A Slip and a Dip

[Howard]

Lat October on Long Island Sound is the place to be. No stink pot, a few small container ship and barges running along the coast. The sun is warm and the water is just starting to nip. The wind even pick up pretty good. Well this day was about as perfect as a sailor gets. 15 knot wing fron the North. We started out from Huntington, LI and sailed across to Stanford, CT. Doing better than 6 knots. A gquick glance at the shore and time to head home. No time to gunk holing today . It was Monday (playing hooky) and we had to get back to the real world. On the trip South the wind picked up a bit and the waves started in at 2-3 ft. We made even better time with a speed of about 6.5 knots. Into the Huntington inlet by Ashorekoen and into the Centeroport harbor. The wind was perfect. My crew and I were congraulating ourselves on a find day out with a great wind when the are turned from a romp to zepher breezes. Even betterwith the wind as it was, perfect to sail right up to the mooring. We almost costed to the mooring, about 15 feet from the ball we dropped the main( the jib already furled) . I handed my mate on deck the boathook to snad the little white devel. Now I thought he had the hook, he thought I had the hook and rattle clank, the hook started to roll. At the tiller I lunged as the hook rolled over the cabin top under the lifelines, across the combing. I ducked a little to grab that pole. To my surprize, under the life line the pole and iboth went. head first. Feet up in the air I canterleavered over the edge with my hands and head in the water. My legs shot up and hooked the life line. I struggled, gasped, grasped and inch by inch clawed myself back into the cockpit. Head and upper body soaking I made it back. No fo for my poor boat hook. It has joined Davy Jones (or at least the mud on the harbor floor). My mate could't stop laughing, neither cour the other 10 of 15 fellow sailors who were alos in the harbor completing the day sail. That night while I lay in bed thinking of the wonderful days sail and smarting at ever turn (I had wonderful black and blue marks on my theighs and calves) I wondered for a 15 year old boat hok, I could have just gone for a swim and no noe would have notices.

 

[Richard]

First tand Last time

Sailing out of Oriental NC had been a dream answered for the last two years and wanting to share this with my non-sailing wife of 30yrs was to my mind as good a birthday present I could give especially for her first sail.Sailing under the bridge with only the main up we headed across the Neuse river for South River sailing rather flat and slow. After about 20 minutes of enjoying a beautiful day and talking to my first mate she started remarking how slow we were going, after about 10 more minutes the remarks were getting downright irriatating, such as; if this is all you sailors do why do it? and cant this thing go faster. So knowing my little 22 (Cygnet)was waiting to come alive I mentioned to my Mate that if I raised the Jib, yes that sail at the pointy part, our boat would indeed sail faster but she would also "lean a little". Her reply of lets start moving made me confident she was ready for next step.Bringing Cygnet around to raise the Jib softly by shielding the jib with the main to avoid a sudden heel went off without a hitch, first mate still smiling, as we came around I started adjusting slowly, my beautiful sails filled, Cygnet came alive with a slight (I thought) heel. The water chuckled as it passed to stern, I was smiling taking my eyes off my mate. This proved to be a huge mistake! We sailed along with my heart singing for no more then 10 minutes(my wife swears 20mins) I looked aft. My dear wife was holding on with both hands, looking really scared and all white in the face. She is hollering that "We are turning over" then as she looked around at other sailboats she remarked "and all those boats are turning over too". Needless to say, even after assurances that all is normal and this is the way our Cygnet works, just like we talked about for weeks, I motored home. I really do enjoy sailing by myself, who needs a first mate anyway. I can burn food all by myself. Of course our land locked friends all now think I'm a nut. Her story is slightly different than mine.

 

[steven f]

send in your wife

While finishing a perfect day-sail here in SW fla. I did a similar approach to the mooring bouy. As I realized I missed it by inches and were now drifting back toward other boats my wife asked (she says now she was joking) do you want me to jump in for the bouy? Being the fool I am I said "yes!!!". She did and we got the hook with minimal fan-fare. That was 10 years ago and she still wont let me live that down. Oh well, at least it was a hot fall day and we all ended up going for a swim anyway. Geeze, wives have such long memories!!