What I learned sailing

This post was to have pictures to accompany it, however, I lost my disposable camera about five minutes after I boarded the practice sail, so word pictures will have to suffice.

I have a friend who insists that some people are called to water because of theiry fiery intensity...that the water serves as a way to balance them. I think they may be right because this was my fourth of fifth time to be on a sail boat and the same feeling that I had from the very start was with me today - I simply cannot imagine anything more peaceful than sailing. It is a sport that is both ancient and modern, difficult and simple, challenging and relaxing.

I learned today that sail boats aren't so much pushed through the water as pulled (it's a math word problem, check with a physics instructor). I learned that a small craft is more difficult to sail than a much larger one - and you'll work your crew harder on a smaller craft than a large one (think of the life parallels with that one!). I learned that steering a boat is counter-intuitive...again, much like life at times.

But the most exciting thing I learned was that there are a ton of sailing terms that I've used all my life but had no idea they came from sailing but one in particular that was significant to me. I learned that "telltale signs" comes from telltales, which are small indicators that are positioned on the sail to indicate wind direction. They literally tell a sailor how to position their sails for optimum sailing.

I asked my instructor what he thought were the most important things one needed to do before launching a boat and he replied, "make sure there is plenty of beer in the cooler, make sure you have sunscreen and make sure you have plenty of gas in the engine to get you back when your sails luff."

Tomorrow is the test for certification and then, on to the next level of compentence.