Quick - before it's gone! Part One: Race Day

I feel as though I need to get this all out there, down on "paper" before it leaves my head and I can't get all of the details correct anymore.  It's midnight, though, and I'm not sure I can get through all of it... BUT, there is some more vodka and mango juice, so - just sit right back and read along!

We fell a little behind in the beginning - but it sure was beautiful! 

RACE DAY: Previously on norealplan, I told you, Dear Readers, that we were thinking about entering into the Sombrero Shamrock Regatta, a 14.5 mile race that we were on the fence about entering.  As soon as I closed the computer, the Captain and I headed to the bar/restaurant where the Skipper's meeting for the race was held with every intention of having a few drinks and finding a boat which was already racing that would let us crew for them...  What we did was have a few drinks and invite someone on-board to captain our boat through the race, allowing us to crew for him and make sure everything was in good working order; or, as Rob loved to say, have our "shake down cruise" and see what our boat is made of.

Our fearless Captain Jim

After calling it an "early night" by playing poker on the other side of the mooring field until almost 11:00, we woke early to clean the boat, stow things away, and have some breakfast.  It so felt as though we were taking care of all of the details which needed covering.  Jim from the sailing vessel Ullr (pronounced "Ooh lar") - Calypso's Fire's guest captain - came to finish up the things we did not think of (such as cutting pieces of yarn that served as tell-tales, the wind indicators on our front sail).  And, soon, we were pulling up anchor, heading toward the dock where we could get water to fill up our water balloons to be launched at other boaters before the race.

Within the next hour and a half, we: nearly knocked the solar panel off the back of the boat by hitting the dock, thought that the engine was overheating or otherwise was getting WAY unhappy about the oil pressure, and learned that we did not have a forestay to sail on.  For non-sailors, the Wikipedia page is still a little confusing: there is a metal cable that runs from the front tip of the boat (the "bow") to the top of the mast (the tall pole in the middle of the boat) which has a counter-balance of the same cable on the back end of the boat (the "stern").  The front sail (the jib) usually runs up this cable and flies from it.  If there is absolutely nothing on the front end of the boat, the mast has the possibility of falling on boats where the mast is mounted to the deck (the top) of the boat.  Thankfully, our mast comes all the way through our boat and is mounted (or "stepped") in the bottom of the boat, so we were not in as big a danger of the mast falling, per se... but you still want all of your cables in place as boats were built with them in mind!

The Captain's race attire

Now, I don't know how to explain to you, Dear Reader, what would have happened had the Captain and I found ourselves in this little predicament without a 45-year sailing veteran who simply uttered one curse word, then told me to just keep steering as he handled everything himself.  Whatever happened - some Universal push or really just one beer too many - for Rob and I to decide that racing was what we needed to do, I am so very thankful that we listened to our gut and entered the race!  Not only did Captain Jim handle the situation with poise, ease and humor, he rigged the jib to enable us to complete the 14.5 mile race, pushing Calypso's Fire further than Rob or I would have been willing to.  However, we needed to see what she could do - we needed to know that she was up for the voyage we were about to embark on.  Captain Jim was our teacher of our own boat and we are two of the happiest students for how everything turned out.

Time for all surviving sailors to celebrate!

After the race, there was much celebrating by all the sailors who had raced with St. Patty being remembered as the reason for the season: we drank green beer and ate the most wonderful corned beef and cabbage I have ever tasted!  It was great to hash and rehash stories of the 20 knot winds we fought, the huge waves that made both of the cats and myself a little more than uncomfortable, and the absolute joy it was to hear the wind in the sails and feel how fast this good girl can move!  We partied hard until about (a WHOPPING) 8:30 when the 6:15 wake-up hour and the many shots of adrenaline throughout the day ran smack into a wall of free-flowing pitchers of beer and we had to find our bed.

Friendships forged through fire and beer!

The next day, the day we had planned as our sail-out date, the Captain and I were instead riding around town to Home Depot, West Marine, and K-Mart for boat parts and a basket for my bike!  Rob was able to get his part done and then Captain Jim once again stepped in to help us out - just as he had promised to do on race day.  With his knowledge, all of our rigging is tuned (kind of like a piano) with new pieces that will hold everything together as it is supposed to, which was one of those chores that had moved to each new "To Do" list and was just waiting for the right person to do it.  Once this project was completed, the Captain and I were finally ready to leave the harbor and prepare for "The Big Jump" to the Bahamas... which we did the next day.  (But, that is the next post, so you'll just have to be patient!)

A very winning team!

As finishers - and just because we entered - we are winners!

The lesson(s) we gained from this experience - just this one day event - are innumerable!  It's scary to think about how close we were to not racing because of the entry fee; but, by giving into the boyishly desirous look in Rob's eye when he talked about racing and paying the measly $30, we went for the race and had blessings piled onto us.  There is no amount of money that can be exchanged for Jim's knowledge, grace under pressure, and willingness to show us what our boat is made of.  There is no amount of money that could pay for the friendship which was bonded between Captain Jim, Rob, and myself  - a relationship forged by fire on the sea and sealed in with much beer drinking.  There is no amount of money that could replace the feelings of accomplishment, joy, exhilaration, pride, relief, and confidence which Rob and I basked in during the night's festivities.  And, most importantly, there is no price to put on the safety measures that were taken and the ability to pull our lines off the mooring ball because of what we learned while racing.






Random Pictures:

We were in front of some people!

This is how close we came to not entering - we are written in on the very bottom of the list!

Even one of my coolest bosses from the Hurricane had raced!

Me and MC, right after she threw up and just before I did...

The Captain and Travis, He who showed us how to climb the mast!

The very last thing I did in Boot Key Harbor