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!!