Large and many were the drops of water that fell from the sky, their countless splashes silvery like mercury.
Outside the wheelhouse, drops cling to the window pane. But what’s wrong with this picture?
Look at the angle between the horizon and the bottom of the window frame. That will give you an idea of how much the wave action was tipping the boat back and forth. Even in this stiff breeze, it wasn’t too bad. If it had been worse, the Captain could easily have lowered the trolling poles and thrown out the stabilizers that attach to them. When the stabilizers drag through the water, one on each side of the boat, it stops the rolling. But since I wasn’t turning green yet, we kept going without the stabilizers out for the short trip home.
As we got closer to town, we noticed that the navy cadets were practicing their sailing lessons. The (My) Captain commented on how quickly the tiny boats could turn on a dime as the sailors adjusted the sails.
No sooner had these words left his mouth than the next boat turned … right over! The occupants were tossed in for an unexpected swim. Here they are clambering up on the bottom of the sailboat, with the mother hen hovering nearby.
Now what? It seemed to take a long time for the two women to be plucked off the hull, and even longer before something was done to right the boat. We didn’t have time to watch. They had all the help they needed so we kept going and got out of their way.
Doesn’t it just make you want to learn to sail?
wordsfromanneli 
July 18, 2019 at 6:52 pm
I like being in a boat on the ocean — when it’s calm and sunny weather. Otherwise, you’ll find me home with a good book.
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July 18, 2019 at 7:30 pm
There’s never a guarantee that the weather will do anything other than change, so you’re probably better off at home.
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July 18, 2019 at 6:59 pm
Really great shots! You were there at exactly the right time.
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July 18, 2019 at 7:32 pm
I suppose they were opportunity shots. Looking back, I wondered why all those hovering boats didn’t pick up the overboard women, but the Cap. suggested that they were probably trying to teach them how to right the boat (since these were tiny “learner” sailboats). It’s a possibility anyway.
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July 18, 2019 at 7:44 pm
I’d say that was exactly what was going on.
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July 18, 2019 at 8:05 pm
Good chance, yes.
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July 18, 2019 at 8:01 pm
I’ve always wanted to learn how to sail – perhaps when I retire…
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July 18, 2019 at 8:08 pm
I used to think it would be great, but I went out on a friend’s sailboat one time and was surprised about two things: you had to be outside to see anything (the whole living area is down in the hull – like looking out of a basement window), and the thing was leaning over one way or the other so you were either leaning back or lurching forward. Give me a troller any time. Be sure to wear your wetsuit like these girls were doing if you decide to learn. 😉 Of course that’s only my humble (biased) opinion. Most people who sail really love it.
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July 18, 2019 at 8:28 pm
You make it sound so appealing! 😀
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July 18, 2019 at 8:50 pm
Chuckling. Sorry… didn’t mean to wreck it for you.
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July 18, 2019 at 10:11 pm
I did a lot of sailing years ago on Lake Ontario, including one legendary trip where we lost all our power (no running lights) and we were under sail power only at night and navigating by the stars. The wind came up, we tore a sail and had to change it. Scared the crap out of me but I kept sailing for another few years after that.
Great post. 🙂
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July 18, 2019 at 11:30 pm
Good for you, Lynette! You’re braver than I am.
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July 19, 2019 at 7:42 am
Actually, it wasn’t too smart. When I look back on it now, I see how lucky we were to get away with that.
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July 19, 2019 at 7:48 am
I know what you mean. When I look back at some of the things we did, I realize how lucky we were to scrape through. They are learning experiences, but some of them I could have done without. Glad you were lucky.
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July 19, 2019 at 1:07 am
Gotta take the bad with the good 🙂
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July 19, 2019 at 6:37 am
And in boating you definitely get plenty of the bad to deal with, but the good is usually worth it.
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July 19, 2019 at 2:54 am
That’s the thing about being on the water, you never know what tricks Mother Nature has up her sleeve!
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July 19, 2019 at 6:37 am
Oh, that’s for sure. And then there’s the weather!
