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America's Cup Sailing
Entry 85 of 188 | show all | print this entry |
I have finally gotten around to going sailing with the Sail NZ boys. One of the perks of my job is that I get to go out on the yachts for free, any time that I want, and that they have space to take me.
So today I was a Y.I.P. (Yachting Important Person) or Yip and I went out into the harbour for my very first yachting experience, though I did almost oversleep (I think that the weekend has caught up with me) and only made it to the Docks on time because Erica rang me at noon to check I was still coming out with them. The boats that Sail NZ use are real America's Cup boats that have been made a little more user friendly by the inclusion of safety railings, but which are, essentially, still the boats that raced for the cup. It is not quite the same as luxury yachting (I imagine, having never been luxury yachting I cannot be certain) but it was good fun, and at times, exhilerating. It also has quite a wind chill factor.
I will be honest and say that I had no idea how far over a racing yacht could lean over when the sails picked up the wind. The gradient was a little intimidating when it pitched right over, though only because I was wearing my hiking boots and, while they offer a good purchase out in the hills, they are not very good at gripping to smooth, wet decks. I managed to not fall in though (!) which can only be a good thing given my track record for boats and clumsiness. I enjoyed getting involved with the work of hoisting and shifting the sails with the grinders, though I have no real idea why we did what we did, and i even managed to steer us in a straight line when it was my turn to drive. No repeats of my circular antics whilst in control of ScubaPro on the GBR!
It is also amazing how quickly something like this can tire you out (though I am also horrendously unfit). I was fairly exhausted after the two hour stint out in hte harbour, crewing, driving and admiring the view, and I had done far less work than the real crew. It is easy to see how sailing can keep you fit, especially if you crew a racing yacht.
I really enjoyed my trip out on the boat, despite tiredness, and Erica has siad that they will let me climb the mast at some point - all 112 feet of it. I can hardly wait.
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