At last, a real marine supply store!!

As previously mentioned, I've been searching for dinghy boots and warm sailing gear this week as my first day on the USF sailing team rapidly approaches.  What I failed to mention in my last post was that my dad and I have also been in search of a halfway decent marine supply store for the past three years.  Many years ago, in one of my dad's former lives and long before I existed, my uncle, who was a liveaboard sailor and cruiser at the time, sent my dad to a place called Turner Marine Supply on 13th St in downtown Bradenton to look at boat parts and other such nautical nonsense.  My dad, in turn, sent me and my scuba buddy to the same marine supply store/dive shop about twenty years later when we came to Tampa on spring break during our sophomore year of college to visit one of my aunts who lives here.  Sadly, after making the hour drive south, we were told by locked doors and a kind stranger on the street that my uncle's old haunt had been closed for two weeks and would not be reopening.  From what little my dad has told me about Turner Marine, I am able to distill only that its owner was kind and that it was a sailor's store through and through.  I was sad to see it go, and I was not a sailor at the time and I had never laid a foot beyond the parking lot, but I knew as I walked back to my car to leave that there were few of its kind left.  With West Marine moving onto every block like the Walgreens monopoly I only hoped that I'd find one of the few real marine supply stores left before it was too late.  Today, three years later, I am happy to report, I did.  I found Masthead Enterprises in St. Pete.

My friend, Emily, mentioned it briefly in a conversation we had a couple of weeks ago about where to get dinghy boots.  Living in Tampa though I really didn't want to drive all the way to St. Pete just to buy dinghy boots, but that's exactly what ended up happening.  There is a West Marine on Cypress St in downtown Tampa.  I live just North of Cypress so I called them this morning to see if they had dinghy boots.  "Oh yeah we carry them," they replied, "but we'll have to order them from the warehouse."  No thanks.  I need these bad boys by Tuesday, and I have weird feet so not everything fits in the same size.  I called four West Marine stores before I finally got a woman named Michelle who suggested that I go to Masthead.  I called Masthead and explained my dilemma, Meliza had one pair that we thought was my size, she put them on hold for me and I headed South.  An hour later I had established that the original boots were too small, and Meliza was finding me some that fit.  

These are my way too comfy dinghy boots.

From there she went on to find some dinghy socks that supposedly won't absorb water.  I'm not keen on the idea of dry socks, and I'm usually barefoot on sailboats or wearing boat shoes, but hey, if it keeps me warm I'll do it.  After the dinghy boot dilemma was resolved Meliza asked me if I needed anything else, and I told her that in addition to having an allergic reaction to socks, I also have a strong aversion to cold weather and asked her if they had any water resistant pants that would help keep me warm since everything I own is cotton, absorbs water and cold, and does not dry easily or promote heat.  That was when she went to the foul weather gear corner and pulled out the big guns.  She came back with a gray pair of "seat-drop trousers" that are usually worn for offshore cruising.  I was bewildered by their title and puzzled by the look of them.  Essentially they're the bottom part of a suit of foul weather gear and when worn with the proper undergarments, which I already have, they will keep you nice and dry whether in a gale offshore or in a dinghy in Tampa Bay.  After figuring out how to get them on and squatting, bending, and stretching in every position known to man Meliza and I were certain that they would do.  

  

My unusually large but excessively comfortable "seat-drop trousers" with reinforced knees and seat.  Don't ask...

Lastly, Meliza asked if I needed a "splash guard" also called a "rash guard."  Emily has told me that the sailing team has a couple that we can borrow on really chilly days, but she said that they're usually too big for her and she's my size.  All of this gear is made to last about ten years so I figured that I'd go ahead and get it and use it plenty between the sailing team and all of my other future sailing endeavors.  Trying to reduce the potential mammoth cost that sailing gear can often times elicit, Meliza decided to see if I could fit into a kid's size splash guard; that was funny!  I got into it fine but the waist was a little short and then I couldn't get out of the damn thing.  At one point I had my head inside of the body of it with my arms and hair sticking out the sleeves and neck hole.  I must have looked like a turtle turned Cousin It.  We both got a good laugh out of it.  We finally found one that fit, and after I paid and thanked Meliza for her wonderful assistance I was on my way to sit in rush hour traffic at four o'clock for an hour on the Howard Frankland Bridge over the bay.  

This is my adult friendly splash guard which is to be worn over the upper part of the "drop-seat trousers."

