SUMMER FUN... July (Part 71f)

SAILING: As I’d mentioned, I’d ordered new sails and used the money I made working with Jay at the barrier beach to buy them. They arrived on the Friday after the 4th of July and, like most people with a new “toy” I wanted to try them out. The only time I could do that before the Sunday regular races was on Saturday. Elle wasn’t interested as the kids had a birthday party to go to plus she’d planned on doing the wash. She also reminded me of all the things that needed doing around the trailer and the yard. I wasn’t in her good graces as I drove off with the new sails.

There were always people around the sailing club on the weekends. There were a couple of other “regulars“ who were going to do some practicing. My new sails got some attention because they were the first ones made by a noted sailmaker who was now in business for himself. There were three of us who planned to sail but only two people with racing experience willing to act as crew. I walked down the beach asking if anyone wanted to go for a sail. The majority of them were children with their mother’s acting as babysitters. One mother that I didn’t know jumped up and said that if she could get someone to watch her child she’d like to give it a try. I pointed out my boat anchored in the water and went back to wait for her. When she finally approached I took notice that she was fairly attractive with a nice figure. She had on a one piece bathing suit that showed that really showed her figure. I asked if she knew anything about sailing and she smiled back and said that as a teen she’d raced these same type boats on the New Jersey shore. I didn’t dare ask how long ago that had been but guessed that she was in her early 30’s. I held the boat as she sat on the deck and then flipped her legs up and over it. As she did I saw something that caught my attention and that was a little white showing from under the elastic of her suit bottom. Elle, very often, did that, but I knew why. I was curious as to why she did.

She said her name was Catherine but that everybody called her ”Cat“. It didn’t take long for her to get accustomed to the boat and to become comfortable with it and me. She said she was spending the month at her in-laws Summer bungalow and had heard there was sailing club nearby. I think she said her son was eight and she was anxious to get him introduced to sailing but didn’t know how to go about it. I told her I’d introduce her to the people who could help her. By that time I had a friend.

The new sails were quite different from the old ones. I didn’t know if I liked them or not but knew I wouldn’t find out until I raced with them. I tried to judge how they performed by how I did compared to the other two boats in short bursts. The wind was fluky so that wasn’t a real test. When we finally came ashore I had Cat jump over when we were in shallow water to hold the boat so I could let the sails down. I didn’t pay much attention to her until they were almost down. She was in water that was about knee deep. All of a sudden she dipped her butt into the water and stayed like that for about 15 to 20 seconds. When she caught me looking at her she, laughingly, said that I wasn’t supposed to see that. It was a good thing my groin was buried in the sails at that moment.

Sunday turned out to be a mess. When I looked out the window of the trailer and saw the rain and wind from the East I actually hoped that the races would be called off. Elle was a ”fair weather sailor“ and looked for ways to get out of crewing on days like that. Right from the time she saw the conditions she warned me that she wasn’t going to sail. All the way to the sailing club I was wondering if there was any chance that Cat might show up. I’d introduced her to the lady who was in charge of lessons who, in turn, suggested that she show up on Sunday to get an application to join the club.

I’d failed to get her last name or to find out just where her in-laws bungalow was located so all I could do was hope that, in spite of the weather, she’d show up. There were over a dozen boats on the beach getting ready to race and I wasn’t the only one looking for a crew. Elle wasn’t the only one who didn’t like cold, windy, rainy race days. I waited on the porch of the clubhouse hoping to see her but the reality of the situation told me that even if she did show up she wouldn’t be prepared to sail, let alone race. As I peered out into the parking lot I did see Willy, my crew from the previous weekend headed my way. I ran out to ask him but he’d already committed to sailing with somebody else. I let the boat stay on the trailer, resigned to not racing. As I watched the other boats sail off to the starting line I saw one boat still by the shore. I walked down and saw it was Frank. When he saw me and saw my boat still on the trailer he asked if I’d sail with him. I figured it was better than standing around watching so said I would. He didn’t offer up why his wife, Ronnie, wasn’t sailing with him and I didn’t ask.

The club championship was made up of twelve scheduled races. If all were sailed then each competitor could drop the two worst finishes. If less than the twelve were sailed, only one race could be dropped. As Frank and I headed for the start I figured that I’d be able to use the two races that I’d be missing as my ”drops“. Frank was one of the better racers in our club so I looked at the situation as an opportunity to learn some things. The two of us, together, probably weighed 50 or so pounds over what everybody looked at as the perfect weight for skipper and crew. With the wind blowing 15 to 18 mph that extra weight was an advantage and we ended up winning the first race. Skipper or crew, it’s always nice to win.

To be continued...