I’ve had some interesting jobs in my professional years so far: managing a bike shop, working for a security consultant, model train sound system sales, and now working for SpinSheet Publishing Company. On my third day of work at SpinSheet, I started a 2-Day Sailing Fundamentals course at J World in Annapolis. I’ve been on a sailboat a handful of times between growing up in the Annapolis area and spending weekends and summers in Newport News, VA for a few years, but I didn’t really know the theory behind and the “talk” of sailing. The purpose of me taking this course was to not only give me a little experience, but hook me on sailing as well.
Monday’s forecast was less than perfect. Coastal flood advisory, high wind warnings, heavy rain storms, small craft advisories, etc. You know, no big deal! I reported to class along with Zach, my new co-worker, and Anna, who was coming to the class to learn to sail, just like we were. Our very knowledgeable instructor, Channing talked with us about our experience for a few minutes and then we discussed the weather outlook for the morning. It looked as if we were going to be able to get out on our J/80 for at least a couple hours before the storms moved in, so we went out to get the boat ready to sail.
Rigging the boat was fairly straightforward. We learned how to rig the smaller jib sail as well as reefing the main. Our trip out of the marina was also not too scary, although I wasn’t the one steering the boat. Once we hit the mouth of Back Creek, the fun began!
My first sailing experience where I was actually working on the boat was in 4-5 foot waves and winds gusting to 40 knots. That’s right. I was a little worried about getting seasick, but I will tell you that there was no time for that on the first day of our class. We learned to tack and gybe, we learned how to sail into the wind and not slam the boat up and down on the waves. We learned how to surf the boat when sailing with the wind behind us. All 3 of Channing’s students stayed calm and were determined to get the most out of the experience of learning to sail in fairly extreme conditions. Channing also assured us that the J/80 was a very "seaworthy" boat.
Our wild ride in the Bay lasted for a little over an hour, went up into the Severn River a bit and decided to head for home as the dark clouds were getting closer. As we got closer to Back Creek, so did the storm. First the winds started; they were coming from all directions and they were strong. Then the biggest, hardest rain drops began pelting us. Our faithful instructor, Channing took the tiller, and began shouting commands over the loud rain and wind. The boat was heeling from side to side and we were tacking every minute or two.
As I was telling this story at the dinner table Monday evening, my Mom said, “well didn’t you want the ride to be over?” It was a little like sky diving, once you jump out of the plane, the ride isn’t over until you hit the ground, and you don’t get to dictate when that is. In the moment, it was a little scary, quite the adrenaline rush, and the first time in a while that I’ve not had a chance to think about anything else but what I was doing at that exact moment.
When we got back into the marina, we had to get everything on the boat cleaned up and put away and it was now really pouring. I was beyond wet, I was drenched and freezing. As we were sitting back at J World after our adventure, we all had big grins on our faces. That was one heck of an adventure!
Day 2 of our class was a little less dramatic, but exciting nonetheless. Even though it was still a little more breezy than normal, the water had calmed down considerably, making it a great day to stay out and perfect a few of the techniques that we had learned on our crazy first day of sailing. I walked away from the class with a good base of skills and a new appreciation for foul weather gear. I am really looking forward to my next opportunity to get on a boat and I am thrilled that my job will most likely give me that opportunity! I’m hooked!!
