November 8, 2003

  • Sailing Survivor

    By Cindy Porterfield and Randy Russell

     Flying Dolphin

    Mark Twain said “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
    things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
    Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
    Dream. Discover.” Ahhhh Discover!! I discovered sailing on Galveston Bay aboard the popular
    sailing vessel, Flying Dolphin, and I am grateful for the experience. 
    Thanks to the TMCA cruising group.

    But I don’t know if I will ever figure out my knots and nauticals??

    In fact, this weekend’s adventure with the group to Steve’s Landing was more
    than I bargained for!  Though I am a native Galvestonion, I had never
    in my 44 years, had the adventure of sailing until February 1st 2003.

    Our sail started with fog so thick that the words “pea soup” was echoed on
    radio channel 16 from boat captain to boat captain.  Personally, as
    the boat moved from it’s Kemah Boardwalk Marina dock to the open water and

    the fog dropped upon us like a blanket on our boat, an eerie but dreamlike
    calm danced around me as if to cast a magical spell.  I would have hypnotically
    dozed into a light sleep but the blaring horns of the invisible boats nearby
    kept me on guard.  Twenty feet of visibility allowed us to see the front
    of the boat and nothing else.  Innocently I said, “Randy, you were right,
    your boat sails so smoothly.  I’m impressed”.  He laughed, “Cindy,
    the water is as still as glass and we are barely moving”.  Suddenly
    I heard a deep bellowing foghorn that made the water quiver around us. 

    It was a mammoth tanker in the ship channel.  Far off in the distance
    we could see only the stacks sailing in the sky across the clouds, across
    the fog.

    The following day the real excitement began, crashing waves and high winds…He
    did he say 27 knots?… He couldn’t be talking about wind….if he could only
    feel the knots in my stomach as the water began crashing over the front of
    the boat.  The front of the boat, I later learned, is correctly termed
    “the bow” and bow I did as the ocean came aboard hitting me square in the
    face.  You should have seen the look I gave Randy as I stood there soak’n
    wet after just fixing my hair!!  

    Wait a minute, I thought a sailing cruise meant a weekend of relaxation,
    sun bathing, sight seeing, “a cruizzzzzz”…You know…. Jimmy Buffet told me
    in a song …Sailing away in Margaritaville.  Did you ever hear Jimmy
    mention sailing sideways?? What happened to romantic dining in the cabin,
    snoozing peacefully on the deck.    Master Helmsman Randy
    Russell had a quite a chuckle “showing me” the ropes.  I just wish he
    had explained them also.  

    Proudly he gave me control of the helm, patiently telling me that the boat
    will always stay afloat.  That was when we were sailing west down the
    ICW.  “Not to worry, I was safe”, he said turning us in a northerly
    direction with the south winds upon us.  Suddenly I began using muscles
    I never knew I had.  Only moments earlier I was standing there grinning
    ear to ear.  My last words were, “Sailing is easy”.  I had spoken
    too soon.  According to Randy, “All hell had broken loose”.  Now
    that was a sailing term I was familiar with.  I was fiercely holding
    on to the steering wheel as Randy yelled, “Go into the wind”.  Now I’m
    supposed to know the direction of the wind and how do I go into it?  

    Of course I didn’t want to look stupid so when Randy wasn’t looking I used
    the only method I knew…I held my wet finger in the wind. Wait that wind was
    going in every direction. Now what?   

    Little did HE know that the last thing you should tell a novice as you hand
    her the wheel is “fall off”.  What?  How could I “fall off, fall
    off” when I just got on.  Was I being voted off like a member of Survivor? 

    I wasn’t about to go into that water, even though I felt like this beautiful
    sailboat,  Flying Dolphin, wanted me “off!”, soaring sideways
    in the wind.  I must say seeing Randy take that wheel from me as he
    tried to harness the wind and sails, was exhilarating, powerful and inspiring. 
    The soaring speed of the Flying Dolphin with full sails taking
    on the power of the winds, was an adrenaline rush I had never experienced. 
    Much like riding a wild stallion, I saw the beauty of the Flying Dolphin

    riding on the sea.  It was 15000 pounds buckling in the wind and Randy
    was masterfully holding on to the reins.  After a while I forgot about
    the noise of my makeup and hairdryer crashing to the floor in the cabin below
    and I just enjoyed the power, the majesty of Galveston Bay.

    On the way home I heard a song on the radio called “I Hope you Dance”. 
    The lyrics went like this:

                “I hope you always
    feel small when you stand beside the ocean,

                When one door closes,
    I hope another one opens”

    Yes, my first experience sailing in Galveston Bay with 27 knot winds was
    humbling and I will always feel small when I stand ON the ocean.  I
    learned that both a sailboat and the elements have a mind of their own. My
    “land limited” days are the door I have closed forever and I have opened
    another…sailing and friends at TMCA.  I will never be the same and I
    am sure you can relate.  The experience has had a piercing effect on
    a soul.  I am sure you can remember why you continue to sail or have
    I reminded you? “Explore, Dream, Discover”.  Mark Twain understood the
    powerful impact of a sail on the ocean.  It can even awaken a naive
    soul like mine.  

     

    Oh, by the way, no need to worry about being on the same waters with me and
    my sailing inexperience.  Randy promised me, the next time I am at the
    helm, they’ll be a sign on the side of his boat…“Student Driver”.   

    from http://www.tmca.nu/cruises/Steves03/Survivor.html
    images from http://www.tmca.nu/cruises/Steves03/StevesLanding.html