We’d gone sailing with Paul early in January, but he left shortly after for a three-week tour of Cambodia and Thailand, so we didn’t have another opportunity to see him till late February.
Not only do we love the time on the water, we also thoroughly enjoy our time with Paul. He’s a really relaxed and well-balanced guy, with lots to talk about, and he’s a willing listener. He asks great questions, and really thinks about what we say. He’s got a great sense of humor, he’s traveled a lot, and he’s easy-going. It all adds up to us having a great time when we’re with him.
Lacassine Bayou
We’d been wanting very much to see the migratory birds, though we know it’s still a bit early, so Paul volunteered to take us down to Lacassine Bayou down into the Lacassine Wildlife Refuge, on the sailboat. The weather was incredibly windy – from 20-30 mph, with lake wind advisories, and it was a bit cold, but I think we all wanted to be out on the water.
The lake had whitecaps, so Chelsea and I were a bit nervous, but not Paul – he’d seen plenty that was really rough. In fact, while Chelsea sat up in front getting some rare alone time, Paul entertained me with stories of 70 mph winds, water in the boat, fish in the boat, and other exciting adventures he’s had. Then he turned to me and said, “Here, you take over while I go down and turn the radio on.”
I had never driven a boat in my life, though I’ve secretly yearned to do so for years. But starting out in 30 mph winds for my first time? I was so tense that my shoulder blades felt like I had a sharp knife running down them. Once I got the hang of things (pretty quickly, if I do say so myself) I did some deep breathing and relaxed out of those sharp knife feelings.
We headed south out of Lake Arthur, motoring down the Mermentau River at 5 mph, winding our way past Meyer’s landing, Lowry, and into the Lacassine Bayou. There wasn’t much to see, but we did see a few migratory birds (haven’t had a chance to look them up yet), and we saw sixteen roseate spoonbills flying northeast. We caught sight of them against the sun, and the color was just breathtaking.
The day was really relaxing and peaceful. We had our usual picnic lunch that Paul made, and got back into the Yacht club about 7 pm, well after dark. Paul treated us to dinner at Nott’s Corner (it was particularly good that night!). We called it a night early, as we had to pack over the next two days, getting ready to leave Gueydan.
Mermentau
After having a week to settle into Lake Arthur, Paul took us out again on the sailboat, knowing our time here is quickly drawing to a close. The winds were high again, but only in the 20 mph range. Since we’d seen the south end of the river, we headed north this time, up the Mermentau River toward Silverwood and the town of Mermentau.
The day was another peaceful wonderful relaxing day. After getting through the “narrows” in Lake Arthur, into calmer water, Paul put up the sail for the first time since last December, and asked me to take the helm. I still had to do my deep breathing exercises, but at least this time I had a successful experience under my belt.
Once up the river a bit the winds weren’t strong enough to keep us going, so we started the motor again and kept the sail up. We sailed peacefully along for several hours, watching the river and enjoying the time on the water and the desultory conversations.
We saw a castle along the river – built to the exact specifications of a European castle (we don’t know which one). We took a side trip off the main river to see the “town” of Silverwood, and Mermentau wasn’t far beyond that. Mermentau was our turnaround place.
Paul kept offering to take over the helm throughout the day, but I kept refusing. Though I was terrified all over again when a gust of wind would hit the sails, and when we had to turn around into the wind at Mermentau, I really, really wanted to gain confidence and acquire experience. I ended up driving for over six hours – all the way out and all the way back, except for the first twenty minutes and the last few minutes. I was proud of myself (but a bit tired!).
When we arrived back at the Yacht Club, the regulars were having their usual Friday night dinner – they’d made “gumbolaya”, a new version of gumbo and jambalaya. We were invited to eat; we stayed chatting with the folks we’d met at the Gumbo Regatta last October. We had a few great conversations – they’re a lively bunch, and I’d bet they can get pretty rowdy…
We ended the evening back at the cottage huddled around Paul’s laptop while he showed us his amazing and gorgeous photos of his trip to Cambodia and Thailand. I’m unashamedly pressuring him to put them online, as we couldn’t do them all justice, though we stayed up till almost midnight looking at them.
We’re still hoping for one last sailing trip with Paul – but if we can’t schedule it, we hope he comes down to Belize and Guatemala and tours some of the Aztec and Mayan ruins with us.