Sailing
I learned to sail when I was a child, in an area known as Turkey Point, on the Chesapeake Bay, in Maryland, and fell in love with sailing. As a young woman, my wife spent some of her time 'motoring' around Martha's Vineyard.
I was not about to let Flying Snail sit at a dock, so in order to refresh our memory, we enrolled with the United States Power Squadrons, and graduated from their USPS Boating Course.
Starting the day we passed the 'boating course', I took the sailboat out every chance I could and noticed, for the most part, we had the San Francisco Bay to ourselves, with exception to folks who constantly practiced for regattas. Little did I know, at that time, less that five percent (5%) of the people who own boats in the 'Bay Area' take them out more than twice a year...and that I was attracting attention of 'bay sailors'.
I became fond of 'near stormy weather' and strong wind because I could get the sailboat to move at a very fast pace, and this is when local (boat) folks started to introduce themselves. [Note: If you have read my motorcycle pages and are into those fine machines, know that I treated our sailboat like a 'cafe racer' (-; and did the majority of maintenance (everything with exception to the hull).]
Before I continue, on another page I mention playing golf because I worked in television; where (imo) knowing how to play golf has assets.
The first two folks that introduced themselves were extraordinary boat brokers with incredible large motor and sailing yacht Captain skills, who played golf, and their golf companions were three (well known) local lawyers.
As luck would have it, I 'hit it off' with them, we soon became close friends, and the next thing that happened was, we started getting invited to some very frosty gatherings and were 'accepted into the crowd'. ...Thank You!
About six months into, almost, daily sailing one of my broker friends tells me somebody wants to meet me and cutting out a long story, I end up becoming friends with one of the most active/winning regatta captains on the bay, who taught me a lot about racing.
Anybody into Sailing or Cruising knows there are a 'ton of stories' that 'go with the territory', and we have our share; some of which, make one wonder why we are still alive to tell them (-; but above and beyond all the stories, there is nothing like being on a bay/ocean in a twenty-eight foot six inch sailboat.
In the end, we loved every minute aboard Flying Snail, and our journeys on the water.
