Ahoy Paupack Sailing Club,
Spring has passed us by in a hurry, and Sailing is preceding full steam ahead into summer! When I began preparing to write my first column for the newsletter after our winter meeting, I remember the morning. I was looking out the window at a slight dusting of snow on the barn. The temperature was just above freezing, and the world of boating was far from my mind as I was busy with my new flock of chickens. Today, I am fortunate to be looking forward to sailing on the boat this beautiful sunny July afternoon, and reminiscing about this past weeks sailing adventures.
For years, Lake Wallenpaupack has been the place to be for the annual 4th of July fireworks show. The Lake Wallenpaupack fireworks are an amazing sight to behold. After a day spent in the summer sun with food, family and friends, it’s the perfect way to end this patriotic holiday. After being delayed by weather, the annual fireworks show over Lake Wallenpaupack took place on Saturday. I think this worked in our favor since we had a great turnout and display of well decorated boats. We met up behind Eppley Island with my boat arriving just in time before we maneuvered into a single file up to the dike to parade past the spectators. I am always filled with pride looking at the sight of our Sailboats in parade line with all the patriotic colors and big American flags streaming back in the wind. Then we circled up to the Dam and rafted up between Schuman’s point and the High School where the fireworks were to be fired off. We set a couple
anchors and rafted up together, some cooking up dinner on the grill, and others jumping in for a swim to cool off and wait for sunset. Tired from the preparations and ride up the lake, I enjoyed the food and a relaxing swim with the kids immensely.
We then anxiously awaiting the fireworks. We tuned our radio to Classic Hits 105.3 to hear there was a slight delay, but they soon started the countdown and the patriotic music began to play to the amazing display of fireworks which were well worth the wait! The show was even more amazing than years past thanks to the contributions from area businesses who sponsor the event each year. The entire show felt like one long finale lasting over forty minutes! When the actual finale came it was a constant barrage of fireworks like I’ve never seen before! After the fireworks were over we cleaned up and prepped our vessels for the voyage back to Ironwood allowing the many motor boats surrounding us to depart first and take their wakes with them. Once most of them disappeared into the darkness we cast off our lines, hauled up the anchors and motored away. It’s nice being able to stick together for safety purposes and reassuring to hear the vessels ahead radioing back warning of boats without proper lighting so that we can have the crew lookout for them. It’s also great to know that no one will be left behind.
After a long night of laughter and fun with friends we awoke to the serenity of the fog lifting
from the glassy calm waters of the lake. As breathtaking a sight this was, it meant bad news for the afternoon’s race we had scheduled. As I began cleaning up the decorations the word was passed down the dock that the race had been cancelled since there wasn’t enough wind seen or forecasted for the day. This proved a wise call in addition because of the chop we experienced that morning from the many motor boats on the lake for the day.
This Saturday July fourteenth we are scheduled to have our annual Summer Social night! We plan to meet under the club pavilion at Ironwood Point at 4:00pm. Bring your favorite snacks and drinks, card, and board games for some on-shore fun. Hopefully there isn’t any wind so none of those salty sailors try sneaking off to go sailing! Please come down for some laughs, andgreat fun. We hope this will be a fun night with a good turnout that we can keep going for years to come.
Summer seems to be slipping by too quickly for me. I can’t believe it is already July, and Race five is scheduled in less than two weeks. July 22 nd will see the Melges crew on Race Committee detail and Fiddler’s Green to coordinate the following picnic duties. Before the month is out we have the Bob Schmidt Regatta to look forward to on July 28 th where the usual skippers are to release the helm! This race is a chance to for the ladies, children, rookies, or total novice crew to take their turn on the helm and see what it’s like! I am really looking forward to it, and the other half of the season that is yet in front of us. Thank you to our club officers for doing such a great job coordinating these events and to all of you for supporting them. It is always a great feeling to see everyone pitching in to help each other, and while I don’t want the season to go by too fast I can’t wait for Wally Fest and the other scheduled activities we have planned!