Lake Arthur is a beautiful lake, described by locals as being merely a wide space on the Mermentau River. Wide space or not, it’s really beautiful, and we’ve loved the several occasions we’ve been on it. Paul Cassity, whom we met at the Yacht Club the night of the Gumbo Regatta, dropped by the following Friday after the Regatta, staying till nearly midnight as we went over his photos of Peru. We are intensely interested as we’ll be going through there sooner than later.
Paul invited us to sail with him the following week. We very much wanted to do it, because when we hit the islands in a few years, it has been suggested that we learn to crew on boats in order to get around the islands and up the island chain. We are clueless when it comes to boats or sailing, and we’ve been wondering how we can get educated.
Lynn and Hansford brought us up to Lake Arthur and got us settled into the lake cottage. We always enjoy the time we spend with them, which has been less frequent lately since we are all so busy, so it was a double bonus in getting to see them. After they left we just read quietly all night – a rare event for us. We each had a room and a real bed – what an experience that was! (We’ve been sleeping on the floor the last few months.) Next morning, I dragged my sleeping bag into Chelsea’s room and we sat watching the lake view and reading…it was heaven.
Our first sailing adventure was alternately terrifying, hilarious and peaceful. Paul assigned Chelsea to the wheel of the boat while still in the harbor, and she kept that job all day. Both Chelsea and I love being on the water – we kayaked for four years every chance we got; we’ve been on big boats (like cruise ships); we snorkel any chance we get; but we hate the thought of falling into the water. You can imagine our low-level terror when we got going right into the wind with the sails up and we were moving along at a distinct lean into the water! We were both trying to be calm and cool about it, but I’m whispering urgently to Chelsea “Turn into the wind! Turn into the wind! Straighten it out! Straighten it out!” She’s urgently whispering back “I’m trying! I’m trying!” Meanwhile I’m sliding from side to side away from the water.
I know it’s something we just need to get used to, like flying in the ultralight. The first time we went up in the air, I was absolutely terrified of any movement except gentle ups and downs, and my hands would cramp from gripping the struts. The last time I flew (after many rides in between), I was exhilarated by the banking turns and sharp upward climbs. But hey, it took us many rides to get to that point! So we knew we had a learning curve here, but it didn’t make the interim any easier.
Paul was really low-key and matter-of-fact, just perfect for what we needed. He let me help him with the ropes and whatever needed doing, complimenting Chelsea on her handling, and telling me what to do when things got a little crazy. The wind finally died a bit, so things got easier (meaning, not so many leans into the water). Paul has a really nifty setup on his boat – he’s got a brace at the back of the boat that is set for a small portable barbecue, with a propane tank attached. We sailed around the lake until sunset, then we drifted while Paul barbecued hamburgers for us (from a Paul Prudhomme blackened burger recipe). And it wasn’t only the hamburgers – we had wine and crackers and a cheese roll while we waited for the burgers, and we had tomatoes and onions, and fresh lettuce and horseradish and Dijon mustard on our burgers!
The evening was absolutely beautiful. We watched the sun set and the stars come out, and discussed all the constellations, trying to pick out the ones we knew. What a wonderful day! We got back to the boatslip way after dark, in time to get into the clubhouse and watch the election results. Being such a historic election, it was tough to turn off the TV and leave, so we stayed until the concession and acceptance speeches were made before we took off.
Day Two
The next day Paul picked us up again and we headed out for the boat after a couple of errands. The wind was much, much stronger and our panic levels rose with each strong gust. It was about 18 mph at times, and I remember thinking “Couldn’t we just motor around the lake today?” Meanwhile Paul of course was (figuratively) rubbing his hands together in glee, as any good sailor would with some decent winds. Chelsea and I were not going to ruin the fun by being scared, so we headed out.
We got out into the middle of the lake and Paul got the sails up. It was marginally okay for about 10 minutes – Chelsea was back at the wheel and was doing an awesome job, but we were nervous wrecks internally. 🙂 Suddenly, with no warning, there was a horrendous ripping sound and the boom started slamming. Our mainsail had ripped almost clean off! Paul hustled into action and told Chelsea, “Steer into the wind!” I kept a low profile doing whatever Paul told me do, and within a few minutes Paul had the mainsail down and the engine on.
Chelsea and I were both glad and disappointed. We weren’t happy that the mainsail ripped, but our nerves were glad to not have to sail when the winds were so high. We were really hoping at the same time that it didn’t mean an end to the day. Paul simply took stock of the situation and said, “Well, we’ll motor up the Mermentau instead!”
And that’s what we did, for 4 or 5 glorious hours. We motored slowly up the Mermentau River, taking off on Bayou Queue de Tortue, which runs northeast over behind Gueydan and perhaps all the way to Lafayette. We didn’t see another person or boat the whole time, except for a very small community of homes and businesses just north of the bridge after Lake Arthur. At times there was so much swamp moss in the river that it looked as though we were on land, not in a boat on a river. The silence was wonderful. We kept our eyes out for birds and fish. We saw all the duck blinds for hunting season, and we spotted two otters. This part of the river is very much like our beloved Loxahatchee River in Jupiter FL.
Paul timed it so that we got back to his favorite spot on the lake in time for sunset, but no barbecue that night – we headed for shore. Paul brought us back to Gueydan, where we did take-out from Johnny’s and stayed up till midnight with Paul looking at pictures and talking about Picasa.