IMPATIENT TO CRUISE
Husband and Prairie Girl couldn’t wait for any opportunity to take the ON EDGE out on the water. Two busy professionals had to scramble to find extended periods of time to take off on their annual two week sailing vacation at the end of each July. They would be so covetous of their time on the water that they usually chose to ignore the weather warnings. Sometimes this worked in their favor, and other times…not so much! Prairie Girl ALWAYS trusted husband’s decision-making! (After all, he wouldn’t be trying to OFF his new wife, now would he?) Husband is responsible, but when getting out on the water might mean a delay, his common sense might have been somewhat questionable.
Some summers they’d cross the Strait of Georgia without a lick of wind and the water as smooth as glass… B-O-R-I-N-G! However, more often than not, the wind would be roaring, the ocean full of white caps and the ON EDGE would be hitting the swells full on… NOT B-O-R-I-N-G! Oh yes, they had several white knuckled crossings with husband glued to the tiller (No HEAD breaks for him!) and Prairie Girl tucked under the bimini, trying to stay dry and out of the elements as she’d watch the 8 foot waves rise and fall behind husband.
Prairie Girl knows you’re asking yourself, WHY? WHY would anyone be anxious to cross the Strait in the middle of treacherous weather like that? She can only say that they just didn’t want to miss out on a day of their sailing vacation time; it was that precious to them! After an exhausting 7 hours of being tossed about, they’d make their way to an anchorage or marina in the Gulf Islands and crawl into their berths. They’ve been known to fall into a dead sleep 12 hours straight after one of those crossings!
Prairie Girl admits that sometimes reason would overtake unsafe foolhardiness. (Coincidentally, this would always happen on the return trip, not the departure.) Somehow it was always easier to extend a day or two at the end than it was to be detained for a day or two in the beginning. (It could also be the fact that when one would attempt to leave marinas like Silva Bay and watch others burying their noses into the rocking and rolling waves, it made more sense to return to the marina and go through all that fun of attempting to dock, once again, in the roaring wind.)
Sounds like a blast, right? Y-O-U… K-N-O-W… Y-O-U… W-A-N-T to have these exciting boating experiences too, don’t you? No doubt many of you have stories of harried crossings yourself! PLEASE share them with us, we want to know! Just add your story below in the Leave a Comment box. PLEASE, OH PLEASE … SHARE WITH US!! Thanks for visiting FUN HAPPENS! (https://www.marylaudien.com)
