Tacking and Jibing

This afternoon I had the pleasurable privilege of accompanying some UVA friends (some graduated) on a 2-hour sailing outing on the Potomac. We got on the boat at the Belle Haven Marina and took it out on the water down River toward Mt. Vernon.

I had never been sailing and it was so great to finally try it. There were five of us on a 19-foot centerboard daysailer called a Flying Scot. Stephen and Charlotte, our fearless leaders who had learned to sail at this very marina, tossed around the formally-informal lingo of tacking and jibing referring to the seemingly intricate yet simple form of steering the boat. After sometime, the rest of us pick up on the lingo as well as the way of switching sails and directions.

Since I don't have a clue of where I'll be next year right now, I hope that I'll have sometime during the summer to take a weekend to learn how to sail at the Mariner Sailing School... could become quite the fun little hobby.