sailing in Enkhuizen for the weekend

this past weekend i participated in a sailing competition because i could (i didn't have to do anything else for the weekend and i was graciously invited along by br Luc and zr Annemieke, despite my lack of sailing skills). and i had a lovely, relaxing weekend on a sailboat - and wandering through Enkhuizen.

there was pretty much no wind all weekend, which doesn't make for the most exciting sailing. br Luc spent part of the race lying on the side of the boat, and then i took over from him this difficult task of lying in the sun watching the other boats (people familiar with saying will realize as br Luc points out in his comment to this entry, that this was actually a strategic use of weight - and not just a chance to sunbathe :). it was quite relaxing for me, although relaxing is probably not the word one wants to use for a race :)

the "anchor ball" race starts off with the boat anchored, the sails down, and one person above deck (the others need to be below). despite my lack of sailing skills (although i try to listen well and be helpful, my limited knowledge of sailboats (and difficulty with non-visual instructions) makes it difficult for me to know what i'm supposed to do even when given normal instructions), i got to be the one on deck. my job was to hoist the sail (calculated to be the least difficult although time consuming). i got to practice first (with br. Luc shouting at me to go faster and the neighbouring boat laughing at us), and it went fine - except i could have been quicker at pulling the other sail (the front one - the genoa) so that we could move somewhat (and not bump into the boat beside us). trying to determine how to capture the tiny bit of wind gave the race some tension (but as that was completely out of my range of skills, i spent most of the race seated, pulling a rope now and then or leaning against the main sail).

despite the low action race - and the minimal sailing back to the boat's home harbour, it was a lovely weekend: sunny, a lovely city to visit, good food and delightful company. the following are some pictures:

a park i bumped into in Enkhuizen:

a dusk visiting the back end of the boat. he was very cute at the time, although i expect if he started dirtying the back of the boat, he'd lose his cuteness fast.

br Luc monitoring things as we approached the locks leaving Enkhuizen.


more pictures (provided by br Luc) can be found on the Anchorbal website, plus an extra one of us crossing the finish line (to earn our 15th place [out of 22 boats] finish).