Charm - Day 2 - trampoline fun

Well, it was fun. Until it broke. When we decided to buy a catamaran, we told the kids that we would switch out the boat trampolines for real trampolines because we had one in our backyard in Colorado and we all loved it. Plus, I always felt like it was misleading to call them trampolines when they weren't.

Of course, it's more complicated than just buying trampoline fabric. The catamaran trampolines are there to make the boats lighter so they go faster, not for recreation. Joe said he would work on a plan to replace the infrastructure when we take the boat to the US next year. In the meantime, only Tully was allowed to jump on them. Of course, other children may have occasionally broken this rule and the trampolines got lots of use because they are, essentially, the equivalent of a front and back yard.

Cobin and I developed a way to play volleyball on the trampolines that both of us enjoy. The ball is in a soccer training device that allows you to attach it to your waist and practice juggling without chasing the ball all over the place. It has a long elastic leash on it. If we attach it to the boat, we can play without losing it overboard.

We had just started volleyball practice when Cobin and I heard a weird sound. Cobin must have felt something too because he jumped off his trampoline and said, "Look at that!" The rivets holding the trampoline framework to the boat had ripped out of the aluminum strip holding the whole assembly to the boat. About 10 of them on one side were torn out so that a 2-foot long section was not attached.

This ended our volleyball game but also was going to create problems for moving around the boat. The trampolines are the "floors" for the front part of the boat and are essential to be able to reach various parts of the boat.

Thankfully Joe, who rescues swimsuits from the depths, is also capable of fixing anything. After about 30 seconds of studying the situation, he decided to drill out the rivets and use dyneema cord to tie the trampoline back on via the rivet holes. We got it done just before dark and no one has gone on the trampoline since so I can't tell you if it worked.

Earlier today, most of us were on the other trampoline, fiddling with the spinnaker. Joe said it would have been very funny if we had all fallen in. Surprising, too! Marin and Tully would have been the only ones left on the boat.

I'll leave you with two things that amused me today, apart from the thought of all of us dropping into the water.

I overheard Joe telling someone, "It's just like Paris, except the flying fish don't speak French."

And Cobin cracked up as we read Winnie the Pooh and Pooh told Christopher Robin, "I ought to say that it isn't just an ordinary sort of boat. Sometimes it's a boat and sometimes it's more of an Accident."

I think maybe ordinary boats are that way too. So far Charm has been more of a boat than an Accident - let's hope it stays that way!

- Lara