Learn to sail

“Even though there were only three of us on board, I was shouting the correct sailing terms like a pro – ‘ready about’, and ‘lee ho’ with each tack across the wind. After an hour of tacking into this horrific weather, my legs were soaking wet, my hands red raw and nearly frozen to the wheel of the boat, and my cheeks were in absolute, utter agony. Not from the cold or rain mind you, but from not being able to stop smiling. The others had kindly offered to take the helm and let me go down below to dry off. But I was not ready to relinquish the helm, not just yet. I was having way too much fun.”

“Sadly, this does not stand me in good stead later when I’m at the helm, sailing close hauled in gusty winds. Suddenly the boat heels, turning everything on a right angle. I hear books go flying inside the cabin, and look to see the port side toe rail in the water. I panic, squeal and let go of the wheel. The boat careens off to the left. Steve (who until now had been casually pottering around in search of snacks to eat) tells me to keep the boat under control. “It’s heeling excessively”, I whimper.”

“I recently step foot on my first sailboat and leading up to that point there was a lot of fear/nervous feelings. 'What if I am highly prone to seasickness?' 'What if I've just hyped this up in my head', things like that. As I stepped down into the dinghy, I was grinning ear to ear on the outside and screaming on the inside. As we approached the 40something charter catamaran, all of the nervous feeling melted away and I felt home. We spent 5 hours sailing with about an 1-2hours snorkeling an underwater sculpture park. Over those 5 hours we experienced a little of both worlds, both stormy & calm seas. There was great music, tasty food provided, and the skipper let me handle some of the lines.”