SUMMER... August, sailing (Part 87j)

I was anxious to ask about the trailer but managed to hold back. We sailed the first race and during it I noticed that he had a bad habit during one maneuver that certainly wasn’t helping his performance. I asked if he’d let me sail the next race and I wanted him to watch the way I performed the maneuver. I wasn’t concerned about our finish since the races were ”for fun“ anyway. He seemed to grasp the concept and in the last race he did a much better job at it. He seemed to be very appreciative and I took that as my opportunity to ”pop the question“.

But... before I did, he hit me with one... that really surprised me. I honestly don’t know how he got the information that I wouldn’t be able to race in the National championships if I did qualify, but he knew. His question to me was to ask if I’d sail with him. That told me that he fully intended to race on the weekend and that the use of his trailer was out of the question. Bummer!

I really didn’t have an answer for him. My intention had been to race my boat regardless... provided I could get it to the venue. I think the first words from my mouth were to ask about his father who had been his crew since he’d started racing. I think I've mentioned that his father was president of a local bank. The reason he wasn’t sailing that day was that he (and his mother) were at a banking conference and that when it was over they were going to visit some family in that area. I was somewhat flattered by his asking. I think I hemmed and hawed a bit finally telling him I’d have to let him know. He didn’t ”push“ the issue so we talked about his sister.

She was four years older than JR and her name was Denise. She was attending a girls college in New England and had just returned from a Summer session on Sunday. I could tell from the way he talked about her that there was some ”tension“ between them... especially at the present time. I gathered that she was basically chaperoning him at the present time and he sorely resented it. I won't say that he was "pleading" with me but he did mention that if I didn't he'd have to sail with his sister.

When I left for home I was no closer to finding a trailer I could borrow than when I arrived. There was one "long shot" hope and that was to borrow Buddy’s trailer since he wasn’t racing. I knew he’d let me but the biggest problem would be the logistics of having to go to his home in near the city, find a place to put his boat while I had the trailer, (it couldn’t just be put on the ground but had to be in a cradle) and then come back and get my boat onto his trailer. By the time I pulled up at home I was starting to think that sailing with JR would probably be a better idea. I called JR when I got home from work on Thursday night. I could tell from his voice that he was excited. I reminded him that if he qualified that I wouldn’t be able to sail in the championships. That didn’t bother him at all.

Even though his father had put a hitch on their car I told JR I’d be happier if we used mine. When I arrived at the sailing club early Saturday morning JR was already there with his boat ready to be trailed. What I didn’t expect was that his sister would be there as well. A nice surprise! A bigger surprise was that she was going with us.

I’d raced at the host sailing club once before. It was at least eight or maybe nine years before which meant I didn’t have a lot of local knowledge. However, the guy who had sailed with me that Summer that I had my big disappointment in the championships had sailed out of there for years. I was still in contact with him from time to time so I called him. The ”scoop“ wasn’t so much on what to do and where to go but rather what not to do and where not to go. As JR and I set the boat up I went over that information with him. Denise had found a shade tree to lean against and started reading a book. I don’t know if JR caught me but every so often my eyes would look over at her. She was wearing a pair of light yellow shorts and a sleeveless blouse. I remember both seemed baggy which was a disappointment. But, even with that, she was still quite something to look at.

As far as racing went, there was one thing that JR had to improve on and that was his starts. He was timid and by the time things sorted out we were mid fleet (around 20 boats). However, the boat was fast and with the trick I'd shown him he managed to end up fourth. Part of that was due to the fact that we avoided the ”hole“ which my old sailing friend had warned me about. When we came ashore for the lunch break Denise was waiting for us. JR didn’t seem too happy about that but I struck up a conversation with her. She’d managed to get in with some of the others from our sailing club who had gathered under a grove of trees. One of them was Ruthie (Jimbo was her husband) who had brought their baby. Of course, for the women, that was the main attraction, Denise included. From where I was seated when she lay down on her side to play with the baby I had a nice look up the leg opening of her shorts. Although her presence had somewhat muted JR’s personality, that little peek was worth it. However, it was only for a brief few seconds which left me wanting more.

To be continued...