Sailing, Sailing . . .

When our friend Larry called and invited us to spend the afternoon sailing with him and his wife, Ron and I grabbed light jackets, hats, water bottles, and drove to their house.

Lacey, the Golden Retriever on dock; Larry, Joyce and Ron on deck.

THIS'LDO is a gorgeous, sleek 30-footer with teak decking, a nice galley, a head with all the necessities, main sleeping compartment, and the capability to sleep an additional four folks. Besides all the bells and whistles, she is immaculate and decorated to perfection.

Joyce below deck

Larry hoisting the mainsail

Ron enjoying the view. His main job was handling the jib.

I learned about "telltales," fine pieces of wool (or other light material) attached to the luff of the sail that let you know if the sail is "trimmed" properly. Ideally, you want the "telltales" flowing (or streaming) straight back with the sail.

Note the red telltales on the mainsail.

With my vivid imagination, I envisioned sailing across the ocean, fighting off pirates, and being keelhauled by an angry ship captain. Keelhauling is a brutal form of punishment that results in death or horrible injuries from being severely injured by sharp barnacles on the underside of the vessel. The person being punished would be stripped naked and dragged underwater from one side of the ship to the other. I'd read about keelhauling, but really didn't know much about it. Y'all probably thought, as I did, that keelhauling was mostly done by pirates. In researching it, I learned that keelhauling was more commonly used by the Navy. The Dutch started this barbaric practice in 1560; other maritime powers adopted it. And no, there isn't a picture of anyone aboard THIS'LDO being keelhauled! Supposedly, keelhauling is no longer done. I hope.

Captain Larry.

Thanks to a good breeze, sweet sailboat, gorgeous view, and nice and competent hosts, Ron and I thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon. By the way, the above sail with the navy border is the jib. Aren't you impressed with my knowledge?