Sailing

So, last week I went out sailing with one of my Scouts. She's 15 and apparently a ridiculously good sailor. She races a bunch and has been sailing for years. She had offered to take me sailing a while ago and I finally took her up. I thought "Sure, I like to sail, sounds relaxing"We put all the sails on the boat (which is a J24 for anyone who is interested) and pulled out from the dock. Within 5 minutes some guy on the boat said to me "Why don't you steer?" What? Are you serious? I just told you that I've never sailed in my life and you're going to hand me the steerer (or tiller or something) . He cracked open a beer and I tried my best to keep the boat going in some sort of direction. Steering a sailboat is like steering a car backwards in the snow. It took me a solid 10 minutes to figure out how the handle worked, and then they kept telling me to aim towards things. "Sure, as soon as I figure out how to point the boat in some sort of direction I'll aim towards something" I only thought it though, I must have said something like "uhhh! okay!"

I was hoping that they would take the handlesteerer out of my hand sooner rather than later when the guy said "Ok, now that we're racing I better drive" What! Race! No one told me about a race. I knew there was a barbecue afterward, I had $5 in my pocket, but no one told me this was a RACE. Where was my margarita? Why wasn't I lounging on the deck with my feet on a rail lazily pulling on a rope or something?

I took my place on the rail of the boat, determined to fulfill my purpose as "rail bait" which I was told means that I'm supposed to help balance the weight of the boat we turn. That sounded like something I could do--"Just sit there, change sides when we yell 'Tack!' or 'Jive!'" I was relieved to have less responsibility. Until I realized how tricky it is to dive under the boom as its swinging toward my head. There's about 10 inches of clearance, the boom is moving quickly, and there's nothing to keep me from falling off the other side of the boat while I dive head first, or feet first under the boom to the other side while the boat is tilting at sometimes precarious angles. It's like limbo from hell.

The first time we tacked and I had to dive for the other side, I wasn't quick enough and got dragged up by the seat of my pants. I was quicker after that, but just could never quite get used to seeing the water rush at me from between my feet while I was hoping that something would stop my slide before I ended up in it. I never once fell off the boat--which is good, because I'm sure I would have been yelled at for causing drag, or something.

This is a picture of the type of boat I was on. You can see clearly the "rail bait" position...


It's been a few days since my sail, and I can finally turn my head completely to the left again, and my bruises are starting to turn yellow...I'm thinking that maybe I might like to sail again.


In other news: Today is my birthday. I got some nice presents, and I went on a long bike ride. I've cleaned my house and I think some people will come over and celebrate with me. Unfortunately I'm suffering from SEA LICE!!!!! What! SEA LICE!!! Ok, really they're tiny jellyfish stings. Invisible sea anemone larvae (which look like jellyfish) got all up under my swim suit and stung me all over while I was battling the open water during my swim. As soon as this triathlon thing is over, I'm finding a pool. Marine life is ridiculous.

Confidential to my readers in Arizona: Hi Grandma!