Sailing without the "sheets"

As sad as it is to admit it; I have lived a stones throw away, from the Pacific Ocean for a little over 17yrs, and until yesterday, had never gone sailing! *hangs her head in shame*

I have done many other sports/activities on & around the ocean, but never specifically sailing.

To clarify, I'm not known for being a girly-girl, not that there's anything wrong with that, however, I was unsure on what to wear. The forecast showed a 28C for the early evening, with no chance of rain. Now, even in the best of summer's, my skin does not normally darken past the ivory hue of vampire flesh, so I really was a little concerned on attire. I had my lotion, my hat & sunglasses, and ended up deciding on a light beige pair of capri's and a white cotton T. There was also the issue of leg shaving, so thought it best to leave the shorts and/or bathing suit at home. MISTAKE! I think we all shed about 5Lb's before even leaving the docks - it was a SCORCHER! Thank god, I had the foresight to bring beer & ice.

The company was absolutely perfect (my Mom), our host & captain of the vessel was engaging, full of stories, humorous, appreciative of our beautiful habitat, graciously informed us on surrounding islands, folklore, nautical terms & descriptions, and some of his own family members & background. His baby is a 1982 Catalina 27' which he has owned for about 15 years, and couldn't be more in love. He does however, share her with his wife, as often as their life allows it. He is retired, per se, and partners in a landscaping business on one of the local islands, which puts a smile on his face, most times than naught. He explains that one of the enjoyments of doing this, over the 38yr career he had, is that he can leave this venture whenever he chooses. For the time being though, he is still enjoying what he does.

Interestingly enough, he has done jobs for a few well-known names: one being Robert Bateman, who according to our seafarer, is one of the most down to earth, kindest people he's had the pleasure of meeting. (Who also is one of my personal heroes - artist/conservationist/human rights defender/naturalist/environmentalist/you get the idea-ist)

To get back to the original concept of this post, the sailing was amazing to me for all of the enjoyment factors of being on the ocean on a beautiful day, exploring a small sample of the beauty this world possesses, seeing the sights, smelling the smells & tasting the salt and hops on my lips. So here's the kicker:

We didn't once, in the 3hrs, get a chance to fly the sails! The ocean was as still as glass, with not even a whisper of a breeze. Like I said, it was amazing to me, for I had never been on a sailboat, so we only motored along at about 4 knots for the entire trip, yet I so thoroughly enjoyed myself, I'm sure our host thought me to be a bit simple. He actually felt really bad that I didn't get to experience the thrill of "opening up the sheets", and we made another date to bring my hubby for next time. To finish off the evening, he took us up to the yacht club, introduced us to some longtime friends and treated us to a drink out on the patio, overlooking the marina. What an adventure for a Wednesday night!