Time was, I was a keen sailor for 10-12 ( or more ) years but sadly life moves on and other things take over! I have posted some shots here before of times I I sailed on a tall ship, The Eye of the Wind, in the South Pacific. Here is another shot. The port light is visible and so I expect it has only just dawned (given it is still burning) and I am coming off the last watch of the night. A magic time of day on any ship. Breakfast and another day beckons!
At some stage I also took up coastal sailing on yachts out of one of our local yacht clubs. Here taken from the yacht on which I am sailing at the time are some other participants in a weekend "around the cans" race. Here I am looking more or less in a south easterly direction, with the Adelaide's coast line to the east of us showing some of the coast a little south of the built-up suburban area of this city.
And finally just for the hell of it, here is a shot I made late in the day (gin and tonic time - one can't take risks with malaria 😉 ) looking in a westerly direction over Jimabaran Bay in Bali at one of the local vessels sailing into another beautiful pending tropical sunset.
Thank you for your thought provoking and kind observations. Yes, I know the feeling well. The feeling of the boat driving you forward under the influence of the wind, the wind is out of your control though with luck and good management the boat will stay more or less in control. And if not - watch out! It is unbelievably exhilarating to be on that edge. And contrarywise, so also is the feeling of coasting through the night under a more or less gentle breeze - in near silence, the stars above, the waves below, the only other light than the stars being from the phosphorescent trails of dolphins, cutting through the water while hitching a lift from the bow wave. The only sound being the rhythmic swish of the hull cutting through the water, the sound of wind in the rigging, the creak of those riggings as the ship responds and rolls as it passes over a wave crest. With the occasional flap and crack of the sails as the wind catches them athwart.
Thanks. So the picture of the three boats ("rush hour") is of three Lacustres -- the "club" symbol on the mainsail is the class symbol I guess?
True, and also the sailor was tiny. He was struggling way behind his buddies from the sailing school.
Lake Michigan, Chicago | GR III by John Wolf, on FlickrSpar Trek under sail and rowing power during the WA360 Regatta
Looks wonderful. I get all wistful seeing stuff like this. If I had a life do-over, sailing would be a big part of it. Alas, that ship has sailed, as they say. Thanks for sharing.
