Terzo made a new friend at park day the other week. That family expressed an interest in sailing so I took everyone out for a late morning tootle around Shilshole Bay. We had kids (aged 2, 5, 6), myself, and another dad.
We had an easy 5 knot wind from the southeast. There was a regatta going on and the kids really liked all the bright colors of the dozens of spinnaker sails. The wind never really picked up for the races to get going for reals but we got to see a lot of the boats working on drills, especially with the hoisting/adjusting/dousing their spinnakers as they sailed in large circles. We saw a few harbor seals, too.
We sailed for about an hour, then I hove-to and we broke for lunch. Despite the overcast there was no rain, and it was surprisingly warm. The wind died on our way back and we ended up having to motor in. You just do what you gotta do.
The kids had a good time. They saw some neat stuff, got to help rig the boat, and everyone got a turn on the tiller. I didn’t get to show off any fancy sailing tricks (I only know two), but the focus for that day was on comfort since that was all the crew’s first time in a small boat–a J/24. The treat for me was that I didn’t have to dock the boat, and flake all the sales by myself. That second set of hands makes everything so much easier.
So, hurray! I think we have a bunch of new sailing enthusiasts.
Go sailing!