I am a tax accountant and typically work the first four months of the year and take off for the next eight months. Lyn owns a wedding photography studio that is currently operated by our daughter, so she is mostly retired as well. After April 15th we have all the time in the world and that is a main reason we decided to try owning a yacht.
Since we knew almost nothing about operating a large boat, we planned to hire a local captain to teach us the ins and outs. On a bright sunny day, while sitting on the bow, searching the internet for a captains, we heard a loud crash. This was surprising since we were one of the few boats in the marina at the time. Apparently most boaters wait until May to put the boats in the water.
Looking up, two piers over, we saw that a 40′ sail boat had just rammed into one of the finger slips. We watched as the flustered captain and his wife pushed off the piling, as if nothing had happened, and pulled their boat back into the main channel. From there they headed to another slip, on the other side of the marina, and attempted to dock with just a bit more success.
That is when it occurred to me – the marina was almost empty. This guy was taking advantage of the situation to learn how to operated his sail boat. Wow, what a great idea. No other boats to hit, no one around to laugh at your lack of sailing skills (well, except us) – it was perfect. I decided right then that the following morning, weather permitting, I was taking the boat out and and practicing. Hell, if that guy managed not to sink, I could do it too! Lyn was not as excited.
The following day we spent about three hours going back and forth across the back half of the marina, backing into slips, doing 360s, occasionally smashing into an empty finger pier, and it was a fantastic experience. My biggest fear about boating was maneuvering around a marina, especially backing into a shared slip. Now I had at least a little experience and the odds of me ramming a neighbor had dropped dramatically. Lyn also gained a lot of deckhand experience: guiding me in, jumping onto the pier, tying the lines.
Feeling overly confident, I exclaimed to Lyn,”Tomorrow, I am going out into the river! She was not excited.