SAILING - SAN DIEGO STYLE

Two weeks ago, on Monday, April 17th, I was treated to a nice surprise. For my 46th birthday, my brother-in-law invited me to go sailing in Mission Bay, San Diego (California). He had also included some of my family members and his own father in the invite.

Talk about thrilled. This was going to be my first sailing, and to cap it off, it would be on a racing sailboat - 56 glorious feet of sheer beauty. One whose owner has had it involved in several large racing regattas. Heck, with the money invested in the boat and the equipment in it, it better be used for more than just cruising. I should mention that the sailboat is not my brother-in-law's but rather belongs to a very good friend of his who owns his own IT solutions company.

We arrived at the harbor at Mission Bay and boarded the craft at about 1:00pm. We had some concern that it would be very cold on the Bay as it was initially cloudy. In fact, we were getting some light, sporadic rain. Well, it was only about 25 minutes into the sail and the skies cleared up for the most part. It was perfect sailing weather. Just enough wind to keep the boat moving at a good clip but not enough to chop up the water.

What incredible views! Mission Bay, Downtown San Diego, the harbors, the Naval Base, the ships and other incredible sailing vessels. The whole sailing process was interesting. Let's say that several of the guests and me learned very quickly what a shout out of 'tack' meant. My sister and I just about slid right off the cabin's roof decking and into the bay on our first sharp tack. Notice the photographic evidence included in this post. For those of you who are unfamiliar with a tack, simply...it is the sailboat's turning maneuver. Depending on how sharp the maneuver is and how strong the winds are, the craft can really reach a tilt to one side. That first tack of ours darn near put the sailboat at a 60 degree angle or so. I held on for dear life and ensured that I cued in to any further shouts of 'tack!'

My one surprise for the whole sailing excursion - I had no sea sickness problem. We even left the bay and ventured out into the Pacific Ocean. Quite the difference once we left the bay. Rolling waters with swells that had the boat shifting elevations of about 10ft up and down. No problem for me but oh boy, not so good for my little 4 year-old niece and 6 year-old nephew. Suffice to say, my niece was down in the cabin, on the floor rolling back and forth with the motion, pretty much like a limp ragdoll. We got our quick chuckle and then pulled both of them updeck, sat them at the back of the boat, and had them focus on land ahead. That event ended our venture into open waters and brought us back into the harbor.

What an incredible day! And we capped it off with a Mexican feast, complete with chips, salsa, and pitchers of Margaritas. For the moment, it felt great to be 46. Let's say sailing fever has now kicked in.

***For your viewing pleasure, a few pictures of my experience on Mission Bay.