Monday, October 22, 2012

Mama and Friends on Pontchartrain Lake

What an incredible October day for sailing!  Temperatures in the upper 70's with clear skies, winds between 12 and 15 knots, speeds up to 7.2, and great company.  We are sailing our new (but old - year 1993) Jeaneau 37 ft. Lagoon TPI catamaran, Aventura, on Pontchartrain Lake, in the New Orleans area.  The Lake spans 25 mi. or so across and around 42 mi. wide.  It's a perfect boating lake with many interesting communities besides New Orleans itself, such as:  Slidell, Bayou Lacombe, Mandeville, and Madisonville, to name a few.  There's plenty to do on the Lake, but it's also very easy to get out into the Gulf of Mexico, just through the Rigolets.  And that's where Capt. Mike and myself, Gina, plan to slip off to in a couple of days.

In the meantime, we are enjoying a wonderful afternoon sail, sunset and all with three lovely guests:  Donatella,my mother (90 yrs. old), Pat and Mirella.  One of the wonderful feelings on a catamaran, or cat, is the stability and quicker speeds, especially when on a reach.  Another is the space, enough space to feel like you're in a condo.  Space in the cockpit for lounging, in the salon, and the deck, including trampoline and forward seat bucket.  And our group took full advantage of it.

Serious thinking people who put great effort into living properly deserve such breaks, don't you agree?