Water skiing and a random rescue

Friday night we were invited to a water skiing run with some fellow Ballardites. They had recently installed a new outboard on there 60's Larson effectively doubling their horsepower. And, the best way to test a boats horsepower is to try and get a fat man up on a single plank. Apparently I am that man.

Here you can see the amount of water I displace as I try to get up. Luckily the transom held together. My body didn't fare as well... my back will take a few days to recover.

I did get up and rode for a few mintues until my legs gave up:

After a bunch of skiing we motored in for some refreshments at Ivar's Salmon house. Here the two fiberglassics are glowing with pride (MV Firecracker on the left and MV Miss Behaven on the right).

The crew:

We took our fish and chips out onto South Lake Union to enjoy the city skyline at night. It was amazing. Here is the best pic I could get on our rocking boat. But, after a beer or seven.. it basically looks like this anyway:

At about midnight we decided that it was time to head home. On our commute back through the Freemont channel a smallish Boston Whaler blasted by us, on plane, at about 25 knots. The speed limit in the channel is 7 knots. So, we cursed them as they flew by us.

Well.. low and behold, about 10 minutes later we get signalled (via flashlight) by a small boat in distress... turns out, it was the Boston Whaler and they had run out of fuel. So, we gave them a tow back to the yacht where they lived.

For our trouble we were given one bottle of Jose Cuervo Gold (complete with a round of shots on their yacht). It was cool to tour their big boat... just another adventure on the water. Also, we got to meet their salty sea cat, whose name we can't remember.