| Sailing began for us many years ago and we still love | | | | the centerboard, the retractable board that serves as |
| it. My husband and I were with another couple at the | | | | the keel on a small sailboat. Luckily a nice fellow yelled |
| beach for Labor Day week-end. Watching a sailboat I | | | | to us and we retrieved it. And on the last trip ashore a |
| casually said "that really looks like something I would | | | | spar on the little mainsail broke. Now we could not hoist |
| like to try". What? I would like to learn to sail. | | | | the sail. |
| The decision to have two boats had me a little | | | | By this time the sun is starting to set and I got the |
| worried; my husband and I knew nothing about sailing. It | | | | brilliant idea that we could just drag the boat back the |
| seemed like a better idea when I thought that all four | | | | five miles or so back to the starting point. Desperate |
| of us would be on one boat. However, it seemed easy | | | | people do desperate things. We soon learned how this |
| enough since the boats were only about twelve feet | | | | was not going to work. We had to find a public phone |
| long and had only one sail. | | | | and call the rental guy; there were no cell phones in |
| We were only a little way out from the beach when | | | | that long ago day. We soon came to a beach hotel |
| the other couple were knocked down, and we sailed | | | | and made the call. |
| right past our "teacher". We were doing great and | | | | We sat and waited for what seemed forever finally |
| besides we did not yet know how to turn or anything, | | | | the rental showed up with a jeep and trailer with a |
| so there was nothing we could do to assist them. We | | | | boat on it. Our friends sat in the Jeep; the boat was |
| were soon too far away from them to see how they | | | | theirs. To add insult to injury, the driver said I have had |
| were doing. | | | | to go get three stranded boats all season two of them |
| After about an hour of thrilling sailing the answer to | | | | are on the trailer. This was Labor Day week-end. |
| how hard could this be came. Going back the other | | | | Our first sailing experience should have been |
| way to our starting point was difficult. After multiple | | | | discouraging; to most it probably would have been. |
| attempts at sailing against the wind, we dragged the | | | | Instead of scaring us away from sailing forever we |
| boat ashore to see if my husband- ever the engineer- | | | | were smitten from that first few minutes of smooth, |
| could work it out by drawing diagrams in the sand. He | | | | exhilarating sailing. That winter we took a sailing course |
| had a vague memory of seeing how wind moved a | | | | went to the boat show, ordered a Catalina 22' and |
| sailboat diagramed. | | | | never regretted it. |
| The Reader's Digest version, we returned to the | | | | Sailing like biking is a sport you can learn and enjoy |
| beach several times to try to figure this out all to no | | | | without training for the big race. You can enjoy biking |
| avail. We later learned all about "tacking" and "coming | | | | just for the joy of the ride. One can learn to sail and |
| about" which would allowed the wind to work for us. | | | | then enjoy the activity just for the love of it with or |
| To be honest, we had gotten in an hour or so of sailing | | | | without entering races. A day on the water with the |
| without knowing anything about sailing. | | | | sun and wind in your face can carry you away from |
| On one of our drawing in the sand trips ashore we lost | | | | the cares of the work world and the stresses of life. |