July 25, 2002
THE FLEET IS IN!!!!
Regular readers of this space may remember that I hinted around last week of
something exciting about to
happen
Announcing................. the arrival of TWINS
| Name: Sunrise | Name: Sunset |
| Arrived on: July 25, 2002 | Arrived on: July 25, 2002 |
| Weight: 29 lbs | Weight: 29 lbs |
| Length: 25'3" | Length: 24'6" |
| Birthmarks: "Sunrise" on starboard side near bow. Rudder's name on deck inside splashguard. | Birthmarks: "Sunset" on starboard side near bow. Dichroic's name on deck inside splashguard. |
OK, the birth announcement may not be an entirely appropriate format. For one thing, parents rarely sell off one child to fund the birth of another. Also, those weight and length numbers would make for a fairly nasty birthing experience.
I couldn't write before about the new boats because Rudder wanted to spring it as a surprise on T2 and
Egret by sending them a picture of our new matching "fleet". Unfortunately, someone seems to have leaked the news ahead -- T2 told me he was "wondering why he hadn't heard anything yet". Oh well.
I should also mention the twins' littermate: She-Hulk and another rower ordered a double from the same
maker, Hudson. It's also very pretty, a sunny yellow with a white stripe coming to points on top.
I was still in training and couldn't leave early yesterday, or I'd have been out of here to go unload the boats. I'd been needing to stay late and get work done after class all week, but there was no way in hell I was staying after five with a new boat literally with my name on it in the boatyard. I tore out of here precisely at five and hauled ass down the freeway to the boatyard, letting Gordon Bok's Schooners supply proper mood music all the way. (It's really mostly about sailing, but the love for boats is in every note on the CD. Jenn, you need a copy.) Got there a little before six. Fortunately Rudder's work was calm enough that he was able to peel out and unload the boats, along with one owner of the double (She-Hulk is out of town and Not Happy about missing the boats' delivery) and Hardcore. My very kind husband did all the preliminary rigging for me, working outdoors in an Arizona July. Luckily, yesterday was relatively cool (only about 104!) but it was still hot enough that the truck driver who delivered the boats burned his hand touching
the aluminum rigger. When I got there someone told me the guys had just gone out in the double so I tore down to the water at top speed to grab a few photos. By the time they got back from their quick spin and I'd taken about fifteen photos of the boats alone and together, and I'd run down to the water about three more times
(less literally than the first time), I was dripping sweat inside the long pants I'd worn for work. Rudder had been there for four hours by then so we headed off to our favorite brewpub, conveniently only about 10 minutes from the lake, to grab some food. We sat outside under a mister because at least the air was moving; it's an old dairy that doesn't have A/C. It was late for us by then, and so hot I was starting to flip out until Rudder got me to put ice on the back of my neck, which helped a surprising amount. We kept it to one shared beer, since we'd be back out
on the lake in too few hours.
After christening the boats with the obligatory champagne, we spent this morning's practice in rowing a little, finetuning the rigging, rowing a little to test it, lather, rinse, repeat. The paint job is based on the Arizona flag. We've got oars and unisuits to match, so we'll be hard to miss at regattas. There are a few subtle differences, because Rudder's boat is a midweight and mine is a lightweight, but unless you look at the names they're hard to tell apart at a glance. I'm going to have star decals made, and put the Big Dipper and the North Star on mine -- because it seems appropriate for a boat named Sunset, and as an echo of the Alaska flag. Not only did I love Alaska, I'm hoping the evocation of the memory will keep me a little cooler as I row in our muggy monsoon mornings. There's a star in the middle of our AZ-flag oar blades so I'll match the color to that. Sweet, sweet boats -- smooth and
fast and very very pretty.