a little bit nervous........................from K

a little bit nervous.........from K
Today is my last day of work - I'm leaving a job that I love and people that I will miss seeing everyday. I thought I'd be more excited about the big exit, but alas, I am nervous. Nervous about leaving my girls, P's dad, my parents, my neurotic dog, my whiny cat, and even my dirty, demanding house. I know P and I are prepared for uncertainty, for adventure, even boredom. I suppose if this were easy, everyone would do it. I look forward to being a different person a year from now - more courageous, less fearful of change. But for right now, I'll just latch onto P's enthusiasm until I find my groove. 12 days until we cast off the dock lines...

going down ...................................from P

It is a strange, unnatural feeling to breathe under water. It is also unexpectedly loud! When I was a kid and saw Jacques Cousteau on our black & white TV I thought he inhabited a silent underwater world. As it turns out, all those big bubbles make a lot of racket. But once you slip through the soft glassy barrier into that other world, and drop down just 8 or 10 feet the first time, all of your other senses are on full alert. I looked back up toward the more familiar side of the surface and really understood why divers get hooked on this sport. I was able to stand, walk (shuffle really), or suspend myself in perfect weightlessness. Even in this murky, unexciting lake I found myself hanging out with a few bluegill perch and a little bass. We were now "equals." Well, not really. I felt clumsy and inferior; definitely a stranger in their hood. When I surfaced I heard the dive instructor holler my name and wave me back over to my group where I was supposed to be practicing skills such as locating and clearing the regulator in an emergency, clearing the mask, etc. So I had to leave the peaceful, bubbly world to the perch and get back to learning how to do this without the help of the instructor soon. K and I have been wanted to learn to dive since our trip to the British Virgin Islands seven years ago, and now we are finally doing it. It is great to be learning this together. K is a natural. I have to work a little harder at the skills, but it is a hoot! I wonder if Jacques ever got excited looking at perch?

respect............................from P

A movie: The Perfect Storm. My favorite part is the up and down of the crew's morale near the end as the storm appeared to be breaking up just before the worst. They crawled and scrambled across the deck to deal with problem after problem. The sun popped out, everyone cheered, then the sky along with the faces darkened again. Finally, the big sea rose up and finished them.

A book: Fastnet, Force 10. The deadliest ocean race in the history of organized regattas. 306 boats entered this 1979 version of the Fastnet race originating off the south coast of England, and around Fastnet Rock at the southern tip of Ireland. Two low pressure systems came together too fast for accurate forecasting, just like the Perfect Storm. 15 people died, 25 boats were sunk or disabled, scores of hypothermal men were plucked out of the 40 foot seas by British rescue helicopters, boats were rolled all the way over 360 degrees, and the race continued. Again, my favorite part had to be the excellent description of how the crews of the most affected boats dealt with the hell they were living. They never gave up. They reefed, reefed again, changed sails, heaved to, tried running before the sea, cut loose broken masts, bailed water, inflated life rafts, were tossed around like rag dolls teathered to the boat - and most of them survived or thrived.

Just by coincidence (I think), I finished reading Fastnet within 24 hours of flipping channels onto HBO and catching the last half of The Perfect Storm last night. I already had a healthy respect for the sea. Now I am ready to buy life rafts, thermal suits, strobes, extra flairs, radar, and maybe my own helicopter. Well maybe not the helicopter, but over the past two months I actually have been acquiring safety gear including a drogue for slowing the boat when running before the sea in a blow, personal harnesses and teathers, a new small but tough "gale sail" that is to be hoisted in winds over 30 knots in place of the standard jib, inflatable life vests with extra canisters, extra flairs, satellite weather service, radar reflector so we can be easily seen by ships, and a new fishing pole. OK I did not buy a new fishing pole but after spending all this money I might as well. Being safe costs a lot.

If (when) we get into a 30 or 40 knot gale, how will we react? Will we get focused, think through the proper steps, and work task by task as we keep Senara under control and keep her "pointy ends" into the wind? Or will we curl up and wimper? The lessons learned from Fastnet included staying with the boat and keep working. We think a much better strategy is to pay constant attention to the weather and don't sail if there is a good chance of trouble. What's the hurry anyway? We have all year. Yes we will be ready when king neptune shows his bad side. But we have enough respect to show him patience by staying in port when he gets testy. Besides, we don't have a load of fish to deliver or an ocean race to win - just new places to discover in their own time.

counting down..................................from P

The date is set. We will cast off her lines and start our adventure northward on July 9th. It feels real now. I know what needs to be done for her to be ready, and I think we can manage the remaining list between now and the 9th. We are sooooo looking forward to getting underway. Thankfully I have been able to scratch the sailing itch with fun weekend cruises (and races) with friends. On Memorial day weekend we kicked off summer by sailing up to the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg with three other boats and just had a fabulous time enjoying the resort and sleeping aboard. I learned a few more things about Senara that I need to tweak for our extended trip, but mostly I learned that K and I are ready. Ready to go, and go, and go. Come on July!

racing.................................from P

The old cliche is true. Two or more sailboats going in the same general direction means.... the race is on! This weekend there were 81 boats trying to go in the same direction faster. It was the "Southern Bay Race Week" at its best. Three full days of intense racing for the Black Seal Cup. Wow! What a wild weekend. Senara did not race, instead I crewed for a friend aboard T-L-Sea. The series consisted of 7 races over three days, with three intense races in 15 to 20 knot average winds yesterday. My knees are skinned up and my muscles are sore. Racing conditions ranged from dead calm this afternoon (we actually dropped anchor to keep from losing ground in the current)up to a gear-busting 31 knot gust clocked during one of yesterday's races. Last year I raced Senara in this series. After only 4 races in last year's series Senara finished 9th overall out of 15 boats in our class. We did much better later in the year at the Neptune Festival Regatta in Virginia Beach where we won the cruising class aboard Senara by a huge margin, and we would have been second in the non-spin A class. A very strong showing, although we bent my whisker pole in the 25 knot wind as it laid against the shroud on a wing&wing. I guess it's like they say in NASCAR - you ain't racin' if nothin' breaks! But, back to this year's Black Seal Cup. T-L-Sea's crew of four - Capt. Tony, Fred, Mike, and yours truly finished with a fourth place out of seven boats in our class. Fast boats from up and down the east coast participate in this event. Just like last year, I will take the middle of the pack spot proudly. Senara retired from racing after the Neptune Regatta victory last year. I have two more weekends lined up to crew aboard T-L-Sea. After that, I am following Senara's lead and retiring from racing myself. The only racing I want to do over the next year is to stay ahead of bad weather, and get to the best anchorage holes first. That is, unless another boat is going in the same direction.