Surf Casting

We made the trip last weekend, the last weekend of September, to Rhode Island. President Beacom, our former stake president, took a group of us to one of his favorite haunts, at Misquamicut Beach, to go surf casting.

His counsel to the boys as he explained how to use the $1000+ equipment was... "There's a ledge. It drops off about 10 feet. If you fall off, you will have difficulty getting back up. Don't panic. Stay calm."

That was enough to keep the kids at a safe distance.

It was funny to watch Bishop White try to stay dry. He'd follow the wave as it retreated into the water, cast his line, then run back as the next wave came in.

I managed to keep my feet and socks and shoes dry. I cut bait. Let the others fish. Fish or cut bait, as they say... So I stayed dry... Until Colin caught his... "It's a big one." "Did you see it!" He reeled the line in. ... It was seaweed and line tangled. He went to untangle his line, and handed me his pole. I was standing there holding it, when ... along came a wave that soaked us all. it wouldn't have been that bad, except, I forgot to bring a change of clothes. I was wet all the way home.

We spent the night in some great cabins on a nearby lake. We had what Br. Wiest called the "honeymoon suites." Not because they were cabins. He himself slept in a cabin. But because ours were on the beach.

The weather was... DRAMATIC. There were 6-10' waves crashing along the coast. Sun never came out, but it was dry, except when a mist would blow by. Quintessential New England. We loved it. The crashing waves came because of the hurricane. They also chased away the fish. Just as well. We still had a blast.

Heave ho, ye mateys!

We had a great time on the Connecticut River Tuesday night with our sailing guide, Greg Gale. He taught Colin and Joe all the basics of sailing; how to set off, how to raise and lower the sails, how to use the cleats properly, what everything is called, and on and on...Joe took the helm first, guiding us out of the mooring area and into the open water.

Trying to make things look hard. We had a few puffs of good wind that knocked us on our heel a bit, but for the most part we had a smooth sail. The heeling was the fun part; letting the wind pull the sails tight as the boat heeled over was a great feeling.
Colin at the helm, Brother West on the main, and Joe on the jib. What a crew.

The West's property, August 22-23

We had a small group, but had a great time. Joe passed off some requirements for the Cooking and Wilderness Survival merit badges, and Colin took the chance to try out his tarp tent and tarp pack. We also used Brother West's camp saw to cut some wood that we lashed into a table. The table will be there every time we camp there, and it should come in pretty handy!

Joe did a great job on his shelter. He used hemlock boughs for the roof, and took advantage of the stone wall as one of the support walls. It was a great looking shelter.

Westfield Boys and Girls Club Swimming

Scouts met at the Westfield Boys and Girls club, around the corner from the Amelia Park ice skating rink, from 5:30-7:00 tonight.

Joseph Baird and Chase Miller passed off all the swimming elements of the swimming merit badge. Chase, apparently, is a veteran swimmer, likely destined for big things -- who knows... maybe even the olympics. Logan showed up to show his support. He even got in the water ... he he... Sr. Bird, photos please?

Chris West helped in the water. I stayed on shore and recorded the progress. Water looked great! We had the pool to ourselves. And there was a lifeguard on hand, too. Thank you Sr. Miller and Br. Baird for setting things up.

We were very proud of both Chase and Joseph for their accomplishments. The most difficult task, from what we saw, was taking off your blue jeans in the pool, tying them, and making a float device, then swimming 50 yards using it. Neither Chase nor Joseph are equipped with the natural buoyancy materials (I am an expert on this), so doing the pants thing was a lot of work. I suppose it is a useful trick, so long as you don't drop the pants to the bottom of the... ocean while trying it.

Br. West will be checking on a date with his friend regarding the sail boating on the Connecticut. Possibly August 23 (after our overnight camp out), or Labor Day weekend... We'll see. It may have to be postponed, but we're trying to get rigged up.