Sightings

Willsboro Bay
44 23.94 N 073 23.58 W

Yesterday was a big success. I think that John and Paul had great fun sailing. It made me happy to be able to provide the opportunity for them. In addition to being John's dad, I was happy to do something good for these two career soldiers who spend their entire career sacrificing for our benefit. They deserved a break. Maybe somewhere else in our travels we can find soldiers who would like a free day on a sail boat.

Libby and I returned to Willsboro under sail. Part of our trip was after dark and the night time sail was very pleasant. We even got to see the Space Station. Third night in a row for me, the first time ever for Libby. We also saw another strange and unusual sight. In the middle of the lake we came across a baby deer swimming across the lake. It wasn't an infant; I guess it was 1 year old. I circled it debating whether to attempt to do anything to help this poor animal in peril. In the end, we decided that attempting to help might do more harm than good. Anyhow, the deer seemed to be swimming strongly and to know it's sense of directions. We left it alone.

Wednesday night, at Valcour, John, Paul and I watched the people from the boat anchored next to us. There was just a young woman and a little girl on board. Around sunset, we saw them climbing into their dinghy. I cearly saw a transparent plastic bag holding firewood. Big red block letters on the bag said BURN RITE. I sneered at the thought of such an urbane person being out here at Valcour. They went ashore where there is a shelf of rock by the waters edge, just perfect for a little campfire. I watched as the woman emptied a bottle of charcoal lighter fluid on the wood, then threw a match at it. Tsk tsk, I thought, typical city person. WHOOSH, the fire exploded into flame. After a few more minutes a deeper truth dawned on me. She and the girl were sitting on the shore enjoying a delightful little fire, while I and the others were sitting on the boat not doing what she did. It's a good lesson in life. I can't think of an aphorism to express it, but I bet my readers can suggest one. The contradictory aphorism is "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right." What aphorism means, "Even if you can't do it right, doing is better than not doing."

Just a moment ago, a Hunter 41 sailboat from Charlotte VT came in to the bay. It appeared to carry an elderly dad and his daughter. Libby and I were sitting in the cockpit, so we watched as they maneuvered the boat and dropped anchor. I could tell even before he dropped that the skipper had misjudged. Sure enough, after the anchor pulled up tight their stern came up much too close to our bow for comfort. I wanted to jump up and yell, "You're too close!" Instead, I bit my tongue and said nothing. I did however stare at them while trying to look nervous and attempting to send them a message by telepathy. The skipper looked troubled. Good. Then he went back up in the bow and pulled in some of his anchor rode, thus shortening scope. "Oh No," I thought, "That's the wrong choice. It will make things worse." I redoubled my telepathic efforts. It worked. The skipper looked disappointed but he raised anchor, and their boat moved away a safe distance and re-anchored. Good for him. What he may miss from lack of experience he made up for with good judgment.

We're expecting storms and 40 knot sustained winds shortly, so we're sitting tight. We invited our good friend Carol, who lives nearby to come for dinner. I hope that it's not too stormy when she arrives.