on May 27, 2000 it was...
'YAK BAPTISM!

    At last! -- after four months of building two kayaks with Chris, we had the formal baptism of my 'yak.  (Sweet Pea's had made it into the water a few weeks earlier).

      I followed behind Chris's Jeep in my tin-can 1983 Toyota Tercel, carrying on top my kayak, which is twice the length of the car....  This is the first formal portrait of all three B-built boats: mine on top of my car; the B family's 3-seater on the right of his car rack; and Sweet Pea 's 1-seater on the left.

We all felt blessed by the appearance of Chris's extraordinarily noble and formidable brother-in-law, Sweet Pea 's devoted Uncle Chuck, who met us on Indian River Bay, just north of the Indian River Inlet, with his own recently-purchased kayak.

It was Memorial Day Weekend, and we would soon find that the less than ideal weather --  overcast, steady wind and lots of chop --  had scared off a most motorboat traffic.  That was certainly OK by us.

    It was exhilarating, at long last, to put my boat into the water alongside Sweet Pea 's.  Chris and I had spent many hours building and anticipating the first time the boats would be out together.  

So it was a mighty sweet feeling to go from this... 

...to this...
 

Sweet Pea and her pal Jonathan say "who cares if the weather is funky?"

"The Armada" L to R: Chuckie, Jonathan and Chris, Sweet Pea

 
Jonathan and Chris in the exquisite 3-seater

L to R: Chuck, Jim, Sweet Pea

A couple of happy guys in their kayaks... 

I stabilize after doing 17 consecutive Eskimo rolls....

Boats built by B & Friends from kits by
CHESAPEAKE LIGHT CRAFT

See more on building the newest boat in the fleet at B's Boatique

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