I know, you're probably thinking, "You live in Tampa!  How cold can it get in Florida??!"  The answer is 40's.  That's right, it hits 40 here sometimes and in the heart of winter the nights can hit the 30's.  Add to all of that cold water and biting wind and see what you'd do.  Not to mention that after living here for a year your tough resistance to the cold begins to fade and you get soft.  Besides, I still go to Tennessee in October sometimes and that's technically still sailing season there which means that it's really, really cold if my dad and I choose to go out. Besides, although I hope to live in Florida or warmer areas for the rest of my life I would like to do some sailing up North.  I've heard a lot about sailing off the coast of Maine, and other places in New England like Connecticut, Maryland, and one of my favorites, the tide water area of Virginia in Hampton Roads.  Regardless of where I sail, I'm sure my warm waterproofs will serve me well even if they are "butt flap, band pants" as my sister so kindly put it earlier today.

Okay well that's all I've got for now.  If you happen to be a sailor in the greater St. Pete area be sure to swing by Masthead Enterprises sometime at 2201 1st Ave S in St. Pete, they're very friendly and even more gracious.  They even have a dog behind the counter and on my way out I got passed by a man carrying a jib in to be repaired, now that's a sailing store!  Turner Marine might have closed before I got a chance to visit it and become friends with the owner as my uncle and father have done, but my own salty (mis)adventures have led me to my own marine supply store.  I had to get to Masthead in my own time and in my own way which seems to have been found in the most unusual of places, seven hundred miles from home in a dinghy.  Thanks again Meliza, you saved my toes from frostbite, I am forever grateful.  

Sailing team anyone??

Maybe.  I'm in a godawful statistics course this semester, and my only saving grace are two friends, Megan and Emily, who have been helping me understand our professor's ramblings that he likes to call teaching.  Both of my friends are hysterical, which is always good in such a serious class, and Megan can do an amazing impersonation of my professor's "suppose!" moments.  Emily is on the USF sailing team that practices three days a week at the St. Pete campus where I sail at the Waterfront.  The first day of class Emily sat beside me and noticed a necklace that I was wearing with a sailboat on it.  She asked me if I sailed and when I answered yes she invited me to join the sailing team...and has been begging me to join ever since. 

 

I didn't really consider it at first because she didn't tell me much about it, and I assumed that it was like collegiate rowing had been - eat, sleep, breathe, row, repeat.  I assumed that I'd be practicing three days a week and traveling every weekend.  Emily set me straight last Wednesday.  Sailors, like me, who attend the Tampa campus only have to attend practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays and they carpool to save on gas.  Only the really good sailors travel to regattas, and no sailing experience is required to be crew which means that my two years of salty (mis)adventures should put me a little ahead of the learning curve for sailing team novices such as myself and might, in some more hopeful world, put me in the running for skipper.

I promised Emily that I'd think it over, and the more I've thought about it, the more reasons I've found to go for it and the less reasons I seem able to conjure up why I shouldn't.  It really comes down to two determining factors 1) having been introduced to sailing by a couple of cruisers, do I want to race and 2) do I mind being "dead weight" on the team for a while?  After a week of debating I have found two answers 1) I'm a cruiser at heart and probably always will be, and while I don't see how a sailboat can go fast, I would love to learn to race even if I only pursue it while in college and 2) I began as "dead weight" on my rowing team and ended a champion in the only boat with a paid invitation to nationals - if I did it once with oars and a bad knee then I can do it again with sails, a slightly better knee, and a little more experience.

I was going to go to practice today and see about getting in a boat, but a "slug of Canadian air" came through and dropped my tropical temperatures from a delightful 80 to a tundra sustaining 50.  The wind picked up and was blowing 15 to 17 knots with gusts up to at least 20.  Having never before sailed a 13 foot Flying Junior I was not eager to learn in gale force winds.  I was even less eager knowing that I would most likely capsize at least once and spend 10 minutes in the really cold water trying to right my boat only to have it come back over on me again, not an ideal way to make friends with the skipper either.  Also, when it comes to sailing attire I was completely unprepared for today's practice.  I have sailing gloves but nothing else - no dinghy boots, no waterproof, reinforced pants, no under armor - nothing but a healthy sense of adventure and a childish, Christmas morning excitement and enthusiasm for sailing that I've managed to retain since I was five.  Fortunately I had a moment of lucidity while freezing on my way to class with my hair whipping my face, and I realized that if I sailed today I would probably never sail a dinghy again and no other boat in temperatures below a comfortable 75.  My better judgement won out and I decided to delay my debut on the USF sailing team until next Tuesday.

