[Askoga]: 89.Snippets.Before the Race

I turn my face toward the wind—and, unfortunately, the sun—and close my eyes, letting the wind play with my hair, caress my face, and sooth my very soul. Yet, the wind that seems so gentle to me, also pushes against my sail, propelling me forward through the water. For just a moment, I revel in the gentle feel of the wind on my skin as it dries my damp clothes, the sound of my dachron sail as it strains to hold the force pushing at it, and the lap of water as the bow of my boat glides through.

Then, suddenly, there's a shout from behind my sail, jarring me back to reality, “Starboard!”

Swiftly, my heart thudding in my chest as I realize how close the larger boat is, and that they must've called to me at least once before, I maneuver my boat downwind of them, gliding just past their stern. I wave, smiling, as I recognize the passengers, and they return my gesture cheerfully.

The serene moment of just me and my boat in nature is gone as the starting horn sounds across the water, and all other boats group around me as we cross the line. The tension of the race has me in its grip now, my competitive side coming to the fore. But still, in the back, there lingers that one moment of serenity just before the race. That one, single moment of peace. And even in the midst of the race, that moment reminds me that sailing is not only about who crosses the line first.