Thirteen Things I Love About Sailing
You'll have to excuse me, I'm on another of my "wishing I was at summer camp" binges. I really think I might try to find a way to go next summer. I think it's time to face the fact that I can't go more than 2 summers without being at camp. Doesn't matter which camp. I am just one of those people. If you are one too, you understand.
Anyway. So I learned to sail at Camp Little Notch, worked on staff there for 2 years, then worked at Sail at Raquette Lake Girls Camp for another two years, then was Head of Small Crafts at Camp Matoaka in '04. I love me some small one-design boats and dinghies.
1. The cool water of Adirondack lakes. The crisp air rushing by.
2. The creaking sound that a boat makes when it heels over.
3. The fact that I can never remember what a particular piece of rigging is called, because I've worked with so many Brits that it is forever ingrained in my mind as the kicking strap, or the "kicker." Americans call it a boom vang, but I had to go look that up just now.
4. Flipping a Sunfish on purpose.
5. And seeing who can right it fastest. (Me. Despite weighing 30 pounds less than everyone else.)
6. It reminds me of Swallows and Amazons.
7. The smell of wet rope. I know, ew. But I do.
8. The smell of mildewy life jackets. (I might be kidding here. But I might not.)
9. I know what everything is called. Every part has a name. A rope is never just a rope. There is great comfort in this.
10. How a fiberglass hull feels under bare feet-- all warm and sloping.
11. The slap of tiny waves against the bow.
12. My sailor's tan. I MISS MY SAILOR'S TAN. For those of you not in the know, a sailor's tan is sort of like a farmer's tan... dark and with distinct lines. It comes from being out there all day, every day. It is usually recognizable by thick flip-flop lines on the feet, very brown shoulders cut off by a life jacket line (I know people who sail on larger boats don't necessarily wear life jackets, but I think if you are zipping around in a Laser or something where you're practically touching the water, you ought to have one), a fat line on the wrist from a waterproof sports watch, a fairly pale chest area, and a faint board shorts mark. Oh, fine. I don't really miss it because it is ugly. But then, I do.
13. Maintenance stuff. Like tying knots and setting out bumpers and making sure the mooring buoys are nice. And bailing. I secretly enjoy bailing. And going through a toolbox to find an extra bit, a pin or pulley or something, that matches the one you accidentally dropped in the lake. Fixing things. Boat soap.
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5 comments:
Ah, sailing. It's wonderful!
I've never been sailing, but I can relate on one of those specific activity tans that you miss, even if it's perhaps not the most flattering thing...
For me, it was the lifeguarding tan. :)
Ooooh I miss sailing too! Great list!
Happy Thursday!
And my poor Tchoupitoulas (Precision 18) continues to sit on weed supression duty in Mandeville while I get through being busy with other things, and waiting out The Season, or at least the worse of it.
Hopefully, I can get it move to NOLA in the next couple of week and get the forehatch replaced and get back out on the water. I'm used to such a short season up in the north that missing sails 2-3 times a week is definitely making me buggy.
And that bilge/lifejacket smell is lovely. Its as much the smell of spring (and commissioning) as flowers.
That list brought back memories for me too. I can easily spend all my time off on the boat, working on it, napping, reading, sailing. Makes you wonder how much money do I really need to just explore the world, live and laugh...
Oh yeah, and someone who shares the same vision...
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