First Time

Sweat dripping from my forehead stinging my eyes, the sweltering sun above burning my skin as if it were only yards away, I wrapped the furling line around the wench and muscled out a few more cranks, tightening it as much as I could. We had been in the sun for a few hours at this point and it was taking its toll on me. My day started with a brisk jump into the ocean and a scrub of the bottom. We needed to haul SVZV out and repaint the bottom, as our current paint was so worn down it required scrubbing every other week and a lot of elbow grease. After that we stowed everything away, took off the sail cover, pulled up the anchor, and motored out of the mooring field. I was thrilled to go out sailing on SVZV for the first time, but this was my first sailing experience where I wasn’t a guest and I needed to help, so I knew it was going to be a great learning experience and a lot to absorb.

First we brought up the main sail. Looking back I can easily identify the process we went through, but at the time I was completely lost. There were so many moving parts and foreign words I could barely follow Austin’s instructions. After jumping the main halyard to help bring up the sail, I moved back to tighten the luff on the wench. Next we unfurled the head sail and headed downwind. Sitting in the shade sweaty and winded, it took me a moment to notice the silence.

The boat was effortlessly gliding across the water and the only thing I could hear was SVZV splashing in the water. It was so calming and tranquil I forgot I was exhausted a moment earlier. I was finally able to take in the beauty around me. I could get use to this. Since then I have become more comfortable around the boat while underway, but I have a long long long way to go.