racing

“Would Pam like to crew for me in the race this afternoon?” That was the text (SMS) my mom received from a good friend of her and dad’s yesterday around lunch time. I laughed. You see, when I was 10 and 11 years old, I learned to sail a little tiny boat called an Optimist…think of a bathtub with a sail used to teach children how to sail; I believe all skills have long been forgotten. David races a Hobie Cat, a catamaran (two hulls) that is sailed by two people. I had been on a Hobie Cat twice before: once two years ago, and once the previous weekend; no skills yet learned.

I called David back to say sure, I would crew for him, but he had to know that I was a complete beginner. No problem. It is then that I found out from my mom that David, who I knew to be gentle and soft spoken, is incredibly competitive. He enters to win, and is good. I then assure myself that I am just crewing for the weekly race at the Yacht club.

Upon arrival I get a rundown of what I am to be doing, get suited up (harness, life jacket, and gloves), and off we go for a few minutes of practice before the race. Then we are off. The wind was strong. One of the fun things about Hobie Cats is that that you have a harness, and hook yourself in so that you can stand on the edge of the hull hanging over the water in order to balance the boat when you are flying along in strong winds. Add some waves and I discover that sunglasses are not for the sun, but to protect the eyes from the splashing waves. It was a high energy blast, and I am so thankful that all I really had to do was follow David’s instructions.

The race requires each boat to travel around buoys in a certain order. We were coming in a fairly close second as neared the last buoy. The boat in first did not go around the last buoy the correct way (went starboard rather than port, or right rather than left). This meant that they were disqualified. As David explained this to me, his smile was ear to ear for we had won. I think my smile was probably just as big.