Smiths Lake was the first real outing in the boat having previsouly only used it with the outboard. The location was great as the lake is shallow, has a reasonable boat ramp and there was no more than a light wind.  I still had some last minute fixes to perform and then came rigging the boat completely for the first time.  So an hour and a half later she was ready to be launched and tentatively I backed her into the water and she rolled off easily.  Load the kids start the motor and forget the wife, who through my ineptitude was left standing on the shore while I figured out whether I would hold the motor straight and steer with the rudder or lift the rudder and steer with the outboard; for a while I did both with unpredictable results.  Eventually I picked up Hils and off we went across the lake.

And so the moment dawned when I had to raise the sails, so handing over the tiller to my wife I moved forward and started pulling on the required ropes and with some effort got th main up (not before I had nearly knocked my son's head off - note to self