Third Times a Charm

Racing Party Girl - Day 3

Again, Newton's first law of motion has been tested and is still mother-approved. It wasn't the whole law that was put to the test tonight, just the first part- you've all heard it, it goes something like "An object at rest remains at rest unless acted upon by a force".  

Our night started as usually. Getting the boat ready, we ran all the lines (ropes) through the blocks (pulleys) and secured them off, prepared the sails, and headed out for the race course.  On the way to the race course, I was standing by the mast and needed to walk forward to the very front of the bow to look for other boat traffic that the rest of the crew was unable to see.  

You see... you're supposed to keep one hand holding onto the boat at all times  But in this one section of the boat there exists a place where you have to release your hold of the boat in order to get to the next secure place to hold onto. So, I'm in this place where I have just let go of my secure handhold, breaking one of the basic rules that I learned in my Sailing 101 class.  That's the first lesson of the night, don't let go of the boat. The second lesson is one that hasn't been taught to me directly, but- it's one of those things that comes from spending time on the boat.   It has to do with my feet, and how I arrange them in relation to the boat. If I stand with my feet spread apart and the front of my hips facing the front or the back of the boat, then the only way I can loose my balance is if the boat were to accelerate quickly, which isn't really going to happen on a sailboat like this. Or we run into something, which is highly unlikely, yet does occasionally happen.  

Apparently I left my smart at home tonight. As I left the safety of that secure hand hold to move forward, my feet were spread apart and my heals about twelve inches from port side (left side of boat looking forward) of the boat with my toes pointing towards the middle of the boat.  What happened next was lighting fast and I'm surprised that I'm still alive to tell about it- not really, but it does makes for a great build up. 

The helmsman (guy steering), at that one precarious moment where I don't have a secure hold on the boat, decides to steer the boat to the starboard (right side of boat looking forward).  This was where Newton had his say- my body, which was neither moving to the port nor the starboard, stayed in place as the boat beneath me moved sharply to starboard. I could feel myself heading backward over the edge of the boat as it moved out from under me.  My instinct was to bend my knees and drop my ass to the deck as fast as humanly possible,  followed closely by my hands planting next to me to help cushion the landing.

Now, this is where I have interrupt this story to tell you I spent my fifth and sixth grade Friday nights at the local roller rink trying to impress the girls with my... let's say, less than stellar roller skating skills. I would get my little rollerskating self going way faster than I could control and the inevitable would happen. After numerous times landing on my knees, hands, face, etc., I discovered if I could land on my ass before my feet left the floor, the chance of loosing all dignity was at a much lower rate.

It would appear that the twelve inches of space I had behind me, which might have been ample space to set my butt down back in middle school, wasn't going to do the job tonight.  Instead of landing on the deck, I landed butt first over the life line and onto the toe rail that protrudes up from the edge of deck. Then I slid right over the edge of the boat.  To my amazement, both of my hands managed to get a solid hold of the lifeline!  There I was, hanging backwards over the edge of the boat, with just my lower legs on the deck and only my outstretched arms to keep me from imminent embarrassment. I scrambled like a cat trying to avoid an unwanted bath and managed to hoist myself back on the deck without a drop of water on me.  

As I think back on it, I'm still suspicious that may have been some sort of initiation process gone wrong.  

~J~