Day-Sail with Friends

by Cash

Today we went out on a day-sail with Matthew, a friend of ours.  It was very fun because it’s always more fun when you have other people aboard.  This was a day-sail.  Time goes by so quickly when sailing.  It seemed like after such a short period of time that my dad said, “Ok, let’s turn around now,”  but when I look back at it, I realize it was actually a longer time.  There was nothing new today, other than having friends come with us.  We did the same stuff as always: sail out somewhere, hang out on the boat while sailing, come back, stressfully dock the boat, and then go to the pool.  

Docking is incredibly stressful.  We have to pilot the boat into a very narrow slip and pick up dock-lines to attach it to the pilings, all while trying not to hit the dock.  Dad is at the helm, Nicole uses fenders to protect the boat from the pilings, and Mom and I retrieve the lines and get them on the cleats.  We are getting better with each experience, but it is still nerve-racking.

I did touch the spreaders for the first time when climbing the mainmast.  Dad tells me that I will go up there to fix a couple things.  For example, there’s a plastic covering that protects the end of the spreaders, and one of them is coming off.  I will be strapped in a 
harness-like device and he'll hold me there.  He has some type of block, like a pulley, that I will be attached to.  That will be fun, and just a little bit scary.  

Dad is staying at the boat tonight, and I think Mom and Nicole and I might come back to the boat a day or two from now.  I’m still excited to go, and still sad that I will not be seeing my friends.  But this life will be very, very fun.