Whatever Floats Your Boat
It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog post! Or at least since I last published one. Blog posts are like knitting projects… I have started more than I will ever finish in my lifetime! This post however, is a necessary preface to my next post about the Lighthouse blanket which is definitely one of the coolest projects I have ever made!
I have always been drawn to water. Some of my earliest memories are playing on the shores of Lake Wallenpaupack. My sisters and I have fond recollections of the wind whipping through our hair as we motored around the lake in our great grandfather’s boat. I recall chanting, “Fall down! Fall down!” each time an uncle managed to get up on the water skis.
The past few years my family has spent a lot of time in the Jim Thorp area on the Pohopoco creek. Ramming into my brother with my kayak while he is paddle boarding is one of my favorite past times! The thrill I get when he plops into the water is inexplicable! I am not a cruel older sister, I’m just making sure he’s ready for whatever life throws his way. Now that he’s taller and significantly stronger than me though, I have to watch out because he can easily turn my kayak over. When I have had enough of my rambunctious siblings, I paddle away down the creek to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. Sometimes I stop paddling and let myself drift along with the current. I even bring my knitting with me in a water proof bag. If I’m sitting, I’m knitting!
Another favorite creek side adventure is cliff jumping. I love to watch my young cousins jump off the cliff into the creek for the first time. Some face the challenge head on and jump right in. Others, like me, hesitated for at least 10 to 15 minutes before jumping in. No matter how long it takes, I love seeing the look of satisfaction on their faces when their little heads pop up out of the water that momentarily engulfed them. Often in life we are faced with challenges that surround us for a bit, but the key to getting through it is knowing we can swim. I have found this same sort of satisfaction in my time on the Catholic University of America sailing team.
Each fall at the Catholic University of America, campus clubs are invited to table at Fall Fest. As a freshman in the fall of 2021 I walked around from table to table leaving my name and email at any table that sounded interesting. As I passed by a table with a fishnet, a life jacket, and beer koozies littered about it someone said, “Join the sailing team! We sail for fun on Fridays and Saturdays!” I had never sailed before but it sounded interesting so I signed up. No one told me about the competitive regatta component, but by the end of freshman year, I competed in my first regatta!
We sail 420s, which are two people sail boats. The crew sits at the front and controls the jib, while the skipper sits at the back and controls the mainsail and rudder. The first time I got in the boat I was a bit nervous, but as the wind filled the sails and the experienced skipper took command, I was in awe of the control she had over the movement of the boat. She asked if I wanted to try skippering (steering the boat). She made it look so easy, so I gave it a try. It was not as easy as she made it look, but we didn’t capsize! Another time I nearly ran the boat aground, but jumped out of the boat to push it away from the rocks just in time! After that I figured I better give up skippering.
Junior year I somehow ended up commodore and had to learn how to skipper. That year was the team’s rebuilding phase after all our experienced sailors had graduated. The year was off to a bumpy start when I skippered at the first regatta, rammed into the dock, and my crew went flying forward. This resulted in a bruise which is still faintly visible on her shin. Since most people on the team were new to sailing and we were tired and injured, we left the regatta early. Mentally, at this point I felt like I was drowning. How could I lead the team to success if I could not skipper?
Keeping the boat afloat is a tad important to sailing, but I was not good at that either. At least several sailors had exciting first days of practice all thanks to me! Adrian and I capsized while docking at his first practice. He was not at all concerned–just look at his smiling face in the photo below! On Chris’s first day, Isabel and I capsized and the wind was so heavy (and we did not have enough strength) to right the boat. Chris left the safety of the coach boat to join us in the nasty waters of the Potomac to get the boat back up. By the end of junior year, I could proudly boast that I held the team record for most capsizes and best swimmer as I sometimes spent more time at practice in the water than the boat!
Instead of giving up, I kept going to practice. Each capsize made me more determined to figure out what I was doing wrong. Finally the coach helped me realize that I needed to pay more attention to the wind. Sailing is a beautiful sport! A sailboat is a man made contraption that must work with the forces of nature–the wind and the current–to move. I had to learn to read the wind and watch for puffs as they crept along the river and be ready to let out the main sail when the puff swept across the boat.
At practice the coach pointed out the darker ripples moving along the water and I realized that I had been able to see the wind the entire time, but I had been mistaking it for the current! Once I knew what to look out for, I felt more confident in what I was doing. Once I was more confident, I capsized less frequently. By the end of Junior year, I skippered at a regatta without injuring my crew!
This past summer my confidence was boosted yet again when I skippered for two longer sailing trips. The first was when Benedict and I sailed from the Washington Sailing Marina to the Wharf. This was a trip that we had talked about doing as a team, but never got around to putting the plan into action. Even that day we did not intend on sailing all the way to the Wharf, but once we were on the water and realized how nice the wind was, we figured we could make it there and back in a few hours. I skippered almost the entire time.
A week later, I convinced the team, my brother John, and some friends who had never sailed before to go on a fun adventure for my birthday. We sailed up towards Alexandria. After sailing all the way to the Wharf the week before, sailing to Alexandria was not daunting. I even taught Chris, who was crewing for me, how to skipper a bit. John enjoyed the trip so much that he wants to learn how to skipper too, and every now and then we talk about what kind of boat we are going to buy once we win the lottery! It made me so happy to share the sport I love so much with my brother.
The sailing team has opened up opportunities for me that I did not know existed. Last July and August I crewed for D.C. Sail’s Schooner Camp. I could hardly believe that I had only been sailing for three years and already I was being paid to sail. What is better than being paid to do something you love? I enjoyed sharing my love of sailing with kids between the ages of 12-16. The highlight from this job was the day the kids hoisted me up the mast.
I loved every day of Schooner Camp! Whether the sun was out or it was raining I did not care. I was glad to be on the water! Of course on the really hot days I would rather have been in the water. I may or may not have contemplated throwing a kid overboard for an impromptu man overboard drill on those days– after all, it was my job to rescue anyone who fell in.
One of my favorite days of Schooner Camp was the day it poured rain and the boat was rocking back and forth in the choppy waves. Rain soaked through my pants and sneakers, and stung my eyes, but I never felt more fully alive than I did in that moment.
The week after Schooner Camp ended, pre-season sailing practice began. This year was off to a much better start with two experienced skippers, a skipper in training, several confident crews, and some new sailors eager to learn the ropes.
After spending six hours on the water every day for five weeks, I was on sailing withdrawal once classes started and I could only sail for a few hours three times a week. The only downside of learning to sail is that I want to spend every nice day on the water! On days when there is nice wind, I just want to ditch class and sail! It is a good thing I do not have a car on campus, or I would end up at the marina every day! I am Moana!
In addition to being a fun sport, I have had the opportunity to display my administrative prowess as Treasurer of the team sophomore year and Commodore the past two years. I am glad I have the administrative skill set to be able to give back to the team that has made my college experience so enjoyable. Sailing is an expensive sport and the CUA team is lucky to get a sizable budget from the university to cover the cost of paying the coach and the boat slips at the Washington Sailing Marina. However, we do have to fundraise for other expenses such as regatta travel and boat maintenance.
Since I love sailing, and I love to crochet, I combined my two favorite things for this semester's fundraiser. I crochet the beautiful “Lonely Lighthouse Overlay Crochet Mosaic Blanket” designed by Little Green Feather to raffle off. Thank you to those who have purchased tickets. Your contributions keep the boat afloat!
Photo credits: John Anthony Caraig and Isabel Fey
