If you had asked me 3 years ago If I would be sailing a yacht and planning a trip to Tasmania I would have politely responded with “No way in Hell” “I don’t like water” I would have said “I’m afraid of it”, “I prefer the desert” and any other excuse to justify my staying on land.
So what happened? Well my partner happened….. One day he piped up and asked if I would like to try a sailing course. He had grown up in Lane Cove sailing skiffs and dinghies as a lad and as life happens he moved away from the water and away from sailing for 30 years. On reflection one could see it was still in his heart. He loved looking at boats and walking around the foreshore dreaming of sailing.
So with some slight reservation and a desire to live life to the fullest I said ‘YES’ lets do it.
We registered with ‘Flying Fish’ at Middle Harbour yacht club, I signed up for the competent crew and Evan for the day skipper courses. We were able to do this together over 3 weekends and two overnight stints and as Evan humorously recounts the adventure, “the first two weekends the weather was foul, pouring down rain and upwards of 30 knots of wind but Kelly had a smile on her face!”. I did too, We had a great time! I knew absolutely nothing and relied on good instructors to teach me what to do and to define what things meant (the terms for things on boats were totally foreign). We survived…. wet to the bone but happy. The final weekend was glorious, sunny with perfect wind as we sailed from Pittwater to Sydney. I still do not believe I would have gone my entire lifetime content to miss sailing and playing in the water if it had not been for Evan.
Evan had to overcome a hurdle as well. He lost a leg in a motorcycle accident when he was in his twenties and now wears a prosthetic leg. He didn’t know if he would be able to physically handle sailing so this was a big test. He did great, I think his smile was larger than mine and we haven’t looked back.
3 months later we bought Nashira a Bavaria Ocean 40 – centre cockpit
So here we are now two and a half years later, with still so much to learn, getting ready for our biggest adventure yet. Tasmania here we come!!