Empress Otku wrote in message
...
Went sailing yesterday, with some friends. It was one of those days
where there's no wind and yet deep troughs to rock the boat. Luckily,
I'd decided to take a half a tab of Antivert; I don't always on boats.
If only I hadn't shared half a wine cooler, I might have been better
company.

We sailed around off the Santa Cruz shore and when we got hungry, went
to Capitola to eat. On the way home we had to sail around the weekly
Wednesday regatta, who were going nowhere fast, but looking very good
doing it. I learned what a spinnaker is, and why they're trickier to
sail.

We'd chartered a Catalina 34 from Pacific Yachting, a very nice
sailboat and "not squirrelly" according to one experienced sailor
onboard. What a wonderful way to spend a beautiful day. A little
more wind would have been nice, of course, but bobbing around in the
sun isn't bad, even if you're only taking a half-nap while keeping an
eye out for otters.

I'd recommend it to anyone who's interested and knows how to sail.
I'm thinking of taking a sailing class, so I'm not quite as useless
onboard. It's quite the feeling of mastery to command the wheel of a
sailing yacht! Arrrrrr!

~Empress, AKA Pirate Queen

My sister and her late husband spent the last part of their lives together
sailing throughout the Caribbean. Stopping at one port after another until
they made
their way to South America. There is an entire community of people who
have given up shore life to do that very same thing. They are called
"cruisers" or
"liveaboards". Estelle and I flew down to spend sometime with them while
they
where on the island of Eleuthera . We spent the most memorable Thanksgiving
of our lives eating turkey barbqued in a pit on a deserted beach. A large
group
of American "cruisers" sailed to a small deserted island just to celebrate
this way.
It was quite extrodinary.

The sailing life is truly idyllic and very tempting. Beautiful sunsets. No
work
beyond what it takes to live your daily life (primarily finding food and
water)
Party evry night. Leave when you get bored begin to dislike your neighbor
or wear out your welcome. Some people live everyday this way.

Most importantly though, you have a lot of time.

The experience you had shows us that there is something else in life.

http://www.geographia.com/bahamas/