Sailing Again
June 08, 2006
Today I went sailing in a real boat for the first time in 29 years! My daughter and I spent 3 hrs on the river, in a Flying Scot, and did just fine! OK, we hit a few sandbars, but other than that, it was great! The wind was perfect; not too much, but enough that there were a few small whitecaps, and enough to heel the boat on close tacks. I was hooting and hollering when we first got the wind that would heel the boat. My poor daughter was glad we were out where nobody could see us.
Some time ago, I had asked my friend--who owes me a day of sailing--if, when we go, we could heel the boat over, like in a marvelous photo I found of Necessity, a 31 ft. Cheoy Lee Ketch, shot by Annapolis photographer Scott Dine. I told my friend that I wanted to heel a boat like that lovely yacht in the photo, telling him "If I did that once in my life, I could die happy. It would not even have to be aboard a Cheoy Lee." My friend--who has yet to come through on the sail date--wrote back, "we can try heeling over like in the picture, but will need some pretty stiff winds." I was sailing the Flying Scot in part because I was tired of waiting for my friend to meet his word, and there I was, heeling the little craft and enjoying it immensely, without having to depend on someone else to make my dream come alive.
My girl proved an able second mate, handling the jib well, and seeming to enjoy the experience almost as much as I. I was very pleased with the vessel's roominess--and built in bench seats, which meant my butt stayed dry. With my former boat, the Dixie Cup, I never returned to shore without being soaked. It is definitely more comfortable to sail with a dry behind. I also really enjoyed the Flying Scot's hardware. Cam cleats! Pulleys! I had forgotten how much work they save; they make the sail a lot more pleasant.
The boat boy or whatever they call him was watching us from shore, and as we returned, said, "Not bad for the first time in 29 years," and then I really impressed him with how well I docked to his instructions, like I had done it all my life. It could not have been more perfect.
It seems that sailing is largely like riding a bike; you just remember how. We will surely go again soon.
[Post Script: I took my daughters sailing several weeks later, and they both enjoyed it a great deal. I see more sailing in our future.]
(c) 2006 Shay Seaborne. All rights reserved.
Back to Shay's Personal Experience Articles