So right after I type the above (290 at 16G22) I'm at my kitchen window which looks out over the lake, and I see something sparkling out there, in amongst the whitecaps. I figure it's probably a kyaker and I'm seeing the flash of his wet paddle.

I keep binoculars handy in the kitchen to look out at the lake, so I put the glass on the flash...and it turns out it's two guys in the water, holding on to a capsized canoe! So I watch them for a couple minutes, of course neither is wearing a life jacket, and now one swims away from the canoe to chase down the cooler, which is blowing downwind quickly. I look up and down the lake and there are no other boats in sight, no fishermen out in that lumpy water and all the tube pullers and jet skis have gone in.

Well, I figure they will eventually drift down to the far shore, about a mile downwind, or I can call the cops, or I can rig up the Hobie 14 and go get them, which is what I did. It only takes me 5 minutes to pull up the main and get my trap harness and LIFE JACKET on, and I'm on the wire heading out to the middle of the lake to recover these two clowns.

It's a quick beam reach straight out from my beach, I get to them, luff up and ask if they have a rope or anchor line we can use to tow them. They did, so I tell one guy to get on the Hobie with me, and the other guy to hold on to the back of the canoe and try to keep it upright, so it won't roll over and stop us dead, and maybe some of the water will drain out.

The one guy climbs up onto the tramp and I tell him to get foreward as the two of us on the back were sinking the Hobie 14, this guy was at least 200 and I'm 185. I tell him to hold onto their bow line while I get it turned downwind, get the whole mess moving, then head up, back towards the nearest shore. We beach it at my neighbors house, I couldn't get upwind enough to make my house, while dragging the sinking canoe, which also has a 4hp. outboard on the stern, under water. But we had a good 20kt. puff that took us into shore, and got the thing up on the beach and bailed it out.

Then I drove one of the two brothers, (about 19-22yrs. old is my guess) back to their truck/trailer at the public ramp about 3 1/2 miles away. He got their trailer down near enough to the water that we could drag their canoe up to it and load it up.

They were very thankful and a bit embarrased that a Hobie 14 had to come to their rescue, but they were happy to get their canoe and outboard out of the lake, because with the extra weight of that outboard, it was going down.

After they left I got in a couple good, one hull, speed runs across the lake and back. 16-22 and whitecaps is -perfect- for a Hobie 14, but for two big guys in a small canoe with the extra weight of an outboard...not so much.

I was going to take the Prindle 18 but the tramp is trashed and I figured they'd fall right through it if I put them on board! I have to hop from hull to hull, over the hole in the middle, just to tack it. Yes, I'm getting a new one...some day, but the horses come first. Don't ask me why.

How's that for thread creep??