September still means "back-to-school" for us, and Friday nights are usually spent watching a Cloverleaf High School football game since Andrew is Assistant Band Director for them. This year was the first in which all members of the high school band had been through his program at Cloverleaf Middle School, and the results show the good work he has been doing!

September also brings the 9/11 Memorial service at which Bob (as BFD chaplain) participates, and the annual Reunions of his South High School Class of 1953 (this year's was the [gasp!] 57th such!); he made the journey back to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the event but didn't have a chance to visit friends in Holland, or to go take a look at the North Shore at Grand Haven.

I finally (after some ten years!) got around to polishing and waxing the hull of the powerboat (left) and Paul was good enough to install a new radio (right).

The boat's name (which we inherited) was "Deeper•N•Debt II" . You can see the effects of the polishing from left (before) to right (after), with the middle in process.

Adalyn met her adoring public at the September 10 Cloverleaf Football Game against North Ridgeville (CHS's first home game). The band members (above, left) and Andrew's colleagues (above, right) did the proper amount of "ohhhhhhinh and ahhhhhing" but the lady herself mostly slept (far left).

Next day, Bob gave the invocation, memorial prayer and benediction at the memorial service for the victims of 9/11 sponsored by the local American Legion post, the Berea Fire Department (of which Bob is chaplain) and the Berea Police Department. About a hundred people attended this annual event.

Bob then hit the road for Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the 57th reunion of the South High School class of 1953. We had an especially "tight" class, and they have had reunions every year since their big 50th Reunion in 2003.

Relatively few class members have died, and the two class faculty advisers are also still living, and attend each reunion. Bob was editor of the school paper, vice-president of the student council, class orator and in a gazillion clubs and activities (including one year of cross-country). He was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" in the Senior Election.

We finished off the month with a cruise to Kelleys Island (the largest island in Lake Erie entirely in U. S. waters) with longtime friends Ron and Marilyn Thomas, their son Troy and their daughter and son-in-law, Kevin and Tami Furlong, plus friends of Kevin and Tami's. Ron and Kevin helped Bob sail Rag Time (then named Mystique 1) back to Port Clinton from Whitby, Ontario after he bought her in 2005, and Bob officiated at Tami and Kevin's wedding (in which the female half of the other couple was a member of the wedding party). Like "Old Home Week"!

The cruise over was a little slow; we had to use the "iron jib" to stand any chance of getting to the island in time for food! The drill for Saturday night was very relaxed . . . basically, just lots of snack-type stuff and plenty of liquid refreshments as well.

Here, Penney and Kevin share snacks (left) while Marilyn misses the sunset (right)!

Ron Thomas has been sailing the Great Lakes longer than I've even dreamed about it. A foam beverage cover had somehow gotten into the water at the marina and we amused ourselves watching Ron try to fish it out, using a line from his boat (on which he is standing; left) and a boat hook. He never managed to snag it, but people on cruises are easily amused!

The photo on the right shows the relief he felt after giving up on the foam cover (which was retrieved by the owner of the next boat down and tied to a yardarm like a trophy of war. People on cruises are easily amused).

The next morning, Ron discovered that his auxiliary engine wouldn't start. Several of the guys are pretty handy, mechanically, but we couldn't get it to do so much as turn over, so the marina kindly brought their raft over and towed Ron out into open water (left), where he was able to raise his sails and sail back to Port Clinton.

We followed right behind and kept in touch with Phoenix by radio to be sure they were OK. When they got closer to Port Clinton, they were able to call for a tow to our marina, where the boat's malfunction was presumably diagnosed and repaired.

The trip back was great sailing. We had plenty of wind and boiled along at close to hull speed for pretty much the whole time it took to get back (about half the time it took to get over!). The wind direction was such that, once past Mouse Island and Catawba Point, we could alter course just enough to get to Port Clinton without a lot of tacking

Once everyone was safely back in Port Clinton, I drove Ron over to their condo to get his car and we all then returned to the condo for conversation and refreshments—a perfect ending to a lovely weekend.

Here's a mini-chart showing the cruise parameters; it's about 6 nautical miles from Port Clinton to Catawba Point and perhaps another six from there to Kelleys Island. Since the speed a sailing vessel can go is a function of its waterline length, each boat has a "hull speed" which is its theoretical maximum (ours is 6.8 knots).

Rarely, however, does any boat sail consistently at its hull speed, and if we average 6 knots (a "knot" is defined as a nautical mile per hour) we are whistling along!

The trip would, at that speed, take two hours, not counting time to enter the lake from the channel, raise the sails, and so on. In fact, this trip back took about three hours in round numbers, which "ain't bad". We have to time entrances and exits for the Portage River bridge openings (twice an hour for six minutes).