Before yesterday, I had no idea what many of these terms meant. I was a child in the world of sailing. I still am but I have one race under my belt and 2 hours experience with an excellent sailing teacher. My friend Mary invited me to go sailing with her On Wednesday. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. We went to the Riverton Yacht Club in New Jersey that has sailboat races every Wednesday night on the Delaware River. Often some boats are looking for extra crew because they need weight in the boat or an extra set of hands. I was lucky enough to get picked up by a Allen and Diane. Their third crew member was unable to come that night so I took his place. The next two hours were a crash course in sailing. Needless to say we didn't win the race, but I personally had a nice time trying. I was invited back for next Wednesday's race and I think I might take Allen up on it.
After the races are over, everyone meets on the dock for snacks and drinks. It is really a neat culture to be a part of....if even only for a couple hours every week. There are three types of ships in the races: J22s, Lightnings, and Mariners. I rode in a Lightning. We are given a mapped out course and compete against the other ships in our category...so all the Lightnings set off at the same time to compete to finish the race first. We actually didn't finish the race because we didn't cross the final buoy on the port side so oh well...it was still a great experience...and I look forward to hopefully learning more next week.
That isn't me or the boat I was one, but it gives you an idea of what it looked like last night.
