I'm having an 80's flashback, sitting here watching VH1 Top 40 80's. Stevie Wonder brings back memories of sailing along the Atlantic coast between Hout Bay and Cape Town on a variety of yachts, fishing boats and pleasure cruisers. For everything there is a season, and it was our season for sailing!
The tang of the sea air as you leave the protection of the harbour wall and head out into the open sea invigorates like nothing else. It must be the sudden access to large quantities of ozone, combined with the swishing of the waves as the bow cuts through the swells. My favourite place to be on a boat is in the bow (I did it before TItanic!), with my face to the wind and the rise and fall of the bow as it surges forwards. In big seas the adrenalin sure can pump, but that is the point of standing there - to put yourself in a controlled life-threatening situation for the thrill of it. It doesn't take long to get into the rhythm of anticipating the next wave and flexing your knees to cushion the jarring. (That's probably why I have dicky knees today!) After a few hours of this, it is really weird to walk on dry land again. You feel as if gravity has increased 5 times.
A fishing friend tells me that he never had to worry about fitness on long sea trips, as every muscle gets exercised just to keep standing in rough seas!
Time to go sailing again. I need something to blow my hair back.
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