Sailing Off the Coast of Galveston Island

I’m struggling to get around today; sore all over, from sailing off the Coast of Galveston Island…out in Offatts Bayou.  But, I couldn’t be happier for the aches and pains!  You see…?  I love to sail!  I’m not saying I’m really any good at it.  But, one thing’s for sure: if you love something enough, you’ll ‘get good’ at it…because you love it so much.  :  )

That is me in a clam shell.  It had been quite a while (far too long…off the water) since I’d last set sail.  But I have to say, many wonderful things in life are so worth the waiting!  The null and void times of one’s life are what make us appreciate the high times that much more.  Man…!  How I missed the blistered hands, the splash of water — so unexpected…so refreshing — spraying a cool mist from Mother Ocean.  

For me…sailing in the ocean–whether in a bayou or in the deep blue–is so much different than sailing in a lake, where you have a much tighter course.  I love so much about both; though for entirely different reasons.  I loved the competitiveness of racing yesterday; even if we didn’t quite win.  To be honest, we didn’t even come close!  But we didn’t lose either…because we had so much fun!  So now…I’m hooked on the Wednesday night races out on Offatts Bayou, here In Galveston.  

And even though we still miss our boat and sailing friends back in the Fort; I feel so happy to be back under full sail and on the water once again!  For me, sailing is addicting: the more I sail, the more I want to sail; the more I mess up…the more I want to try harder; as much as I realize I am still ‘classified’ a beginner…the more I want to learn…grow…and become a salty dawg of a Sailing-Sister-of-the-Sea!  I can’t imagine any better reason…in all the world, for the aching muscles and calloused hands. 

Fair Winds my Friends!  I pray we find you enjoying your day out on the water here in Galveston.  Maybe we can kick-back a few cold ones, to toast the Island’s beautiful setting sun.  Many Blessings & much .V.. (peace) I send your way! 

Going Inland

Some thoughts on Sailing, and being a woman at the Helm

Writing & Wanderlust

So…we went inland for the Easter holiday, to see family in La Porte.  Funny how we’ve blended into the weave of fellow IBC’s (Islanders by Choice) here on our Gulf Coastal Island home.  Even still, we long for the water, the rocking back and forth of our sailboat, the clinking of the masts in the wind.  We visited with a local marina the day after Easter, after we got back to the island from a second trip to La Porte in two days because Nico left his phone at his Mom’s the day before.  I have to admit, that day was a good one: lunching with Nico’s dad (the baby’s only living Grandpa), the lolly-gag-of-a-drive back to the island, the visit to the marina…and the smell of the water…down along the slips.

My wanderlust is really getting to me these days, and I miss our sailboat more and more.  If…

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Rescue Of A San Juan 24

~ First Cleaning of Our Old Girl ~

Boat’s 1st Cleaning

Restoring a San Juan 24

— The Way She Was When We Found Her —

Day of Discovery

Becoming a Sailor

Day of Discovery

The very first time I ever went sailing, it was a night sail and we were all there to have fun…not necessarily learn how to sail.  Well, that was almost ten years ago and I am so happy that, but-if-only for a short time, I can now say I am a sailor.  Admittedly, I’m not an accomplished sailor who can actually set sail on her own and solo-circumnavigate the globe, but a woman who has actually started to learn and understand the complications of sailing.  I love it…even still; though it is no easy task. 

It’s been almost a year now since we first found our San Juan 24, and Nico and I have been steadily bringing our old girl around…after much elbow work.  You see…?  When we found our old–or should I say ‘vintage’–sailing yacht, she had spent many-a-days floating about in her slip; neglected and full of dirt-daubers and cobwebs.  Even a bit of a puddle in the bilge, in addition to everything else, couldn’t sway us from falling in love with our SJ-24.  It was as if she’d been waiting for our little family to come along and keep her company…for all those years she’d been neglected. 

But…alas!  We are bringing her around now and she has spent some time on a local lake, leaving a rooster-tail wake behind her.  Our old girl is fast!  And, because she is a fixed keel with a 4 foot drop and sitting on a very shallow lake that is in the process of being dredged, we have the very real worry of running aground and damaging the keel before we can ever really get her into open water and turn her loose. 

That said…  We aim to do just that: get our boat to deeper waters and see what she’s really capable of, even though we are still learning and know we should be in no hurry to put ourselves into a situation we aren’t capable of handling just yet.  So…in the meantime, we will putt about our shallow lake and learn the art of sailing; learn how our old girl handles; how fast she can go without hitting the bottom. 

As for running aground, we’ve already been there and done that.  Lucky for us, we had a line of sailing friends there to pull us out.  That, we know, is a luxury that we will likely not have when or if we ever run aground out there…somewhere.  But then again, that’s just one of the things that make a sailor seasoned.  I welcome the risk!

*A full life worth living is worth the many chances you’ll take to get there*