Wednesday 23 December 2009

First time sailing

Sailing is something that I've wanted to do for years. But as many things that I've wanted to do for years, it takes years to do them.. Sadly, not because of lack of time but generally due to laziness. I'm an extremely disorganised person, it takes me ages to make up my mind and I leave everything to the very last minute. But you're not here to read about me so that's enough.

The first time I did actually go sailing was in July 2009 when, in a spurt of inspiration, I asked my girlfriend if she would go sailing with me. We did the first 2 days of the 5-day RYA Competent Crew course in the Solent, which, for those of you that have never heard of it, is north of the Isle of Wight. I was so overwhelmed by the experience and wanted to learn as much as possible and as quickly as possible. However, I had to wait until the end of August to complete the course as summer holidays got in the way.

Following the completion of the course my girlfriend mentioned that she'd always wanted to sail around the world. That thought had, strangely,  never occurred to me before even though the idea of escaping to remote places had always had an appeal to me. It was as if Emma's words spoke directly to my subconscious mind! The the idea of sailing around the world became my latest obsession.

It's not so much the actual sailing as a sport or activity that has inspired me so much - it's more about the independence, freedom, opportunities and the new world that setting off in a boat seems to open up for you. I'm not under the impression that I'd discover new lands etc. - It would just be a life changing experience and that is good enough.

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