Lucy Re-incarnated?

Oh boy! Time to go out on the Columbia River again!

After the misadventures of Evolutions first outing, Bob and I were very careful not to act so impulsively for Evolutions second little voyage. This time, Bob made sure that we’d attached the tiller handle, removed sail covers, closed hatches, and every thing else you’re supposed to do before casting off. (sheepish grin…) But despite our best efforts, we still had problems.

We were quickly reminded that Evolution had sat idyll for many years when we put the little 10 horse Honda in reverse, and carefully backed her out of the slip. The control linkage decided to jam, and we were stuck in reverse! (Geez, why does my life always seem like an episode of the I Love Lucy show!) Well, there we were cruising along in reverse, in an area PACKED with boats, unable to get the dumb thing even into neutral. Bob quickly killed the engine, and grabbed an oar to stop our backward motion. We ended up in another slip, just two away from our own. (sigh…) But good ol’ Bob broke out the tools, and after a few minutes and a few colorful swear words, the linkage lines were working properly, and off we went.

Hoisting the sails went well, and again all the sheets and halyards worked smoothly. The only problem we had now was the deck hand, (me). I had to help with the jib sheets, and at one point, as we were trying to move it from starboard to port, the jib filled with wind unexpectedly and I felt like I couldn’t control it. It was controlling me and I began to panic. Bob calmly handed me the tiller and took the sheet from me. He let the sheet slack, which took the wind out of the jib, and then he maneuvered it somehow and set it to the port side. I have so much to learn…

Ok, and I freaked out again when we heeled WAY over to starboard too. I was sitting on the port side and it still felt like we were going to lay it down! Bob claims we were only at about a 15 or 20 degree angle. It felt closer to 45 or 50 to me! After peeling me off his chest, Bob tried to tell me that heeling was part of the fun.

“Oh, I was having fun? Well, good thing you told me, because I mistook that feeling of dread for a near death experience!”

The truth is I’m fascinated by sailing. I LOVE being on the boat. I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on about sailing for about a year, waiting anxiously to finally get a boat. Yet when I’m out there doing it, it can be pretty frightening at times. Trust me, I have no intention of ‘turning chicken’. I think it was Mark Twain that said, “Courage is not the lack of fear, it’s acting in spite of it.” I know I need to stick with it and turn the fear into respect. So, upon further reflection, I’ve decided that perhaps it would be best if I took sailing lessons this summer. I know Bob is a good sailor, and God knows the man is patient, but I think I’d feel better learning from someone else, someone who does it for a living. You know how it is, you never believed what your mother told you, but as soon as you heard it from someone else, it suddenly became gospel. Well, I think it might be the same with having your spouse tell you that heeling over at terrifying angles is fun. Maybe if an instructor, after peeling me off himself, is still saying it’s fun, I’ll believe him.

Anyone know a good, (and patient), instructor?

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