Boating adventure: Sailing a 32 foot yacht
My Mission: to sail like Dean Barker
My Goal: avoid capsizing the boat
My notions of “cruising” the gulf with a chardonnay in hand in my newly acquired sailing threads were dashed the moment I stepped aboard the French Connection
Suzanne our sailing instructor immediately handed me some oversized wet weather gear and directed me to bow of the yacht – it seemed I was here to work!
And, work it was.
Get ready to tact! Release the gib sheet! Pull the mast! Winch the sails!
Where was Barker when you needed him most?
Despite Suzanne’s assurances that a couple can easily sail a yacht the size of ‘French Connection’ on their own I remained dubious nonetheless as the five of us novices scampered off to our positions.
Once we managed to safely steer out of our berth I had a moment to take in my surroundings when it suddenly dawned on me that the whole point of the weekend was for me take over the helm of this 32-foot sailing vessel and hopefully avoid capsizing it along with its six passengers and all without…wait for it…a wheel!
According to Suzanne a tiller offers a more exciting hands-on experience. Hmmm…right. For someone who still has trouble telling right from left at times, the idea of having to direct the yacht with a mere stick opposite to the intended direction was concerning to say the least even despite Suzanne making it look second nature.
With each of us taking a turn at the helm we successfully steered our way into one of the larger marina lanes to learn how to berth the yacht ourselves. After a couple of demos I watched with growing anxiety as I waited for my name to be called.
It seemed my natural tendency towards speed behind the wheel translated to sailing vessels as well. In my overzealousness with the throttle I managed to charge the yacht full speed ahead while blowing smoke out of the tossing everyone back into the cockpit. Fortunately, all those aboard including the skipper got a good laugh out of it.
The next four hours were spent learning to sail the harbour or in the words of our skipper “to cruise”. Now, let me tell you there was little cruising involved. When the winds start howling and the waters become a bubbling cauldron, sailing can quickly shift from a sophisticated and relaxing jaunt to a tough, hard out sport.
But, boy… was the experience exhilarating!
I suddenly found my adrenaline pumping and my nerve rising to the challenge ahead of me.
I quickly learned that being fast footed, a quick thinker and having a good sense of balance goes a long in avoiding being hurled overboard in 40 knot winds.
For couples looking to sail there is no room for domestics here. It has to be a synchronized team effort or risk capsizing.
After my weekend of sailing, I certainly have a better appreciation for why yachties often live and breathe their sport.
Sailing is both fun and exhilarating and it certainly challenges the mind and body.
Despite my shredded hands, sore arms and disheveled hair I couldn’t wait for my next “cruisey” adventure on the high seas.
To find out more about learning to sail head to www.sailingaway.co.nz.
Welcome aboard! Meet Emma, our Boating Babe.
You’ll get to get to know her quite well as she writes about the thrills and spills of being on the water in her Boating Babe blog.
It’s not as if Emma is a stranger to water – but she’s much more used to being in it than on it. Introduced to the sport of surf lifesaving by her parents when she was just 6 years old, she’s still going strong at 22.
Emma spent three years teaching children about water and surf safety, has worked as a paid lifeguard and is still a volunteer lifeguard.
But her record on the water has not been as flawless.
Emma, who has lived on Auckland’s North Shore all her life, didn’t grow up with boats. She confesses that she’s always thought they’re a bit, well, blokey, really, and that you have to be rich to own one.
So, even though as a teenager she won a medal in the National K2 kayaking champs (with her friend Jodie Johnson), she wasn’t as enamoured of the sport as she was of surf lifesaving.
Actually, she found the training a bit hard, and perfected the art of capsizing her kayak whenever she wanted a rest (she’d then have to spend the rest of the practice session bailing it out – clever!)
The last time she was in a kayak she capsized it a little too well – it sank.
So Emma’s kind of excited, and kind of nervous, about being the Boating Babe. Because she’s going to have to get on the water again – which means anything could happen.
Over the coming months, Emma will be going out with experts who will be teaching her how to behave on the water: yachting, jetskiing, waterskiing, that sort of stuff. They might start out as lessons, but they’re bound to end up as adventures – and quite possibly entertainment.
And every week she’ll write about what she’s learned and the adventures and entertainment she (and everyone around her) has had along the way.
What’s she hoping to get out of this? Emma says that while intellectually she knows that boating isn’t just blokey – that New Zealand has a proud tradition of gutsy female boaties – she’s never felt the connection she has with surf lifesaving. She hopes that might change.
And she’s expecting more than a bit of fun – and is looking forward to sharing it with you.
