Chesapeake Bay (8/2/2014)

 Despite all the calls for rain and nasty weather, the Admiral’s Regatta was pulled off without many problems.  The regatta consisted of a sail boat race that I participated with as a crew member of one of the five boats that raced Saturday.  Saturday was nice.  It was overcast but there was no rain, at least until we finished.  We came in second, and the race was shortened somewhat.  However, looking at what weather came in, the boats behind us did get rained on.

This was very unlike what happened last year when we were hit by this tremendous thunder storm and we were almost knocked down by a gust of 60+ mile per hour.  Knock down means the tip of the mast hit the water, and that did not happen, but my wife who was down below reported that the ports (windows) were under water.  I guess you have to experience this once, in order to appreciate the nice windless days.

I have noticed that me recounting this incident of last year is something all sailors do.  Whenever we get together we never talk about the great sail we had or the windless day we had on the water.  We always talk about the near misses, the horrible weather, you name it.  It almost feels like we always want to have experienced worst conditions on the water then the person you talk with:  “Let me tell you about that one time when …“, and you can fill in the blanks.  It is so bad that a sail magazine that I subscribe to has a monthly disaster section where someone tells about a major accident or difficulty and how they lived to tell about it.  These sections also have a “lessons learned” part to it.

This is very much like what we were told in church yesterday by our minister.  How when greeting someone you tell them “I’m fine, but my big toe hurts,” they will always try to better you and say something like “I’m sorry to hear that, but let me tell you about that time that my whole foot hurt.”  During the past month I’ve actually thought a lot about this and have been telling people that “this is the best day of my life,” which usually gets me a blank stare, but I really believe in living in the moment.

Anyway this photo was taken at the beginning of the race.  The boat in front of us is ready to unfurl it jib (or head sail)