Hide Article Text (OCR)
n«rwivra, ^ngiiuiuWhat seemed like an easy enough trip gets much harder and more complicated as 1 learn more. The English Channel, which looks so peaceful and dark blue on my National Geographic maps, on the local chart is filled with sand bars, mud flats, wrecked ships, the heaviest ship traffic in the world, and some of the nastiest weather I have ever seen. Plus a running tide that can go twelve knots, either direction. But 1 am learning!The White Swan is well equipped with safety devices such as life raft with survival gear, life jacket, - flares, emergency radio beacons, ship-tp-shore radio, safety harness, and much more.My daughter and son-in-law, Drew and Marshel Brooks, came down to the marina yesterday and we had our first mis-adventure. How NOT to sail across the Atlantic! 1 had been out a couple of times alone on the Swan and thought 1 sailed her fairly well, as she is a forgiving boat.With a crew of three, we handled her like old salts and looked pretty good in comparison with the other weekend sailors. After sailing about an hour in thebay, we took down the sails andproceeded up the River Orwell under power to look at the hundreds of boats either anchored in the Channel or tied up along the shore.We were about fifty yards offshore looking at some ancient Thames sailing barges, which we thought were afloat, they weren’t and then neither were we. We were aground in the mud. We reversed the engine and poled from forward with the spinnaker boom but found ourselves stuck fast— and the tide was ebbing.Having always wanted to swim in the cold water of the North Sea, I went overboard toby the rising tide, we rolled off the bulkheads (walls) where we had slept, onto the deck.Just as the tide crested, we were able, by winching, poling and running the engine full astern, to make it back to the deeper water in mid channel.So, in a pouring rain, under full sail, wet, cold, and muddy at five-thirty in the morning, we sailed triumphantly back to our berth at the marina.FROM PAGE ONEThe City of Gatesville rates will also be going up soon and this necessary hike proposal will be on the agenda when the city council meets Tuesday evening.Bob Stevens said the rate hikes were not something new, “Everyone knew it was coming”. He said all the entities involved have talked about it many times in the past. “We’ve just not had the figures before” for the bond payment.Patterson, who had just recently joined the Mountain Water Supply Board of Directors, said the intended hikes came as a shock to him. He said he thought a large number of water customers felt the same way.“We need the water, we can’t do without, our wells won’t last much longer, we’ve got to do something. It will cost us, but we have to learn to live with the fact the day of cheap water is long past. We have to live with it. We lived with the gas price hikes after saying we couldn’t pay that much. Its the same with water, we need it and will have to pay for it.”The United Methodist Women are presenting a book review given by Mrs. Marjorie Curry• The book to be reviewed Is the “Sooge Dynasty The presentation willbe on October 16 storting at 6:30 PM, In theMethodist Church. Tickets can be purchasedfrom any UM.W. member for $3.00 or callFrances Orbeck at 865-7080.r)
Newspaper Details
, ,
Mon, Jan 01, 0001
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Gatesville P.
NA, 04 Jan 2019
Other Publications Near ,
Gatesville Messenger and Star Forum
