the 2004 Midwinters
the trip down: St. Marys, GA to Eustis, FL
photos by Marc Bennett, Bill Waller and Uncle Al

By just after noon, we were on SR40 towards the lovely, little town of St. Marys on the Georgia-Florida border.
..

By 1400 hrs, we had arrived to claim our booking at the lovely ...
...

... Belle Tara Inn, just a couple of blocks from the waterfront.
..

We had Above the Rest, a nice, cozy room under the roof.
..

Soon we rushed down to the water to check out the waters
which we planned to sail the next day with Bill Waller in Betelgeuse (W923).
..

On an overcast winter's day of about 60ºF, there was little sign of life apart from these two fishing boats -
..

- and Uncle Al (above) with Marc, of course.
..

Half an hour later, we had finally met Bill Waller (r) and his father-in-law, John Herald (l) in Seagle's Saloon ...
..

... where we were duly abused and greeted by Queen who had the nerve to call Uncle Al "Grampa". If you look in the upper left, you can see Uncle Al's kind of sign: "NO SNIVELING" which I liked even better than the sign which announced our bartender as "Cindy Dean, Porno Queen" (I think!)
..

Sunday morning dawned overcast and windy (gusts to 20+ knots) with temperatures in the 40's F. Not a promising sailing day - but Uncle Al (above) sucked it up - along with the fine, plentiful Belle Tara Inn coffee.
..

The chart provided by Bill showed lots of mud flats and lovely winding channels.
..

By just after 0900 hrs, we were at the launch area with Bill and John. It was not crowded! And we got our first live, close-up view of W923, Betelgeuse. Bill had refinished her beautifully but a previous owner had truly messed with perfection. The cabin was the most striking feature but there was also an extra set of spreaders (unnecessarily) added to the mast at the hounds. The ship's bell is a fine touch. But your Uncle Al began to get nervous when the cabin hatch (white) was removed and it dawned on me that the forward bulkhead had been removed and the forward flotation compartment replaced by loose-looking sheets of pink styrofoam. Eeeek! The dark cut-out in the bottom of the cabin hatch turned out to be a housing above the centreboard box into which a more delicate, slimmer hand than mine might have reached to access the board. But that discovery would come later - as would the fact that the aft bulkhead had lovely, curvy cut-outs for spinnaker sheet storage, etc. The back hatch which was permanently screwed shut, was duly opened and revealed a back tank crammed with more of the pink stuff. With the wind gusts whistling in the trees, Uncle Al was feeling more cautious by the minute!!
..
The sails - original Lucas sails dating back to 1965! - were quickly put on but not before we noticed that the jib clew was ripping apart. Duct tape repair was attempted but the sails were already wet from the rain, so that didn't last long. Before long, we were rigged and ready ...
..
... to launch. Marc still laughs when he recalls how nervous I looked (above right). Easy for him to laugh - he and John would be staying ashore to take picture when the rain wasn't too strong! With the ripping sails, potentially inadequate buoyancy, gusty winds, 45ºF and totally absence of any boats that might help in case of trouble, Bill and I had decided we would just reach back and forth near the ramp for a while.
Soon we were hanging off the dock and Al showed Bill, a beginning sailor, his routine:
  • jib up
  • launch
  • tie up to the dock and hang head to wind
  • keep the board full up
  • attach rudder but not tiller which catches the mainsheet during main hoist
  • hoist main
  • insert tiller
  • board half down and go!
It was at that last step that the Lord apparently intervened. The board simply would not go down more than an inch! I could have attempted my usual approach: If at first you don't succeed, rip the hell out of it - but the housing above the board prevented any such attempts.
..

So, we packed it in, talked Wayfarers for a while, and had a nice lunch at John's place. With a three-hour drive back to his home in Albany, GA, Bill had to leave early. But Marc and I didn't mind too much since we were planning to practise for the Midwinters by having a good long nap at the Belle Tara. We were lulled to sleep by the wind whistling in the trees and the rain spattering against windows. The evening was topped off with a nice supper in Seagle's dining room, followed by a visit with Queen across the hall where we enjoyed not only beer but an exciting Super Bowl on TV.
..

After another enjoyable breakfast at the inn, we went out to
hook up SHADES who showed evidence of last night's breezes.
..

Monday at 0900: Ready to hit the road for Eustis where we hoped to arrive by early afternoon.
..

A couple of last looks at the Belle Tara Inn which ...
..

... had been our lovely and friendly home for the past two nights. We look forward to staying there again!!
..
2004 Midwinters
results
report
the trip down: Oakville to North Carolina
the trip down: St. Marys, GA to Eustis
pre-Midwinters fun - 1
pre-Midwinters fun - 2
Friday: pre-race
Friday: race 1
Friday: race 2, part 1
Friday: race 2, part 2
Friday: race 2, part 3
Friday: race 3, part 1
Friday: race 3, part 2
Saturday - 1
Saturday - 2
Sunday
the trip home: Eustis - Charlotte - Outer Banks
the trip home: Outer Banks
the trip home: Outer Banks - Maryland - home