Sailing...

Sailing is something i really enjoy doing.  I'm definitely no Jessica Watson (the 16 yo  aussie who just sailed solo round the world) but i am old enough to be her mother!! I have many friends who love to sail, both competitively and for pleasure.  This is fantastic as i get to experience both types of sailing, and they are very, very different. And my friends have yachts!! Lots of yachts!! A Forty footer built for ocean racing.  A 34  footer  for the harbour racing/cruising most often done here.  A couple of Tiger and Hobie cats - super fast local off the beach sailing.  Super fun!! A mirror or two..... And lots of other toys. I have fun friends :)

Cruising (on the yacht) is great. Relaxing with a beer or champers or what ever is your guilty pleasure, cruising down the Derwent (the river/harbour Hobart sits on), pulling in to a bay for a spot of lunch or a swim  or beach cricket.... And then picking up the sea breeze on the way back, putting up the spinnaker (in the pic) and flying home - sometimes!! Extended overnight trips rock! Anchor off an island or bay somewhere. Row into shore.  Build a fire.  Dive for some lobster and abalone.  Fantastic!  

Racing, on the other hand can be both mentally and physically exhausting. Races can be anything from 2hours to epics like the Sydney to Hobart. I'd never do the Sydney to Hobart. It's hard enough timing visits to the head (bathroom) on the harbour  when tacking and jibing, with a boat full of men! I'm usually the only female in my group of friends who goes sailing. Doing that in massive seas would be awful!!! Longest race i've done is about a 10hr event. My role in the race was purely as moveable ballast!! I literally slid under the boom and hung out over the side of the boat each time we tacked/jibed.... for 10 hours.  That wasn't fun.

The best races would have to be the corporate races held in the evenings after work in summer. About 2hours in total. Fast and furious, fighting other boats around a marked course. And always finishes with a drink and a few tall stories!

Here's a funny story about my first sailing experience - a group of us had decided to take an overnight trip down the River Derwent. Fantastic! It was many years ago. Adele was only young and neither of us had sailed before. The first day and night were great. Althoguh i was a little disappointed as i expected it to be slighlty more exciting than it was.... i had pictured Sydney to Hobart like scenes!! Hooked in trapezes, hanging over side, speeds of 30-40 knots.  The 6-7 knots we did was a little tame for me!! However, the next day, we had to turn back and head home. The weather took a turn for the worse and we had to sail into a terrible northerly which meant a cold, wet trip into a head wind - lots of tacking.  I had no idea what any of this meant at the time. So i ignored the seasoned sailors warnings and Adele and i decided to stay in bed, warm and cosy. 

BAD CHOICE!!! Sea sickness quickly overcame us.... Adele spent the next 7 hours on deck in her pjs, wet weather gear and with her head in a bucket. I managed to swallow a travel sickness pill, only to vomit it "overboard" minutes later. I spent the next 7 hours on deck, assisting the helmsman with a very important job. Apparently, you dont feel as sick if you are concentrating on something else. I had to hold a rope and each time the rope went slack i had to jerk it hard, whilst keeping my eyes on the bow. i wasn't sick any more.  When we were almost back to the marina i needed to pee so i handed the rope to someone else, gave him the instructions and went below. Uopn my return i was aghast to see the rope lying on the deck unattended.  I quickly grabbed it and everyone started laughing...... I'd fallen for the oldest trick in the book. The rope was cleated off the whole time.  I had bloody fingernail marks on my palms from holding on so hard... but i wasn't sick... When we berthed, Adele gave one final heave into the bucket, alighted from the yacht and swore she would never sail again. She hasn't. I swore i would learn from my stupidity. I know NEVER to hold a rope without checking what it does! Oh and if someone says" hold this rope" then thats automatically a clue as ropes on yachts are called "sheets" :)) I also learnt which side of boat to vomit over - the lowside - downwind, not the side i chose. Everyone else standing near me also learned the hard way for not telling me that important piece of information!! Haha!! And i also learned not to attempt to use the head at the same time as "going about". You get wet. I have since mastered the art of not needing the head. But that story is not one to be repeated here :D