Sailing CHEESECAKE
To my friends and readers it is pretty clear that I LOVE sailing. There are so many reasons whilst at the same time, no particular reason at all. I just love being on the water.
I envy my son and all those “youth sailing program” kids that I have coached through the years. Being exposed to sailing at such age. Bewildered every single day by the new emotions you feel commanding a little pram about. Contemplating nature by being part of that nature. When you see a dolphin surfacing close to your vessel for the first time, when you hear the loud puff of their breath as they reach for life giving air; they too are seeing you, you too are part of their environment. There you are, next to the dolphin, the pelican, the majestic osprey, jelly fish with no Sponge Bob Square Pants hunting it. You ARE that child of the universe, no less than the trees or the stars…
My sailing experience did not come at a young age. The day of enlightenment occurred after I had lost my innocence. Perhaps it happened then because that unfolding universe saw a man in need of solace. At the grand cathedral of creation I find solace indeed. Perhaps that is why I sail as much as I can, I need to furiously regain the wasted years of my youth without sailing. I need to catch up, erase the damage and heal my soul.
Presently, I sail the family Lippincott 30, crew on a racing only J120 and J24, race my laser and still miss the windmill. I have raced and sailed on many platforms, the biggest has been a 50 footer, the smallest was my son’s opti which I took out sometimes between practices, at lunch break and at odd times when the kids were busy with a chalk talk and the opti was just sitting there waiting to be taken out for a spin. There is a sunfish in my past, actually my first physical boat was a sunfish. There is a catamaran in my past as well, boat number two (pun intended) was a nacra 5.2.
Of all the boats, none more demanding of purpose, none less forgiving of lapsed attention than my beloved CHEESECAKE. She demands me, at my best, I am absorbed by her. Sailing my laser is such a pleasure. Oh, I pay for it too. Many aches come from hiking, rigging, capsizing, swimming along to catch up to her after a wild capsize, etc. Yet, I ride her in contentment. There is a certain moment in which all that is pure and simple and true becomes tangible. You can almost smell, touch, see, hear and taste the feeling of righteousness. Can you touch an image in your mind? Just like the lovers separated by the terrible curse on the movie Lady Hawk, for just an instant at dusk and dawn could they see into each other’s eyes and almost quite touch each other in human form but the faint vision fades away all too swiftly leaving the human in tears and the beast in rage. On those moments when my laser and I embrace in a dance following the music and rhythm of wind and sea, my soul is witness to the romance of the sea. The falling sand grain stops in mid flight and I devour it, feasting on the moment.
And, if you ever wondered why I call my laser CHEESECAKE, it is because she is so sweet to sail.
To my friends and readers it is pretty clear that I LOVE sailing. There are so many reasons whilst at the same time, no particular reason at all. I just love being on the water.
I envy my son and all those “youth sailing program” kids that I have coached through the years. Being exposed to sailing at such age. Bewildered every single day by the new emotions you feel commanding a little pram about. Contemplating nature by being part of that nature. When you see a dolphin surfacing close to your vessel for the first time, when you hear the loud puff of their breath as they reach for life giving air; they too are seeing you, you too are part of their environment. There you are, next to the dolphin, the pelican, the majestic osprey, jelly fish with no Sponge Bob Square Pants hunting it. You ARE that child of the universe, no less than the trees or the stars…
My sailing experience did not come at a young age. The day of enlightenment occurred after I had lost my innocence. Perhaps it happened then because that unfolding universe saw a man in need of solace. At the grand cathedral of creation I find solace indeed. Perhaps that is why I sail as much as I can, I need to furiously regain the wasted years of my youth without sailing. I need to catch up, erase the damage and heal my soul.
Presently, I sail the family Lippincott 30, crew on a racing only J120 and J24, race my laser and still miss the windmill. I have raced and sailed on many platforms, the biggest has been a 50 footer, the smallest was my son’s opti which I took out sometimes between practices, at lunch break and at odd times when the kids were busy with a chalk talk and the opti was just sitting there waiting to be taken out for a spin. There is a sunfish in my past, actually my first physical boat was a sunfish. There is a catamaran in my past as well, boat number two (pun intended) was a nacra 5.2.
Of all the boats, none more demanding of purpose, none less forgiving of lapsed attention than my beloved CHEESECAKE. She demands me, at my best, I am absorbed by her. Sailing my laser is such a pleasure. Oh, I pay for it too. Many aches come from hiking, rigging, capsizing, swimming along to catch up to her after a wild capsize, etc. Yet, I ride her in contentment. There is a certain moment in which all that is pure and simple and true becomes tangible. You can almost smell, touch, see, hear and taste the feeling of righteousness. Can you touch an image in your mind? Just like the lovers separated by the terrible curse on the movie Lady Hawk, for just an instant at dusk and dawn could they see into each other’s eyes and almost quite touch each other in human form but the faint vision fades away all too swiftly leaving the human in tears and the beast in rage. On those moments when my laser and I embrace in a dance following the music and rhythm of wind and sea, my soul is witness to the romance of the sea. The falling sand grain stops in mid flight and I devour it, feasting on the moment.
And, if you ever wondered why I call my laser CHEESECAKE, it is because she is so sweet to sail.
