My first sail after a year of reading 2009-02-16
The dream all began in
The cruising life is difficult to describe because I believe it is different for everyone. For some people, the thought of being out of sight of land is a terrifying thought and brings cold sweats and a full fledged panic attack. For others, like me, there is a peacefulness that comes over you and you know that this is where you belong; this is where you were meant to be. Previously I've written about a defining moment in my life when I was on that small trimaran in Guadalupe. Well, like anything I have ever wanted to learn in my life, I turned to reading. In the first year I read everything I could find on sailing. During my research for the "How to Sail" aspect of my education, I learned all the basics and following the advice of the experts in the field, I concentrated on small boat sailing. I was told that if you learned to sail a small boat, the rest is easy. You make a mistake on a small boat and you'll find yourself in the water quite quickly. A larger boat is much more forgiving. The next summer, again finds Loree and I at a Club Med in Eleuthera. Bright and early the first morning we walked down to the beach to find the sailing instructor. He asks if I know how to sail. I say I have a little experience (remember, I read lots of "how to" books... that's experience, isn't it?) The instructor immediately saw through my awkward answer and says, "I tell you what, take this boat out to that buoy out there, come about (that would be turn around if you don't already know) and come back here. If you can do that, the boat is yours. The first part was easy. The wind was light and all I had to do was get Loree aboard, pull in the line that tightened the sail and off we went. It was easy running out to the buoy, too; all I had to do was keep the tiller straight and we were headed for the buoy. Now I must back up for a minute and tell you that my loving, trusting wife was very skeptical about the whole episode. She knew that I had absolutely NO experience. Never sailed a boat before in my entire life, actually, but I had read a whole lot of books and felt that I was ready. So there she is, sitting on a small Laser, heading out to sea with Captain Bill. She had a look on her face that says, "I love you but what have you gotten us in to this time, Ollie?" Well, the trip out was wonderful! When I got to the buoy and went to turn around, quicker than quick, the boat capsized. So here we are, about a half mile from shore with the boat is on its side. The sail was laying flat in the water on one side and the centerboard was sticking out on the other side. I need not tell you about the 'I told you so' look on Loree's face. I say, "Not to worry, my love, I read about this in chapter 6." So I act like I know what I'm doing and swim around to the bottom side of the boat, put my foot on the centerboard (that's a board that sticks out from the bottom of the boat and keeps it from sliding sideways while under sail), and while holding on to the side of the boat, I stand on the centerboard. Loree says, "Don't do that! You're going to break it." I say, "This is the way you get the boat back upright again, and proceed to walk up the centerboard and right the boat quickly and easily (dumb luck, I assure you). The only problem was that I was in the boat, Loree was still in the water and the boat started to rapidly sail away from her. I quickly turned the boat around and went back to pick her up, amazing both myself and my lovely wife. Once she was aboard, we started the trip back to the sailing instructor. Unbeknownst to us, the sailing instructor was already in a small skiff motoring out to save another crazy tourist. By the time he got to us, everything was under control and he gave us the thumbs up signal and motored away. So I say to Loree, 'Want to do it again?" She looks at me askance and says, "No thank you. You can take me back to the beach and when Captain Bill gets some much needed experience, I'll get back aboard with him." 0 Responses to "My first sail after a year of reading"Leave a reply | Author
Bill Alderisio... husband, father, cruiser. Been cruising on and off for 25 years and never been happier
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