Sail away with me

There's a reason that I've titled my blog this. I live in a shipping community. You learn from a young age that when you have to be somewhere at a certain time, and you have to cross the river, to leave 20 extra minutes in case you need to wait for a lake freighter. The sound of a freighter sounding it's horn early in the morning for the bridge to go up is a peaceful and relaxing sound. It's a way of life here. And so is sailing. I used to sail with my aunt all the time. We would race every Wednesday night in the races on the bay. A lot of times just me and her, it's brought us closer together, and I've learned how to sail and I love it. There's nothing like the feeling of the wind whipping past your face, just you and nature, the mast at a 45 degree angle to the water and you can reach out and touch it. It's just amazing.

Since I've gone to college though, I haven't been able to sail as much. My first summer vacation from college, I could have gone on a week long sailing trip but I had to go back to school to learn how to become an RA. The next summer I stayed at school and that kinda killed racing on Wednesday nights. I only went out that year for the 4th of July and for the tower race Labor Day weekend. Last summer, I didn't get to go out at all because she was busy with building a porch and other things at her new house. But a new season started yesterday. Yesterday we put the boat in the water. I rode in it as it went from being cradled in the air by the lift until it was lowered into the water. As we motored down the river (unfortunately, the sails aren't up yet) next to one of the big lake freighters, I felt at peace. It's an amazing feeling, and I can't wait to go out again. She gave me an open invitation to go out, and I plan on making the most of it this summer.