Patrick James

When people talk about yachts and sailing it’s normally a romantic image that comes to mind: sails billowing, yelling “hard to port” or even starboard and nothing but miles-upon-miles of open waters. There’s other associations too, the compass and sexton, the relaxing moments of lying on a varnished and polished deck with clear blue skies over-head. It’s beautiful… just thinking about it!

However, my first memory of yachting is somewhat different… and much less picturesque and yet remains one of my favourite memories. My introduction to sailing starts of in the dry-dock and took place in bad weather on a rainy and freezing cold spring morning and was anything but your stereo-typical setting. Strangely though, it’s a memory that has lingered with me and has often drifted from the small yacht of my story, to dreaming of one day maybe taking out a luxury yacht charter. I had always had an interest in the idea of sailing, ever since I was a child and had seen my first pirate ship on the big screen… there was something magical but it was something I never had the opportunity to try, until recently. In the usual way you can know someone for a while and not know all their interests, a friend of mine mentioned that they had a love of yachts and sailing and the conversation developed with one thing leading to another. Before I knew it I had an invitation to go sailing. My friend had explained that if I wanted to really see sailing I had to experience it from the start, so I should be prepared – he advised me of everything I would need: Wellies (gum boots), water-proofs, change of warm clothes and shoes, flash of coffee and food etc. etc. Surely this was not sailing!

Sunday morning arrived and it was a stormy morning. The yacht was on a trailer in dry dock and under covering. She’s been taken out of the water to keep her safe from Winter’s weather. Now came the first part of any boats journey: We had to put her in the water! It was an amazing experience as a large number of sailors who had also stowed their boats for the winter turned out for the event, it didn’t matter that it was freezing cold and raining hard, it was a regatta on dry-land and the atmosphere was electrifying. The plan was simple, everyone worked together, one boat at a time, until all the boats were in the sea. In groups we wheeled the trailers up to the sea-wall, hooked the boats to a crane and lowered them onto the waves. By early afternoon all the boats were bobbing on the tide ready for there first trip around the bay.

By evening I was exhausted and had been soaked through by rain and mud. It was AMAZING! I had put a boat in the water… but most of all I had earned the chance to sail it around the bay!