a while I switched with the skipper and went up the bow. Lots of spray and ups and downs. Very fun. We headed back with plenty of wind all the way back to the harbor and near the channel to the boat slip inside the inner harbor. Back on land, we enjoyed a drink by the water's edge looking back towards the city. A lovely day on the water, to be sure.

Back at home, it didn't take long before I went down for a nap. Slept through 'till this morning. I managed to mow the lawn and do some minor errands. Betsy worked on some sewing projects. In the evening we had a baby shower with friends. A little TV and now thinking about bed. Tomorrow is a big day!

-t

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