Opening Day Photos

[GregJ]

Lots of fun for all, despite the rain!!

[bham-rick]

Here are a few more shots of opening day. Had a great time and it was nice to put faces to the people in the club.Went out and ran around lake Washington and blew the carbon out after the parade then ran into Melanie and Mary. That Express with the 70 H.P. is a little faster than the old Bearcat. Snuck in behind the big boats and had no problem getting through the cut ,stopped for a brew and lunch at Ivars. We saw Chris and Lauryn go by still in the cow out fit. We got out of the water just in time before the real down pour and made it back to B'ham. No wait going in or out of the water at 14th street. Except for a little rain it was a great day!

No pics, just a colorful story

Hey all,

What a great day! It was wonderful to meet faces and see all the beautiful boats after so much cyber communication. Marty, thanks very much for all the organizational work. The detailed directions and logistics made for a smooth event. And Tim, thanks a million for that umbrella. I wouldn't have wanted to get my udders wet

As for our boat, we still had some white knuckes during the actual parade. :eek: We made it thorugh the idling period prior to the parade okay (a few stalls but she started right up) but the parade and cut were kind of tense for us. About half way through the cut we were trying to close the gap behind Greg (forgive me if I have the wrong name but it was the beautiful green boat) and the throttle started sticking. Chris finally notched it up enough to close the gap but then it got really stuck. We started to overtake Greg (moment of panic) and then Chris got it into reverse and we got back in line just in time to pass the judges properly in place. It was fun to watch the judges try to look all formal and perfectly poised when all the people behind them were snickering at the fat cow. I think I saw a few judges crack a smile

Once the official part was over, the log boom part was a riot. Dylan had a blast playing cowboy. Chris kept pulling on my udders. I kept slapping his hand. And the fun continued. So many boats! So many parties! One guy kept yelling on a loudspeaker for the cow to do donuts, but we held firm, bow toward Lake Washington at all times as instructed (although it was so tempting)

After that we enjoyed chatting with Tim for awhile while waiting for the cut to reopen and then cruised back in forth in the Canal enjoying new scenery and the late but oh so glorious sunshine. Traveled down to the locks to see what that is all about but there was a big line so we headed back in the other direction again. By now the cow suit was long gone and we were all in t shirts soaking up the sun and heat. Maybe just a bit too long, cause all of a sudden the skies opened up and as we arrived back at the launch, it was pouring. Hard. As we pulled up to the dock completely soaked we were laughing because we saw someone or something swimming off the end of the dock and it turned out it was the oh so hilarious and very zany cowboy, indian, and co. wild wild bflaherty group (minus costumes) still in the water! Hope you retreived your phone today Many thanks to you guys for putting on a great show!

Next up for us, a much needed trip to Norm next week to resolve the idling and throttle issues.

Again, thanks to everyone for making it such a great day. Looking forward to many more events!