I'm going to West Marine this week and buying dinghy boots and hopefully some kind of water resistant pants.  I've been looking at the West Marine and Masthead sailing gear websites and I've discovered a sad, yet severe, lack of women's sailing attire.  Few places carry anything for women and those who do only offer foul weather jackets in a feminist "save the ta-tas" pink rather than in a "save my ass" yellow or red.  Shameful.  Maybe there will be more in the stores but doubtful.  So that's my newest sailing (mis)adventure - the USF sailing team. 

Five years ago I was wondering if I would ever learn to sail, a task that appeared, from a Nashville boat show in December, to be seemingly impossible.  But here I am, a senior in college, a Florida resident, and at long last...a sailor, soon to be a collegiate sailor.  It's amazing what can come from dreams.  I'll keep you posted with gear updates and sailing team info as I find out more.  Until then, keep sailing and don't ever stop.

It could be fun...fun and wet!!

5 hours down, 3 to go

Never fly on a Thursday.  That's what I've learned during the five hours that I've spent at the Tampa airport today.  My cousin is getting married in Memphis this weekend so I'm flying home to Franklin to spend time with family, hopefully visit a friend, and then drive three hours, each way, to the wedding and back.  My mom booked my flight two months ago before 1) I knew that my class today was going to be canceled and 2) before Chris or any of my friends knew that they were all going to be busy and not able to take me to the airport.  My aunt who lives here is also going to the same wedding, but she's flying into Memphis (I'm going to Nashville) and her flight left at 12:50 today, mine leaves at 6:20 tonight.  Luckily, we have a family friend who was able to take both of us to the airport...at 10:00 this morning.  Thanks Karli, you saved me!  That's right, I've been sitting in the Tampa airport, by myself, for five hours and I still have three to go.  Thanks to phone calls to my friend Rachel and e-mails from my mom I haven't been too lonely.  I've also spent most of the time doing my Oceanography homework that's due Sunday (it's an online course) so that's good.

Alright, I have to take a tram to my terminal now, and I don't think that I'll have internet access there so I guess I'll talk to you guys later.  One thing is for certain, this trip has reminded me that there is one thing that I don't miss from my time in Wales.  I don't miss all of the waiting in bus and train stations or the night that I froze in the Cardiff airport while waiting for my flight to Dublin.  I also don't miss the night that I slept in Gatwick airport, or the time that some friends and I saw a drunk woman urinate on herself like a child in Victoria Bus station in London.  I do miss the people and places though.  That's the thing about traveling, it is about the "journey" but it is also about the people waiting at the other end.  I'll see my people tonight!

MATH SUCKS!!

I'd just like to announce that at 6:16 a.m. on Saturday.  That's right - I woke up at six this morning for a mandatory, standardized math test that is, supposedly, imperative to may academic success at USF.  Have I mentioned that I'm an English major?  Yeah, I chose that major for a reason, and it wasn't because I wanted to study Shakespeare.  It was because I love writing, and I hate math!

For three months now, I've had a hold on my account since I transferred with more than 90 hours.  The USF administration claims that this test is so critical that they haven't let me register for any course above the 200 level.  Have I mentioned that I'm a Senior English major?  Everything that I need is 300 and 400 level.  To get rid of the damn hold - which completely screwed up my schedule this semester - I had to either take Statistics (YUCK!) or the stupid test.  I served the administration one better, I'm taking both!

It's been two years since I've had any kind of math, other than Statistics, and, having always been mathematically deficient, I've worked excessively hard to learn what little I do know.  Last night I was flipping out about this stupid test, but this morning, and maybe because I'm not awake yet, I just don't give a damn.  I'll do what I've always done - the best that I can - and if it isn't good enough, then I'll just have to do it another two or three times until it is.  

I did that with a remedial math course at Chattanooga.  I took it three times, twice at UTC and once at Columbia State in Franklin.  I had the world's best math teacher at CSCC, and she not only taught me algebra, but she also taught me how to teach myself.  Thanks, Mrs. McCoy - you saved me.  I didn't just pass her class, I passed my expectations of myself.  I aced the final, and I got the best final grade in the class.  It was a long awaited and much deserved A.

I still wish that I was asleep right now with Chris, but I'm up instead, and ready to go.  Maybe I'll pass, maybe I'll fail, but as long as I've done my best I'll be able to live with myself.  So here's to my oldest foe, thanks for the challenges, you've taught me how tough - and to some degree - how intelligent, I am.  And here's to my Aunt Sue, you were right dear, "Math sucks!"