Out Sailing on the Water

Friday was a beautiful day, warm and windy.. perfect for sailing! We left early and picked up Dave's son and then down the street we picked up his parents. Off we headed to the water. Dave's dad loves to sail, has his own boat but it has not been in the water for a few years and needs a little TLC (which it will be getting over the winter) His dad is having some health issues and one thing we have learned over the years is that it is not a good idea to wait to do things you really want to do and to share them with people who you really love. We have been talking about going sailing with his dad and with john for years... the time was Friday.

The only sail boat I have ever really seen was Steve's ( Dave's dad) his is 25 feet and well.. to me.. it is a sail boat.. that is about all I know. When I booked the charter for Friday I booked it on a 33 foot sail boat.. I figured it would be huge.. like a yacht or something.. well I was totally clueless. It was a lot longer than Steve's.. but the sitting area was not any bigger.. in fact it is smaller.. was a bit of a crowded trip but we all like each other so that was ok.

We ended up powering up to Langley because it was too windy and the captain said we would all end up soaking wet and maybe sea sick.... well we ended up soaking wet anyway but it was still fun. We had a wonderful lunch in Langley at the Braeburn and I loved it. The food was wonderful, the service was great, the building was fun .. We will go back there for sure! There was a street fair going on right outside the windows so we were able to watch people and sit and visit while having lunch.. was a great time. On the way back we were able to sail.. I have to say.. getting the sails up and ready to go was a bit nerve wracking.. both sails were not really ready to go.. they were twisted and it was a bit of a mess.. twice the boom went flying almost knocking people off the boat.. but once they were up and we were on our way it was wonderful. Made some good time on the way back too.. 10.3 knots was the fastest we went.. ( on the way there we only went like 3.5) But it did not seem very fast.. the wind was with us and the water was beautiful, the sun was warm and it was so quiet.

On the way up to Langley Steve was in charge of the tiller (?) I have no clue.. I just know it is not called a wheel.. and in this case it really looks just like a stick so I am not sure. On the way back Dave and John did the raising ( not pulling ) of the sails and that sort of thing.. I am seriously going to have to learn a whole new language here. John and I had not been on a sail boat before and both of us are ready to be on one again ASAP.. we can't wait to get dads all fixed up and maybe even go out for a long weekend in it.

Not only was the sailing wonderful but the very best thing about Friday was the time spent with people I care so much about. So many smiles and hugs and happy memories. It will be a day I will never forget and that I will always treasure. I hope to have a lot more of these days to make memories like this with these people and with the rest of my family and friends too. It is important to remember that we never know what will happen tomorrow and we need to live each day to the fulliest and to share our love and smiles and to care for each other before we are gone.

This picture wraps up the whole day for me. Everyone smiling.. and in one picture! These guys almost never smile.