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July 19, 2019 at 3:59 am
The heavy rain reminds me of a fishing holiday a few years ago in Norway. It rained every day, but we had so much fun chugging through the fjord with our little boat in the midnight light. For us Central Europeans, the northern seas always have something mystical.
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July 19, 2019 at 6:40 am
I think they are very special with those high mountains plunging straight down into the water. We have a small area of our northern coast that is like that, but for the most part, Norway is unique in its geography. I haven’t been there, but I can imagine how it feels by putting together the pictures I’ve seen and the experiences I’ve had here in our country. So nice that you had this trip!
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July 19, 2019 at 7:13 am
It reminds me of the US Naval Academy Plebes, when they learn to sail over the summer. Some have never been in a sail boat!
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July 19, 2019 at 7:29 am
I’m sure it’s very much like that here. They have a cadet camp going all summer.
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July 19, 2019 at 7:46 am
I was feeling sea sick only by looking out of this wheelhouse window on your picture. When it’s calm I love being on a boat but only then!
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July 19, 2019 at 7:52 am
I’m with you! It’s not fun heaving back and forth on the boat.
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July 19, 2019 at 11:31 am
Oh my, your post gives a good picture of the true side of sailing, Anneli, with the rain, storm, and then over-turned cadets. I am glad no one was hurt, which is why I could laugh so hard at your final sentence. Interesting about the stabilizers, too. Great post!
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July 19, 2019 at 12:39 pm
Reality-Anneli, that’s me. I’ve always preferred to know all the bad stuff up front and then the good things are a bonus. Glad you enjoyed the post, Jet. I think it’s great how we gain insight into things by reading each other’s posts.
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July 19, 2019 at 1:29 pm
That water is so cold, I’m sure. I can handle a small sail, but capsizing would be the pits! And what’s up with this weather, Anneli? We’re still in the 60’s here at my house, and where’s the summer sun? Great photo of the rain. I hope you’re having a wonderful sunny summer.
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July 19, 2019 at 2:57 pm
We’ve had plenty of rain this early summer (good for the garden), but I expect that our heat waves and drought are still ahead of us. But yes, I think the water out there would be cold. Luckily these ladies were prepared with their wetsuits. I don’t know if it’s standard clothing for this exercise, or if they were just lucky, but with the wet suit, after the initial shock it would be okay.
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July 20, 2019 at 1:19 pm
You must have good sea legs Anneli!
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July 20, 2019 at 2:04 pm
Well, I know what to expect, and that helps, but I don’t do well when it gets too rough.
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July 20, 2019 at 1:46 pm
Oh, no!
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July 20, 2019 at 2:05 pm
Once again, we were lucky with the weather. It helps to know what to do. But these girls were quite new at it and still learning the hard way.
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July 20, 2019 at 2:20 pm
Not a sport for the faint of heart!
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July 20, 2019 at 4:14 pm
For sure!
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July 20, 2019 at 5:06 pm
Trying to get a capsized sailing boat upright again: I have quite some experience in that!
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July 20, 2019 at 6:05 pm
And did you manage to do it?
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July 25, 2019 at 2:03 pm
No, I idn’t. Not any of the tree times I capsized. The second and the third time, the water was so shallow that the mast stuck in the bottom and I needed help from a boat to get it out. The first time the lake was deep enough for the boat to really turn all the way, and two times we managed to get it upright only for the boat – full of water – to immediately capsize again. And then the centre-board fell back into the boat and that was it. We were towed back to the pier upside down.
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July 25, 2019 at 2:11 pm
I hated to click “Like” on that comment. It sounds so awful. I think I’ll stick to trollers for my boat rides. Much more stable.
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July 26, 2019 at 7:09 am
It wasn’t exacly awful, but nothing to enjoy either. No, not at all.
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July 20, 2019 at 9:26 pm
So you didn’t get seasick, eh? Did it last long? Isn’t that water cold?
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July 20, 2019 at 10:08 pm
No I didn’t get seasick, and I was safe in the troller. I wasn’t on the sailboats. Just happened to see this one tip as we motored by. Yes, the water is cold but they had wetsuits.
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