On the lay day between the clinic and the regatta at Cabarete I opted to follow coach Rulo's advice and not to sail. It was a sunny day with light winds so Tillerwoman and I just relaxed and enjoyed a day at the beach.
Around 3pm we strolled down to the Laser Center to complete my registration for the regatta and then we went out to dinner at Otra Cosa, one of Cabarete's finest restaurants. On the way to the restaurant we ran into another New England Laser sailor we know who had just arrived. He had a tale of woe to tell.
Last year he flew via Puerto Rico to the DR and the airline canceled one of the legs of his flight.
This year he flew via Miami to the DR and the airline had lost all his luggage. All he had were the clothes he was standing up in and his toothbrush.
I couldn't resist telling him my tale about why I am paranoid about booking non-stop flights whenever possible. We invited him to join us for dinner but he said he had better walk down to the Laser Center and sign in and see what arrangements he could make to sail... with no sail, no lines, no tiller and no sailing clothes.
Hmmm. After dinner I began to think that crowing about how smart I had been to book a direct flight might not have been the most helpful response to my buddy's dilemma. What an ass I am.
So in the morning I dug out a spare pair of shorts and a long sleeve rashguard and lent them to him. He managed to borrow all the other equipment he needed and sail in the regatta which just goes to show that maybe my paranoia about airlines might be a bit extreme.
1 comment:
I think a healthy dose of paranoia is prudent when dealing with airlines and your belongings. But that aside, what I got from your post is that sportsmanship ruled the day.
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