It's Just a Jib

Blog soundtrack:



Shout Out to Ms. Marcia: Yes, I remember this; how could I forget it?!?!? <3

Today, I went sailing with my friends, Brenda and Steve, on their gorgeous 36 foot sailboat. Well, Brenda has been my girlfriend for almost 4 years now since we first met at “work.” But today, it seemed like Steve stopped being “Brenda’s husband” and became my friend, too.

I met Brenda at the marina at 11am, and we took the launch out to where their boat was moored. (Did you notice that I only spent one day on a sailboat but how well I throw around all those nautical terms like “marina”, “launch”, and “moored?”) We ate lunch, and then began our sail at noon, but not before I got the tutorial on how to use the “head!”

It wasn’t too windy when we left. And, it was an absolutely lovely day. The thing that caught my attention was the clouds. I just hadn’t remembered ever seeing clouds these, or perhaps it was just that I was always too busy to notice things like this before.



Never having sailed before, I tried to be inquisitive without sounding totally stupid. For example, I thought a jib was some kind of, well, I really had no clue; but as it turns out, it’s just a jib, “a triangular staysail.”

Anyway, whether we were going 3 knots or cruising along at 6 knots at a 30 degree heel (are you impressed, Steve?), it was all fun! After one stretch of 6 knots with a tad of heel, I told Steve we were smokin’. After I said it, I thought, “Jeez, how not nautical of me!” But, thankfully, Steve liked that! It’s always good to amuse the co-captain of the ship, especially if prior to that he had asked you if you wanted to go to the place where the sharks congregated! Yeah, when he said that I could have sworn he had a patch over his eye and followed up the question with an “Arg, arg, arg!” I then started looking for the plank I thought he might make me walk!

No matter what the conditions, Steve and Brenda were a well-oiled team with Steve manning the sails and Brenda manning the, well, that round thingy that steers the boat! At one point, the GPS died. Just after we got out of the harbor, it decided to pull a “Dorothy,” and it said to Brenda, “Brenda, you’re not in Massachusetts anymore!” Yes, it said we had somehow managed to travel many miles and were now in Miami! I asked Brenda if we could change it to Hawaii, but no dice.

Despite the malfunction, Brenda and Steve remained calm and collected, especially with each other. When my relationship grows up, I want it to be like Brenda and Steve’s. They have been married for 26 years and have been together for 30-something. If it isn’t already, their picture should be in the dictionary next to “loving couple” and “best friends.”

Later in the day, the wind picked up. After we heeled at one point, Steve asked me if I was okay. I said kiddingly, “Just because I’m quiet doesn’t mean I’m terrified. I can be quiet!” Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a quiet person. But today, I even found myself saying, “Wow, I’m so quiet.” And, I thought about it again, and I knew it wasn’t quiet. It was peaceful. Being out in the boat with good friends in the sun and on the ocean became one of those times when everything seemed just right. If there was a “perfect storm,” then this was the “perfect calm.”

When Brenda and Steve weren’t discussing the next sailing maneuver, we chit-chatted, and Steve told me how much he loved Monty, especially Monty the Blog Actor; and then I asked Steve, “Do you want him??!?!!?!?” Again, no dice. :-)

Note: Breathe easy, Grasshoppers! This isn’t going to be a long blog, because after last night’s blog, I feel I need to relax my word count. One of my friends told me my blog was approximately 7400 words last night. I can’t believe you counted, you word nerd. <3

As we headed back to the harbor, we ticked, we tacked, and then we, oh, toes!



(Yes, Steve, a toe shot is mandatory every five blogs!)

Anyway, it was quite “gusty” on the way back. Am I impressing you sufficiently with the nautical-related weather terms now? Brenda and Steve would say a “gust” was coming up. I asked, “How do you know?” I was then told that you tell by the waves. They tried to explained to me how you read the waves, but when I looked at the waves, well, they looked like Greek to me.

When I got home, I tried to learn some more about sailing; however, after I looked at the following diagram, which showed a starboard tack to port tack, I thought that it might be easier trying to figure out my Hello Kitty rubix cube.



After returning to the mooring, we had appetizers, champagne, dinner, and then watched the sun set. Thanks, Brenda and Steve for the wonderful day. It’s a day that won’t soon be forgotten.



Note to All of You Lovely People Out There Who Admit To Being My Friends: I didn’t get the job I interviewed for on Tuesday. BUT, it’s okay. It just means that something better will come along. (Remember: Trite is the new emotional truth!) And, most importantly, like a jib, it’s just a job.