Finally get to sail.

Finally getting to blog about sailing our little Reinell sailboat! We took it out for the weekend.

There is still several things that I want to get done on the boat yet. But everything that needed to be done to make sure she was safe on the water was taken care of. We got to sail in Lake Washington for a bit, then the wind totally died. So we dropped anchor and jumped into the cool lake.

It is just so cool that we can be hot and ready to cool down, all we have to do is drop the anchor and we can go. It is a very unique feeling to be in the water next to your boat in the water! We got to test out the swim ladder and we found that we need a little support to keep the ladder from folding onto the hull. That made it really hard to climb aboard the boat. So we have to work on that.

We had to motor the rest of the way to Andrews bay off of Seward Park. As we rounded the point to head in I was very happy to not see very many boats at all. I figured the weekend before the 4th of July this place would be packed with boats. As we finished rounding the point we saw there was a good number of boats anchored there.

Luckily having a shoal keel we where able to find a spot pretty close to the shore. We anchored in about 20 feet of water. It didn't take long before our friends showed up. We got to do our first raft up! That was nice. Being able to hang out and chat with friends on our boat was a nice new experience.

The kids where able to jump of the sailboat and swim to our friends power boat. They have a nice swim platform and it was easier for the kids to get out of the water. Then they where able to walk over to our boat and jump in again!  The laughter of the kids and us as we chatted was awesome!

We had a simple dinner of burritos to fuel our hungry bodies. Watching as the sun started to dip below the hill. The kids where set on doing some night swimming in the Lake. It didn't take them long before they where back in the water. Being able to swim when ever you want is such a nice perk of this!

After the kids had their fill of the water, it was nice to relax and hang out on the boat. Watching as more and more stars started to pop out as the sky gets darker. Just being able to take it easy and relax. Listening to the sound of the waves lapping at the boat.

We got to try out our new V berth and it worked pretty good. Unfortunately the mast really rattled as the boat rolled on the water. It was a little hard falling asleep.

After some breakfast the wind started picking up. We where able to put up the sails and sail along for awhile. Again we stopped and enjoyed a dip in the lake.

We enjoyed a beautiful weekend. Beautiful views of Mount Rainier, sunsets and the water. Getting to spend time with friends. Getting some time with the sails full as we glide over the water. Of course the weekend had to come to an end. We took the boat into the dock and loaded her onto the trailer.

Until next time.