I am a die hard power boater. I love the feel of a powerful engine as it propels my craft across the water. If I happen to be in my jet boat, this usually occurs at breakneck speed. But I have a confession to make. It is one that does not come easy, but must be told. Well, here goes. I took my first sailboat ride while vacationing in St Thomas and I actually liked it. Wow! It really felt good to get that off my chest.

I did make a couple of astute observations that makes me glad to be a power boater at heart, but overall I can see all this fascination with the dancing with the wind stuff.

My first question, what’s the deal with all the ropes and pulleys? On a powerboat you pull in the lines and they are pretty much non-essential items until you return to the dock. On a sailboat you have to be careful where you step and where you sit. I had the captain tell me “Don’t step on the ropes and watch out for that boom.” Both words occurred in one sentence. Were the ropes like a lit fuse and attached to a bomb? I think the last thing you want to hear on a boat in the middle of the ocean is “Boom” I guess I really need to learn these sailing terms.

Another thing, once we were out of port and they cut the quote unquote “engine” (I’ve seen more horsepower on a unicycle). The sound or lack thereof was kind of eerie. I loved the whole convening with nature gig, but still prefer as much horsepower generated from twin engines as I can get, especially if I am going to be on the open blue.

The most vivid observation I made however, had to do with getting from good old point “A” to point “B”. Sail boaters take heed. The shortest distance between these two destinations is (you guessed it) a straight line. I was informed by our captain “We are gong to anchor in this cove and do a little snorkeling.”

I felt the need to comment to him (when we sailed past the cove and continued in what seemed to me, to be the opposite direction) that he had apparently missed our intended destination. He responded by telling me, “We have to tack.” That apparently required going a little out of our way? I seriously wondered if he knew where he was going. I felt a strong urge to say, “Let’s fire up the engines and get to where we need to be.” But I thought better of it. He actually did finally maneuver the boat around and we did manage to get into the cove.

All joking aside, I did love my first experience on a sail boat I even got to see one of my shipmates get sick—her projectile vomiting in the water attracted some of the most beautiful fish and made for some great snorkeling.

To tell you the truth, this will not be my last sailboat excursion. I think there is something to it. When I drive him around in my car, my dog, Andre loves to stick his head out the window with the wind whipping in his face. Being on a sailboat is kind of like that for humans. You experience nature the way God intended it to be. It has been said “you can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can change the directions of your sails” This makes good sense, but twin engines on a boat in open water seems much more logical to me.

Boating’s still good,
Barry