Aug
12
Sailing Lesson
Filed under Sweden 2010
Yesterday, I went out on my first, true sailboat (i.e. no motor, only wind power and rudder). Fredrik and I had gone down to the harbor on Tuesday, and although the sun was out, the wind was not. Yesterday’s weather provided perfect wind which made up for the lack of any sun.
I was in charge of the foresail and was taught how to handle the sheets and to help with tacking (I’m not going to attempt to explain what these mean 
. I was even given a go at steering the rudder. It was a lot of fun to see Fredrik in his element; he’s been sailing since he was a kid and was even head sailing instructor at the Halmstad Segelsällskap (sailing school) for a number of years. It was great to sit on the edge of the boat and glide along the water, even though my pants got completely drenched from waves crashing overboard. Two hours later, we were back in the harbor and quite satisfied. Hopefully we can go out at least one more time while I’m here.
After a hot shower and a much-needed nap, for it’s quite draining to keep your balance for two hours on a constantly-moving boat, Fredrik and I went to the fish truck to purchase fresh swordfish, salmon, and butterfish, the first of which we ate for dinner which was tastily prepared by Eva (his mom). A nice close to a fun day.
