It is said that if you love something let it go. If it returns it is yours, if it doesn't it never was.
From last September until March of this year I had effectively given up sailing. Last September I took out Mandi, Madison, Sam and some of Mandi's friends. It wasn't a terribly special sail as these things go. Typical light airs made it very difficult to get around North Island's piers, and then around the end of the San Diego Bay south jetty. We fought hard and very nearly did not make it. Mandi got a bit of stomach sensitivity and I got a bit of stress. I think our guests had an okay time but then they haven't asked to go sailing since either...
And then? Crickets.... Until January when Sam and I went to the San Diego boat show. There was a brief resurgence in interest when some sailors who's blog I've been following stopped into San Diego, prepping for the Baja Ha Ha. I managed to contact them, feeling a bit like a stalker, and we enjoyed meeting, taking a tour of the ball park and having a couple beers downtown. However from September to March I touched the ocean not at all. And for the most part I did not miss it, and that is sad.
The boat show with Sam piqued my interest, and Sam always enjoys these things so the time together is alway great in itself. I would get excited about sailing, then the realities of my financial condition would weigh in and I'd go ho-hum [sigh]... Reading blogs of folks out there only reinforced my melancholy on the topic.
Without the distraction of obsessing on boats, and sailing around the world, I focused on work pushing boats out of my mind. While my job has been, and continues to be, great, with my renewed focus it has gotten even better. This in turn led me to be even more ambitious than I've always been. I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to some day carry a title starting in a C or V, my education may need some expansion. With that I began researching MBA programs in San Diego. After a fairly exhaustive search I decided on the MBA Program at University of Redlands. That little project began in the first week of March and I'm now on my second of 12 classes, Applied Business Statistics. Getting back into the school groove has been quite a bit easier than I thought it would be. Especially considering I SWORE I would never attend Grad. School.... But here I am and really enjoying it! All of this had pushed boats even further out of my mind...
Now for whatever reason I've never been one to sit still for long, this surprises no-one who knows me... With school being a bit easier than I thought it would be, meaning it wasn't taking every waking hour, I began to want to go for a sail again. On a whim, as is my MO, I told Mandi "I want to go sailing tomorrow!" and her response was "Okay, take Sam..." But I knew better and I factored enough time for her to change her mind into my morning. When it was the apparent time to go I could tell Mandi was wanting to go with Sam and I. I convinced her we had time, since I'd planned extra time in, and we all headed down to the bay. It was a nice sail. I took Madison and had Mandi drive the boat as we headed for Point Loma. Sam took his sister when it was time for me to raise the sails and still Mandi drove. Don't tell anyone but she was enjoying herself... Sam was a good sport and took care of Madison for quite a while and Mandi and I were able to sail the boat...
One of the main things I've wanted out of sailing was a family hobby. But if my family didn't enjoy it, well, then... So Mandi enjoying the day was something of a revelation. I instantly began to obsess again... however knowing how I can be to others I've tried to rein it in a bit. With Mandi's emerging appreciation for sailing she began to see some of my frustrations with the limitations of Seaforth Sailing club. We could only go out during certain hours for a limited time etc... I came into the living room later and actually found HER researching other sailing clubs!
Later in the week we decided to go visit another club in town that has more and newer boats than Seaforth. Mandi really enjoyed this tour and began to be able to envision herself on/in some of these boats. Especially the Beneteau 40... Ironically I found an interesting ad on Craigslist that very day... And this is where I'll end my story for now.
There is likely to be an update very soon...
As always your friendly cruise director,
Seaman Ray
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