An adventure in sailing...

Every year my family makes the three hour drive to Cape Cod for a much needed vacation. We rent the same cottage every year. It's a stone's throw across the beach to the water's edge. The cottage has a large deck that faces Nantucket Sound. On good days the ocean is dotted with sailboats. Relatively shallow water makes for ideal sailing conditions. I've spent many hours on the deck, peering through binoculars, watching them. Some small with only one person. Others, large yachts with many people aboard. The one thing they all have in common is...fun sailing. Not being a sailor and having never owned a boat, It has captured my attention. It appears effortless. How hard can it be to sail? All you do is steer in the direction you want to go and the wind does the rest...right?...umm...not quite that simple as I will soon discover.

I've been at the beach for a week now and my eyes are glazing over from boredom. Tv reception is poor and I already have a sunburn. Cell phone service is non existent and as crazy as it sounds, I'm not a fan of the beach or swimming in the ocean. I know..you're thinking..why are you spending two weeks at the beach if you don't like it? The answer...simple..my wife and kids like the beach and the ocean..need I say more! Today again, I'm sitting on the deck, binoculars in hand, watching the boats with their colorful sails. I see a group of small boats in the distance holding a regatta. The brightly colored sails intermingling with one another. Darting in one direction and then, in an instant, changing direction. Gradually a thought forms in my brain, which is quickly turning to mush from boredom. Sailing.....hmmm.

A cousin, also vacationing at the Cape, drops by for a visit and our discussion soon turns to sailing and "maybe we should give it a try...really, how hard can it be?" "You get in and steer". A little more talk and a few wine coolers later and its decided. We're going sailing in the morning!

Arising early the next morning, I'm greeted by a sunny but, windy day. It seems windier than usual. Good. That's got to make the sailing even better..(I'll be re-thinking that later on).  After a few phone calls, I contact a local sailboat rental. He has a 'Force Five' sailboat...I have no idea what that is but, it sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Even better...he's delivering it to the beach where I'm staying. An hour later it's floating at the water's edge..sail up and ready to go.

Moored in front of our cottage are several boats, belonging mostly to local residents. They're bobbing about, tugging at their moorings from the windy conditions. My first thought..."it's a good thing they don't smash against each other..it would be expensive to repair damaged fiberglass".

The 'Force Five"... What can I say..it's like a surfboard with a mast and a sail. About ten feet long. It's so small, you don't get in it. You ride on top of it!  I look it over and notice a bunch of colored ropes (called sheets) coming from various places on it and converging back to where the person sailing (that would be me) is positioned. They all have a purpose, I'm sure. I just haven't a clue about how to use them. We can figure that out once we're on the water. How difficult can it be?

My cousin and I push off from shore and jump aboard. Things go wrong quickly. The wind seems to be against us. As soon as I pull on one of the sheets to tighten the sail the boat takes off as if shot out of a cannon. We're heading directly at one of the moored boats. I can't grab the tiller quickly enough and crash into it with a sickening thud. Our small boat ricochets off the hull and heads straight toward another moored victim. The hard impact throws us off balance. Before we can recover, Crash! My cousin is thrown into the water from the impact. I'm unable to get control.. Another collision...this time a glancing blow. Finally, I get a grip on the tiller and steer clear of any more boats. 

For the remainder of the day and several more attempts, we've figured the whole sailing thing out. Some time later, after drying out and tending to a few minor wounds we push off from shore again. This time with increased confidence. 

Our wives and kids are sitting on the beach holding their collective breaths. I'm told later, other beach goers were mesmerized by the spectacle and stayed longer to see if more excitement would unfold. Two young girls sitting close to my wife, unawares of who she is, are laughing uncontrollably and one shouts to the other "Oh my God....they're going out again!" apparently it was heard by all. The beach crowd erupted in laughter.

Undaunted with several bruises, sunburn and too much salt water, it all ends well. No boats were damaged. There were no broken bones. Thankfully, the Coast Guard didn't have to rescue two beginner sailors.

Since that summer I have owned several sail boats...become a fairly skilled sailor and love being on the water more than any other hobby. 

Jake T