Norris Lake 2007

After months of planning and dreaming, our weekend trip to Norris Lake was finally upon us! Kirsten and I, along with Chris (my boating/sailing buddy), his girlfriend Sarah, our friend Jesse (a boat owner in waiting) and his wife Leslie rented a house near Sequoia Marina. After a 4 hour drive from Cincinnati, we arrived at the lake (just outside of Knoxville). The house was beautiful! Running water, 3 bedrooms, AC, firepit, docks and a swimming platform.

Upon arrival, Chris and I wandered down to the lake to access the docking situation. The lake was beautiful! The water was a deep shade of turquoise and crystal clear! Originally our plan was to put Chris' 25' Mariah into a covered slip and dock the Surprise on the side of the swimming platform. However, the slip was too narrow for Chris' boat so we decided to put his where the Surprise was going to go and keep my boat on the beach.

With our plan in place we first went to launch Chris' boat. No sweat, I backed him in (I give myself a 10 on launching) and off he went. Then it was time to launch the Surprise. Again, no problem. The winds were non-existent (typical heavy, Tennessee summer air) so I elected not to break out the sails and motor my way to the beach. However, after only a few minutes the motor sputtered and died inthe middle of the marina (near some very expensive hardware). I drifted over to an empty dock and tied up as I fought to get the motor started again. After many minutes of pulling the cord and fiddling with the throttle and choke, it started up again. I cast off my line and headed out into the lake. Then again in the middle of the lake my motor came to a hault. I frantically tried to start the engine as Cigarette boats warmed up on the shore across the way. It was then that I remembered how I asked either Chris or Jesse to come with and they had declined and said something about drinking (assholes). The only thing to do was to grab the paddle and start the slow trip to the beach (approx a 1/2 mile away). After many minutes I decided to give the motor anotehr try. I was able to start it, but couldn't open the throttle very far and had to run on full choke. My hands were torn up from repeated cord tugs and paddling. Finally I arrived at the beach at dusk. Chris came down to see me in and asked "how did it go?'

Did you ever see episodes of The Honeymooners when Norton would unintenionally say the wrong thing and Ralph woudl lose it? I grabbed my paddle, turned around and proceeded to break it into pieces over my outboard. Chris looked on in horror as and hour of agression came to a head! I tossed him the rope, tied up and grabbed the first Corona I saw and downed it within a matter of seconds. After a few more and a refreshing swim I felt a little better.

The next day there was still no wind and it was very humid, so we went out for a day of sightseeing and tubing in Chris' boat. Unfortunately I had let the events of the previous day get to me and I spent the day moping. Fortunately Chris helped drag me out of my funk and soon I was enjoying myself again. When we came back a storm was on its way, and ahead of it was some decent winds! Finally a break! So Chris, Jesse (on his first sail) and I jumped in and sailed for about 30 minutes before lightning appeared on the horizon. We sailed in and I began to upt the sails away as rain fell from the sky. Fortunately it didn't last long. After more sightseeing (and being pelted in the face by more rain) we had dinner and settled in around the campfire.

The next morning the skies had cleared and the wind was building. At last! A good day for sailing! The first to go out with me was Kirsten (who had only been out once before with me). We knew that the motor would at least be able to run for short jaunts and could get us in and out of the harbor. We puttered out and put sails up. The boat heeled over hard and soon we were flying! The winds were around 10-15 knots, with gusts on excess of 20. We sailed around near out house (due to the motor situation), but with the winds being so strong we didn't mind). At one point we came close to capsizing and scooped up a few gallons of Norris Lake's finest into the cockpit!
We sailed and buzzed around the harbor while everyone else enjoyed the sun and snapped some shots of the boat. Soon the winds proved to be too much for Kirsten to handle so we went back in and I swapped the wifey for my buddy Chris. Now it's time to rock! We sheeted in and off we went. Unfortunately the winds subsided a bit to no close calls this time.Still, we had plenty of winds to make the trip worthwhile!
A few hours later we had to get the Surprise back on its trailer and head back for Cincinnati.
All in all, I had a really great time! The motor was a bit of a bummer (my next posting will document steps to correct it), but we still managed to get some good sailing in! As far as Norris Lake goes, the lake is beautiful and there is plenty of room for sail and power to enjoy what the lake has to offer. However, like the problems I encountered at East Fork Lake the wind was constantly being bent by mountains and rock formations which wasn't very condusive for sailing. But with a little patience and some practice, the lake is a rewarding place to explore and enjoy. I promise another trip will be in our future!