Well,it's the end of the season. Sports getting bored already. And, I have no docks to stagger out on. I'm out of rum ideas right at the moment; so I guess I will try a stupid story (unfortunately I was completely sober during this incident) ...feel free to add your story...here goes

Quite a few years ago, I would don the wetsuit and take the Hobie down to Redrock on Saturdays after the end of the season. I got bored with homelife and this was my chance to get away. I practically had the lake to my self. I saw and heard things you couldn't witness with a noisy power boat. I saw deer up close on shore. One time I approached within 50 feet of several hundred ducks sitting on the water. When they finally did take off in unison, the sound of all of those beating wings on the water was music from heaven. I pushed the season even with wearing a wetsuit and had been out there before, sailing with light snow coming down on the tramp. There's nothing like floating in very cold water, by yourself with the boat capsized knowing that you better get the thing righted pretty darn quick before you lose all sensation (and strength) in your body.

I ended that season one day in December. Actually the temp was unusually high (60's) with a fairly easy wind...I let my guard down. I "beached" the Hobie on the Elk Creek ramp to take a break after a fairly good day of easy sailing. While I was looking at all the new excavation work that was going on...All at once I heard the sails whip...I felt a sudden cold and I felt the wind coming from a direction 180 degrees from where it had been coming from before. Without looking, I knew what this meant! I ran as fast as I could back to the Hobie. It had already left shore. I jumped in after it, and was instinctively trying to swim in vain after it. When I was about 50 feet from shore, I realized that I had left my life jacket on the Hobie and was just in my wet suit. Not really concerned for my safety, but also not wanting to go down on the statistics as an idiot who drowned stupidly, I decided to return (swim) to shore.

I was in shock. The wind had picked up considerably and that damn Hobie was sailing better without me... performing beautiful tacking manuevers and eventually heading full speed towards the other side of the lake.

So now picture a guy walking down a lonely road in a funny looking rubber suit with even funnier looking rubber "shoes" hoping that someone will take pitty and pick up this apparently escaped mental ward patient and take him to the other side of the lake. Lucky for me there was a kind soul who did just that. Not only did that person take we to the other side of the lake, she also was kind enough to drive me to my vehicle at the other end of the lake where I was parked. She was a lifesaver! (daylight was getting scarce by now!)

It turned out to be a good weekend considering, and I was even able to find my lost "butt bucket"

Not me ... nope ... never done anything stupid.

Well kind of .. once (while I still weighed 280lbs) I tried to run the 40 yard dash. At 20 yards I pulled a hamstring and hit the ground which was covered with cheap indoor/outdoor carpet. Every extremity on my body was burned and bleeding. Had to stay pretty drunk to keep back the pain in that one.