Albacore Sailing at Hay Bay, Ontario

My brother, Ron, bought a couple of Albacore sailing dinghy’s.  Developed first in 1954, they are a 2 man sailing boat, great for beginners but also good for the experienced.  15 feet long, 5 foot 1 inch beam, weighing 240 lbs, they have a main sail and jib with a centre board keel.  By family report my nephew Andrew had sailed a couple of times terrorizing his wife Tanya, since known as Tanya the Intrepid.  This time Andrew had Mike along. Mike had never sailed before.
There was a snake in the boat when they set out to launch it.  Not at all superstitious Mike was still not about to be the one to remove it.    Andrew insisted it was a garter snake.  There was considerable debate about this.  In the end, as Mike refused to sail with the snake on board, Andrew daintily removed the snake.
Mike and Andrew took their places in the boat.  The sails were raised. At first the winds were light then a stiff breeze came up.  In very short order Mike and Andrew became quite proficient yachtsmen. Reaching, wearing, beam reach, broad reach, close hauled, they did it. There was a moment when it looked like they were both going to tip the boat.  But with lightning reflexes they shifted their weight and adjusted sails sufficiently to achieve a rather remarkable save.
Ashore we were all very impressed.  With the winds gusting they had to lower the main sail to maneuver into the small beach area.  This they did.  Well done!

We on shore were very entertained, even if they didn’t capsize the boat, as we’d thought they might.