Capsized

Drove three hours for a day of Atlantic coast sailing.

Arrived at the shore with strong winds blowing inland from the east.

Red flag day for catamaran rentals.

No bother, we had brought our own

.

Our catamaran crew consisted of my friend,

an experienced sailor with his new boat

Myself, an inexperienced sailor

My new girlfriend Patty, who hates sailing

but evidently liked me enough to say yes

to the invite for a two day trip to the sea

.

We pushed off and got settled in just fine

About 1/3 mile from shore

with 6 to 8 foot rolling waves

we adjust sails for max wind

One haul of the catamaran rises

out of the water and our speed increases

with the reduced drag of the now airborne haul

.

I am now leaning way way back

to keep the balance of full sail

fast boat and airborne haul

All is well in the wide open sea

Until a wave white-capped over the airborne haul

Catching us off guard and

driving the boat into the deep base of the white capped wave

Flipping us into a catapulting launch

.

Patty landing on mainsail and my friend and I into the sea

Thankfully nobody is cut to call in the sharks

My instincts are to ensure Patty is okay

While my friend is checking the health of the boat

First and second attempts to right the boat

result in winds catching a flipping us back into the sea

Finally ’third try a charm’ and the catamaran is righted and ready

So we sail back to the beach where we concede, enough is enough

.

On the elevator ride back to our hotel room we

talk with another couple about the windy day on the beach

They share a story with us about watching this small

Catamaran flipping in the sea

and with overtones of embarrassment settling in upon us

we realize we were the foolish ones ignoring the red-flag warnings

to test our fate in the rough Atlantic coast waters

It was on that day I thought, I want to marry this girl.

.

Fast forward 33 years

before morning light

in a small cottage

back near the sea

just Patty and me

as she lightly snores next to me