Sailing

My dad is a sailor.  For as long as I can remember, he has had a sailboat.  He tried to teach me how to sail when I was a kid, but I made a poor sailor.  All the different ropes (which are called 'lines' on a boat) just confused me.  It made me nervous and Dad unhappy, so he gave up.

Thankfully, my son wants to be a sailor!  He fell in love with the whole idea years ago when my dad took him out sailing.  So, a couple of years ago, I sent Will off for a summer adventure of learning to sail with his grandpa.  He enjoyed it so much that I decided I needed to send him every summer!  We all went as a family last summer, so this summer was the next opportunity for Will to have his grandparents all to himself.

He left last Wednesday, in the middle of our trip to Steamboat Springs.  I'll recount that in the Steamboat Springs post, though.  He came home just last night.

While learning with his grandpa, Will had the opportunity to meet some members of the Peninsula Sailing Club and try out their little 14' sailboats.  He made such an impression on a lady named Sandy, that she invited him to join them in their annual Seafair regatta (sailboat race)!  Honestly, though, my dad paved the way for that in advance of Will coming.  Still, it was an exciting opportunity for Will and I know he loved every minute of it!  There were four races, his boat placing second, third, second, and second respectively!

Will is the one in the yellow life vest.  This is in the Puget Sound off of the Brownsville Marina, not far from Bremerton.

All of these sailing shots are incredible!  My dad was the photographer, taking pictures from his own sailboat, which was not in the race, being a bigger boat.  Such great pictures, dad!!!  Really!

I love this one!  Will's boat is in second place in this shot.

I am so glad Will got the chance to go sail again this year!  We hope to find him his own small boat next summer for the lakes down here.  But I still want him to keep going back to his grandpa for more practical lessons and experience!