our God is good and full of blessings! just yesterday, i had a chance to fulfil a dream ... be on a real life sailboat .. you know ... one of those with real sails, where you move because you're carried along on the wind, not one of those big comfortable yachts where you're sipping iced tea or champagne while a diesel engine putters you along. no, a real sail boat, where you have to raise the sails, pull the lines, keep things in trim just to keep moving, and you stop moving or get pushed sideways by the current if you're not.
thanks to max and vanessa, and van's kind cousin ai li at the royal selangor yacht club in port klang, we had a chance to join the club members in a couple of friendly races. we were put on board the unity, a 41-footer cabin cruiser skippered by a kind aussie gentleman by the name of ken. it wasn't an america's cup racing yacht by any means, but it had big sails and lines and winches and it was a sailboat!
after a few lessons on how to work the lines and winches, we went out with the diesel engine to the harbor where there was space for the races. Soon enough, the engine got switched off, the sails went up, and we were sailing!
thanks to glenn, a professional skipper (who sails/transports boats around the world for boat owners), and max (who has some 30 years of competitive sailing experience), we were soon going fast, cutting through the harbor waters, tilting over at 30 degree angles as the wind caught hold of our sails. it was the real thing, real sailing, and it was absolutely thrilling.
after much heaving on ropes and winding of winches, and executing manouvers like tacking and gybing, we were rewarded with some amazing news .... we won! even though it was just the "floaters" (casual) class, it was satisfying nonetheless. some celebration drinks ensued as we arrived back at the yacht club, along with a general agreement that we would all be back on the water again before long.
if you've never tried sailing, here's my recommendation: do it! it's great fun, and there are often lots of boat skippers who are looking for willing crew members to accompany them on casual afternoons on the water or in fun races like the one we were on.
Lord, thanks for a wonderful experience, it was a dream come true!
thanks to max and vanessa, and van's kind cousin ai li at the royal selangor yacht club in port klang, we had a chance to join the club members in a couple of friendly races. we were put on board the unity, a 41-footer cabin cruiser skippered by a kind aussie gentleman by the name of ken. it wasn't an america's cup racing yacht by any means, but it had big sails and lines and winches and it was a sailboat!
after a few lessons on how to work the lines and winches, we went out with the diesel engine to the harbor where there was space for the races. Soon enough, the engine got switched off, the sails went up, and we were sailing!
thanks to glenn, a professional skipper (who sails/transports boats around the world for boat owners), and max (who has some 30 years of competitive sailing experience), we were soon going fast, cutting through the harbor waters, tilting over at 30 degree angles as the wind caught hold of our sails. it was the real thing, real sailing, and it was absolutely thrilling.
after much heaving on ropes and winding of winches, and executing manouvers like tacking and gybing, we were rewarded with some amazing news .... we won! even though it was just the "floaters" (casual) class, it was satisfying nonetheless. some celebration drinks ensued as we arrived back at the yacht club, along with a general agreement that we would all be back on the water again before long.if you've never tried sailing, here's my recommendation: do it! it's great fun, and there are often lots of boat skippers who are looking for willing crew members to accompany them on casual afternoons on the water or in fun races like the one we were on.
Lord, thanks for a wonderful experience, it was a dream come true!
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