September 2006 – March 1, 2007 Warm Plain Winds; Perry Lake, KS
Position: Some place a friendship sloop should not be, Perry Lake, Kansas
Captain: Arieyeh J. Austin
Time on Water: Every warm Saturday for the last 250 days
The last time I was able to write in this log was May 6th, 2006. At that time, my family, Nasaru, and I were still located on the Puget Sound in Olympia, WA. We were returning from a long and much enjoyed vacation, as well as a desperately needed respite, from the San Juan Islands, North of Seattle but just shy of Vancouver, Canada. We had received orders to report to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, upon the completion of my duties as an Aide De Camp to the Deputy Commanding General of I Corps and Fort Lewis, WA. My new assignment was to serve in the Battle Command Training Program, Fort Leavenworth, KS, as an Exercise Controller, helping develop the War Fighting Exercises that Brigade, Division, and Corps Staffs would participate in prior to their deployments overseas in support of both Endearing and Iraqi Freedom (OE and OIFs). The assignment was a good one, as it postured my family and I to begin the next phase of my military education, the Completion of Command and General Staff College, as well as allowed me to begin my Masters work on Human Resource Management and Administration. It also stabilized my family, giving me some much needed bonding time with our two children that I had seen very little of over the course of the last three years while serving as a Commander in Iraq and as an Aide. However, the uncertainty in regards to Nesaru’s fate made me very uneasy.
We had purchased her out of complete affection and love. I have sworn to take care of her to my ending days, but the prospect of bringing her to Kansas weighed heavily upon us. We coordinated to have a custom made trailer produced for her, and then purchased a vehicle with a tow package that could haul her from Seattle to Kansas. We then had her shrink rapped in order to protect her top and gel coats. I was particular about her move, wanting to make sure she was not damaged in any way. We contacted a marina, Rock Creek Marina on Perry Lake, prior to our departure to ensure we would be able to berth and store her. You can not imagine our hesitation when they asked us her length, to which I replied 36 feet with the sprit, to which they replied, “What’s a sprit?” Her out haul, loading, and trip along Americas highways was surreal. Its an odd thing to walk out of a Holiday Inn and see a Friendship Sloop on a trailer outside the front door. Nesaru took it in stride, and luckily complained very little along the way. She seemed to sense that she was coming with us, one way or another, and did not want to put up to much of a fuss... yet.
When we arrived in Rock Creek Marina at Perry Lake, we were greeted by a group of spectators who wanted to see a Friendship Sloop. We had called the marina earlier to make sure they would be able to meet us. We were not expecting the group that was there when we pulled in. As Nesaru swooned in pride the owner, DJ, directed us to where we could drop her off. The lake was smaller then I had expected, but was "sailable". The marina seemed secure, and the people of the Midwest were more then hospitable. It was not until we reached the dry dock yard that Nesaru let out her first sigh of grief. It was as if, seeing the lake for the first time with me, she simply asked, “Where is the salt water, the seagulls and the seals? Where am I? Where have you taken me and how did you get me into this mess?” I had no answers for her. We both looked out over the lake, perplexed as to its size, the cows that seemed to be grazing all around it, and the crane that was supposed to get her into the water… Just what had I gotten us into?
We decided to spend the winter upgrading her. She may not have been happy in regards to her location, but she would at least be content after we finished primping her. In October 2006 we moved her into dry storage and began work. Barb and I stripped all of her rub and gunny rail teak, her sprit, club boom, boom, and mast. We even stripped her Dory Box’s and hatches. We then re-varnished all of them using two coats Thompsons Sealer, 8 coats Captains Spar Varnish, and two coats Spar Varnish Gloss. We also stripped all of the blocks and standing rigging and used Cetal Light and Gloss on those. We then paid the marina to strip her topsides and Gel Coat and refinish them pine green (I told them I wanted to see me face from 30 feet away – and they made it happen). While they were working on her they became so ecstatic that they even shined the bronze chain plates and eagle head under the sprit for free. When I saw here again, the bottom had been sanded, painted, all topsides refinished, and all of the bronze glistened gold! It was an unbelievable transformation. We also had a new Hailing Board made for her and posted on her transom out of Teak, as well as coordinated to have a machinist make a replacement bronze caul vent to replace the plastic one on her cabin, as well as some new scupper plates and a cap for the wheel, also out of bronze. Then, when Barb and I brought the spars down from the house in Leavenworth (we refinished them in the evenings in our garage) and had the mast stepped… well, you can not imagine how she looked. I just do not have words for how beautiful she was. Not a scratch or chip on her anywhere… it was surreal. Simply sublime. Nesaru glistened with joy.
We were the first boat to launch that Spring on the entire lake, March 1st 2007. It was raining when she slipped into the water and cruised over to her slip. It reminded me, and her I think, of Washington. Only the cows on the North side of the state park were there to watch her go in. I was not aware at the time of the adventures I would have that Spring-Fall, but I did note that it seemed windy to me that morning… Little did I realize that sailing in Kansas is not as slight an ordeal as one would expect. My underestimation would cost me dearly in the next few months, for, while waves, tide and current may no longer be a factor, 30-40 miles per hour winds with jet skies and ski boats would be. It would prove to be a long season for us… that however, is another story. For now, I leave you with the thought of a Friendship Sloop, Nesaru, in strange waters, patiently waiting for her chance to show Kansas what she could do. She had new sails, new canvas, new cushions, new bottom paint, new varnish, new topsides, new gelcoat, and a new dutchmans topsail… what could go wrong? Murphy, that’s what…
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”
Seneca, Roman philosopher
