Here it is the week of Spring Break and as I stated weeks ago, you may dream of warm spring activities, South Texas is in a throws of winter. Spring Break started out and stayed funky all week long. To the detriment of spring goers across the state, Funky is the Kids M.O so this random weather did not deter his Spring Break plans: Sailing Regatta. On Tuesday's practice it was chilly, windy, and cloudy.
On Thursday's practice, the weather was warmer but the wind was still cold. Still, this did not deter the Kid from the upcoming Regatta.
On Friday's trip to the Regatta is was significantly warmer and one could argue long sleeves were not needed. Sleeves were needed as far I was concerned but the warm fuzzy hat was not. Pleasant enough at Plan473, the Regatta was being held in the Hill Country where temperatures average 10-20 degrees colder in the winter.
The further north we drove, the less we saw and the colder the temperature drop. During camp set up a little after noon, the cloud cover was dense and the temperature required sleeves. Just look at this kid, he set up the tent all by himself. The last time the tent was used was during our Solar Eclipse trip and the Kid was too small to erect it alone. Once camp was done, the kid was gone to roam the hills and do kid things with other kids. Having only recovered from the Not Flu just a few short days ago, I napped. Climbed in the sleeping bag fully clothed with fuzzy hat and sleep like only camping will do. Goodbye world, hello drool.
Saturday morning woke crisp and cold but sunny and gentle winds. Perfect for sailing. Perfect for sleeping. Don't think me non supportive, watching sailing is torture. They sail too far away to watch even with binoculars and can't watch from a boat because depending upon perspective one's position changes. With today's technology, the race scores are posted within minutes of race completion. Checking scores is awesome but drives me nuts. Neither the Planner nor myself are competitive people, what we are however are push yourself to the best you can do and then do some more. There is always room for improvement. Will the Kid place first, no. Will the Kid place, maybe. All we ask is that he tries his hardest.
With Saturday races complete, and a few hours worth of hill scrambling and tree climbing with friends later, the Kid crashes for bed by 8:30. But before a quick lesson in static electricity. With the lights out, he ran his finger across the tent until all sparks were snapped out. It was fun! It reminded me of camping in the winter many years ago. A time long, long ago....
Sunday dawned way to early, cloudy, and still. What little wind was present yesterday vanished during the night and with it came warmer weather. Warmer weather is great, lack of wind not so great. Lack of wind is the death of sailing. Drifting along waiting for to catch any puff of wind is like slowly dying. Windless races take a toll on the patience of races, the patience of coaches, and the patience of parents waiting to wrap the event up because there is still a 5 hour drive home.
Since Harvey, Plan473 has worked tirelessly on the Work Box and the business it encompasses. Our only reprieve has been the occasional regatta weekends for the Kid. Of all the Regattas attended this was my favorite as it allowed me time to spend with just me and the Kid. As it turned out, it was a bitter sweet moment and I did not even know it. Maybe I am glad the moment was just the moment otherwise I might not have enjoyed it as much. Not two weeks after this dead duck regatta, the Kid decided he needed a break from sailing. No more bi-weekly practice. No more bi-monthly weekend practice. No more regattas. No more sailing. As it turned out, this weekend was the death of sailing for Plan473.