As our crew of five closed in on the mooring it was a great time to reflect on what we had just experienced. It had been tough race and we had abandoned on the first night. That said it was an experience that I would not regret. What if I sailed all my life and never go though a 40 mile a hour wind or experience a 10 to 20 foot swell or even a storm? Looking at my crew-mates and knowing that my life and theirs depended on the skills that we demonstrated as yachtsmen.
Returning to port, we sat in the cockpit and recalled surfing down waves at 10 knots, and how I was shouting out that this was sailing at its best, Oh boy did I have a great big smile on my face! The skipper smiled at me as if to say he’s nuts (the verdict may be still out on that one).
We arrived at the mooring field, dropped the sails and tried to start the engine. The water we had taken on offshore had found its way down to the engine so it took a while to get going.
One of the crew had been very seasick but he got up like nothing had happened to him as he tied the sails up and helped put the boat to bed. Eric, who is a New York city police officer, discovered that the port side shroud was coming apart. Mother nature reminded us all who was really in charge. If there were any doubts about our decision to return home, that was the answer – Losing your mast at sea is no fun.
As we boarded the launch and returned to the dock, it had never looked so good even though it was rocking so hard, the families waiting for heir loved ones had retreated to the parking lot.
As we passed though the small crowd like heroes of the night, a lady asked if I had been terrified. My answer was “not really I thought it was a lots of fun”. She looked at me and said, “You are really a hard core sailors”. I had to just smile.
You know you can live your whole life and just hear others stories like this. I’m just happy that I can tell this story. What I learned is that you cannot underestimate what you will get into out there and it could be an intense experience. Above al I learned is that anxiety and even fear need not be disabling but can be life-affirming.
Note: This is Jeff below with the orange sweat shirt, when we sailed together on a gentle early fall day last year.
