Souvenirs From My Trip Around The Sun

Another year almost over and more memories in the bank, souvenirs from the journey. Memories of watching my granddaughter grow and change month by month from a tiny baby into a fascinating little person. And along the way also a few memories of sailing...

Winter was almost over when the Laser frostbite sailing at the club in Connecticut started in March and I went racing my Laser one day in Rain, and on another day in 25 knots that required some Changes in Attitudes. Spring arrived in April and my Laser racing continued with a photogenic start shown at 5-4-3-2-1-GO!!!, another day when I really needed some excuses, and an awesome day of sailing in the rain, (again).

In May the Wednesday night Sunfish racing started at my local reservoir club in New Jersey and I found myself waxing poetic about the reasons I sail in Memories of a Moment. At the end of the month I had the pleasure of sailing a Laser regatta with my son again, the first time we had done this together for many years, when he beat me in the Second Annual Collander Cup. The light winds of summer lake sailing had me musing about Learning to Love Light Air and then on Father's Day I took revenge on my son by beating him in Laser Sailing at Lake Whippersnapper.

I only sailed one major regatta in 2006 and that was the Newport Regatta in July. The experience inspired me to write Top Ten Random Memories and even to compose a song, The Ballad of Tillerman - Oh No!

In August I watched my son sailing with Sunfish Fleet 17 and got frustrated at my own incompetence at Sunfish sailing in Wednesday Night Racing, so badly in fact that I went out and Sold my Sunfish.

After a couple of weeks with no sailing in September I rediscovered how much I enjoy Laser sailing in Relapse and then at the end of the month Tillerwoman and I headed off for a vacation at Minorca Sailing. It was a long time since our previous visit but we discovered that very little had changed at Minorca Sailing - 25 Years Later. I sailed Lasers, learned how to sail a single-hander with a spinnaker, tried my hand at windsurfing, and wrote all about it in More on Minorca Sailing. Those two weeks were definitely the most enjoyable sailing experience of the year.

When we returned to the US, the Laser frostbite season had already started. I did my race committee duty and learned a lot by Watching Boats. I rediscovered why I love racing Laser so much even when I do badly in The Pessimist and the Optimist, and made something of a breakthrough in Snap!

Another year of sailing is almost over but the journey continues, and so here I go again, enjoying the ride on my trip around the sun...

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