Blanketing opinions that I'll probably regret soon.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

I Fucking Hate Winter

The one thing that gets me through this part of the year is the knowledge that my annual sailing trip with old friends is coming up at the end of May. We've done it every year since 2003. And about this time of year, I begin trolling through old photo albums of past trips.

Here are some of my favorites.

Check out this series of photos from the 2006 trip -- one of the most nuts. We had chartered a fancy 35-foot yacht called The Segel out of Solomons Island and spent four days having an on-the-water bender. We nearly got in a fight over those arm-wrestling bouts.

Or how about this quick video of Jason and Colin at the helm on the Segel while Flight of the Valkyries blasts on the stereo:



And photos like this one make me really long for spring. It's a picture of me lighting up the oil lantern while a cool Spring rainstorm pounds the window outside. I love a (relatively) dry cabin with spirits and oil lanterns keeping it warm inside while waiting out a storm.

But for real nostalgia, I always head back to my old sailing trip blog for pictures and some short videos of our second trip back in 2004. You can see them here. These were the pictures taken on my first boat -- the Lonnie Bruner One, the boat I got for free and sailed until it nearly broke. I loved that boat. I had no idea what I was doing on the water and that made sailing the Bay seem like a real adventure. I'm always hoping to capture that wet-behind-the-ears feeling of possible danger while seeking calm ports, but I suppose the more sailing skill I gain, the more old-hat it seems and the feelings just evolve ... for the better, for the better, I admit.

But I still need the memories to get me through the bullshit winters. The only thing good I can say about winter is that at least it makes me appreciate the Chesapeake warm seasons.
Comments:
Feeling a bit cabin-feverish ourselves, my wife and I went and checked out our new marina yesterday. It's state-run, so a few less niceties, but all the necessities. The biggest plus about this place is a $28/ft savings on the slip fee! On the way there, we stopped at my favorite West Marine superstore to pick up a winch handle. I guess the thought of saving all that dough on the slip made the decision easier to get a "real stereo" for the boat, which she had under her arm. I suppose now I have to learn how to wire the thing. I'm kind of psyched, however; now we don't need to keep changing the batteries in our pink "Hello Kitty!" boom box. On another note, I scanned through pictures of your past adventures and couldn't help noticing the picture of the Sultana. My dad was a volunteer shipbuilder on her and fashioned almost every one of the 10,000 trunnels (dowels) that hold her together. You can imagine how dearly I hold that ship. He's gone, but his memory lives on. Thanks for including her.
 
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