March 17, 2003

• EARLY SAILING
  
  I actually got to sail this weekend! It was about 13 degrees Celsius, but the wind was very good to us. We took out a Hobie Cat, and met some very nice people who helped us raise the mast. As I have said before, sailors are a mixed bunch, but small-boat sailors are the nicest. I remember once, I was out in a small monohull, and our centerboard got jammed and wouldn’t go all the way down. So we couldn’t sail into the wind to get to the dock. This cabin-boat guy was not very helpful, just sat there on the dock saying “You’re not going to be able to paddle upwind like that.” But he didn’t give us a hand, either. And we had no choice but to paddle, because the shoreline was too rocky to walk the boat upwind. He was a lot of help. Yeah. Big-boat sailors. Pshaw. But, these really nice people helped us step the mast, and the wind was excellent. Better than it was last summer, actually! I got absolutely soaked, and unfortunately was not wearing my wetsuit, because I came straight from making rounds at the hospital. So, both me and the guy I was sailing with got really wet and cold! God, I love it!
  
  I never felt that Hobies tack very fast, but yesterday we did figure out that you can get it to turn without coming to a standstill, by just waiting until the very last moment to let the jib fly over.
  
  I also learned some French words for sailing. If you are close-hauled, that is “Oh-PREH” (with the French r-sound that sounds like a very long K). If you are turning upwind, that is called “LOO-FAH”, and if you turn downwind, that is called “A-BOT”. If you are at a broad reach, that is called “Oh-PORTO”, and if you are wing-on-wing, that is called “SEE-so” (which means “scissors”). “Fast” is ra-PEE-doh. “Slow” (which we weren’t) was “LOONG”.
  
  Yup, had fun yesterday.
  
  

  • 3:49 am
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