Mike S has always loved sailing and boating. He had a little 14′ West-Wright Potter sailboat and took me sailing on it on Big Bear Lake. We had a great day zipping back and forth on the lake. It had a little cabin and a nice seating area to spend the day. We decided to take it down to Newport Beach and spend the night on it. After we launched and loaded up our gear, Mike took us beyond the jetty, and I went “Holy S@$T!”. As soon as we passed the calm safety of the jetty, I was introduced to the ocean. Sure, I’ve swam along the beach, but I had never been so far away from the shore, it seemed a million miles away. I tightened my life vest. The waves were bigger than the boat, he caught the wind, and I just knew we were going tip over! I was sure another boat would have to save us. At first, Mike was disappointed, saying, “Damn another wife who doesn’t like boating.” I did correct him and say, “It’s not the boating, it’s this itty-bitty boat, on the giant ocean.
Once the initial shock of just how small we really are wearing off, it was a beautiful day on the water. The sunshine creating dancing diamonds on the surface of the water, a good breeze to push the tiny vessel through the waves. We cruised through the marina, looking at all the “big boy” boats, and one boater, yelled out “Nice dinghy!” We docked at the restaurant for dinner, spending the whole time talking about sailing, the romance of the sea. On solid ground, the day on the water didn’t seem nearly as bad, in fact I decided I really liked it. We took the boat back into the cove and spent the night listening to the waves lapping against the sides.
And… that was my introduction to sailing on the big blue. You might like my story about drowning crabs!