Sailing Away

My husband is combating middle age by scheduling adventures.  It's been scuba, ballooning and talk of sky diving. Lucky for me I have been invited to, included in, and required for many of these events.  Our most recent is sailing.

He bought sailing lessons through Seven Seas Sailing School near the grain elevators.  The building is unimpressive to say the least, but the instructors are fabulous.  I thought I could learn some terminology and be fine.  Not so.  There is a ton to learn...jibe ho, tack port, in irons...this is a bit of work.  Our first lessons were informative and a bit daunting, but I have to say I was enjoying myself.

We did our first water sail last weekend.  To start, the instructor cut his hand on some rigging. Then we noticed a line stuck in the propeller - one of the students (an 50 something year old man) dove into the water to cut it loose.  It was trouble starting up but the winds were beautiful and I enjoyed our few hours in the sun.

Sunday we did our second sail on the water.  I was feeling confident until I noticed the high winds and the expression of pure delight on our instructor's face.  Our instructor is an adorable 20 something young man who sails 18 - 20 hours a weekend.  The boy was born to teach and you can tell he loves it. He and Max were checking out hotties on a smaller sail boat last week, a glance that almost had us crash into another boat.  But I digress...

This week I manned the main sail while Matty manipulated the jib and Max drove with the tiller.  We tacked right and I swear the boat tipped to it's side and we were parallel to the water!  My hair could have hit the waves, had I not been hanging on for dear life.  As smiles filled everyone else's face, I screamed to let the main sail loose so we slow down and lift up.  As main sail operator - I performed flawlessly and we were back in mellow territory.  Why am I the only one fearful of death but capsized sailboat?

One of the skills you learn by taking lessons is to perform a man overboard drill.  After seeing what needs to be done, I made Max promise me that he would never fall off the boat while sailing because I would have to leave him there.  When someone falls off a sailboat, you have to keep going until you are about 20 boat lengths away and then turn around to get close enough to pick him up but not too close to have the wind push the boat into him.  Keep in mind this is a 26 ft boat!  I cannot believe our crew was able to do this twice!  My contribution was simply watching the flotation device designated as the man overboard.

After two hours my palms were raw from gripping the lines, my face was permanently stuck in fear and my hair was wind blown.  It was time to dock.  The other couple with us did their best and just gently tapped the dock.  All safely returned to land. Not sure how those women on TV manage to look so graceful on a sailboat.  I was basically crawling around on my hands and knees - very UN ladylike.

It is definitely exhilarating to be on the water gliding through the wind, but also terrifying.  We have one more lesson and then we can be tested.  Once we pass, we can take out a sailboat on our own.  I can't see this happening.  The boys love it and Matty is already pricing used sailboats.  God help me.

Tubing with the Boys

Today my brother and nephews joined us on the Niagara River for a day of boating and tubing.  This was the kind of adventurer that justifies the boat, reinforces our decision to live in Buffalo and makes me realize just how lucky I am.

It started off a little rocky when we hit traffic on the 290.  As we are standing still, my brother called to say he needs gas.  Thankfully the fumes took him to the marina safely.

The sun was shining, the water was clear and the boys were ready to go.  Matty has obviously grown as a boat captain.  His ability to make waves, flip the kids and bring the tube airborne was impressive to say the least.  At one point, my nephew Gavin skipped across the water like a stone after being thrown from the tube.  Another time brought my other nephew Ethan under the water as he held onto the plummeting tube.  I think it may have even scared this adventurous and fearless daredevil.

The day become more adventurous when Captain Matty let Max take the helm and drive the boat.  All was going well until... we hit someone's wake and our novice driver accelerated instead of slowing down.  Capt. Matty was thrown from the front into the stairs and landed on his back like a turtle on his shell.  Gavin and Ethan were hanging on for dear life, Scott's jaw hit the deck and I screamed. Max recouped quickly but those 30 seconds felt like two hours.  Our captain suffered a few bruises, most obviously the bump of his leg that looks like another knee cap.  Max may need a little more practice.  He jumped back in though with one hand on the wheel, one on the window and cranked up the Ipod to bounce to the tunes.  Obviously he was not as frightened as his crew.

Max continued his learning as he experienced the strong river current.  We anchored the boat and the boys hung out on the tube.  Max fell from the tube and it seemed that he was being swept away.  After a few seconds he was several yards away.  He started swimming toward the tube, only to tire himself and get farther away.  The current had him, terror struck and we all jumped into action.  My brother Scott screamed to Gavin to hang on and to Max to stay where he was.  Scott was "man overboard lookout".  Ethan and I pulled up the anchor and Matty swung the boat around to get Max.  As he was drifting quickly toward the falls, we pulled him in and decided it may be time to go somewhere calmer.

We went to grass island and the boys swam to the shore while the adults relaxed in the sun. Atlas, everyone was getting tired and hungry.  It was 6:30 pm and time to head back.

I've spent a lot of time complaining to Matty about the cost of the boat, the effort to maintain it and the little time we are able to spend using it.  Those days are over.  The laughs from the boys and memories we made today are worth any dollar amount.

Max in red, Ethan in Front, Gavin on knee in back.

Just starting to take off!

Fill 'er Up

I started the day yesterday as I usually do with my pot of coffee.  However it wasn't enough so on my way to my first appointment, dressed in beautiful suit and mink coat, I stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for another cup.  Th eguy filled it right to the top and then did not fully snap the cap in place.  As I put it into the cup holder, the first splash hit the car.  As I picked it up, it spilled all over my coat and skirt.  Why the hell does the cup need to be filled to the very top?  Am I going to complain because I missed a sip?

Stop for lunch, order soup.  Again, it it filled to the very top of the bowl so as I walk it is spilling onto my paperwork and hands.  Yet another mess.

To add insult to the extreme, I then make dinner for the boys. Boiling milk, unattended, also spills all over the top of the pot and makes a complete mess of my recently cleaned stove. Now I am to blame.

The final straw came that night as I fill the bathtub with water for a relaxing hot bath, glass of wine at hand.  Well the phone rang, I forget about the tub until of course I notice a puddle in the doorway.  The water must have been running for 1/2 hour.  Yet another mess.

I blame the coffee guy for all my excess problems yesterday.  Talk about needed to set limits!