We swim in your snow

The big lake is already coming up quickly.  There is a lot of snow in the mountains.  The lake is at 1843.6 feet above sea level.  Kadizzle predicts it will at least go to 1848.  This means the good ship Sovereign will be able to go way back into bays and tie up for the night.  Going far up an incoming stream is nice when the lake is high.  Many more places become accessible by boat.  There is some downside to a like that is high.  Things that were above water are now unseen obstacles.   You need to stay alert or bust your keel on a submerged island.

Boats are like people they grow old.  Like people boats need parts replaced.  The sails are getting thin.  More and more scuffs and scrapes are on the hull.  If you sailed as long as old Kadizzle you can see how sailors began to give their ships human qualities.  Somehow if you go through a lot with a boat you begin to feel the boat is part of the team.  When you blast through a storm and the boat holds together you are thankful.  A critical failure in bad weather could end in an unpleasant way.

Walking around the boatyard Kadizzle inspected the hulls of the ships up on their trailers for the winter.  Some of those boats should not go back in the water.  One boat has a crack that seems to indicate the keel is in jeopardy.  Sailboats rely on the keel to keep them upright.  If your keel falls off you will turn upside down at an amazing speed.  The memory of a sailor in the Pacific comes to mind. His keel feel off and the boat turned upside down.  For days he was in the overturned boat.  He was extremely lucky the Australian coast guard dropped a sonar buoy in the water near him. It picked up his tapping on the boat and they rescued him.  Should Kadizzle find himself in such a bind on Lake Sakakawea the most likely outcome would be people shooting at the boat to sink it.