Lluvia Caliente

Tillerwoman and I arrived at Minorca Sailing somewhat later than planned on Friday night.

A lot later.

Apparently the captain in charge of driving our airplane from England to Spain felt it was part of his duties to walk around outside our airplane before driving us to Menorca and while he was having his little stroll he discovered an itsy-bitsy hydraulic leak that he felt obliged to report to his engineering department who, in turn, decided that they really had to take one of the aeroplane's engine to pieces and instal a new hydraulic pump just to make sure that we didn't all fall out of the sky while driving to Menorca, or something like that.

Just as well really I suppose.

On the first evening, Minorca Sailing normally organize a welcome dinner for the new guests. Unfortunately we were pretty late for our own welcome party, and all the guests from the previous week who were staying over a second week and who were freeloading by coming to our welcome party had already finished our welcome dinner and several bottles of wine and gin and other assorted distilled drinks by the look of them.

We walked into the party and recognized a few familiar faces from last year and greeted them like long-lost friends.

Like one does.

That's when things started to go pear-shaped.

One lady at the party had been telling everyone that last year at about this time there was a really good Laser sailor at Minorca Sailing. She had been telling everyone how super-fast he was. I was a bit confused at first because I couldn't remember any really good super-fast Laser sailors from last year.

Then I discovered that she was talking about me!

And then she told everyone else that she had been talking about me!

Why do people do this to me?

I don't want to live up to a reputation. I want to live down to a reputation.

Why don't these people read my blog and understand what a seriously bad, slow, clumsy, mediocre Laser sailor I really am?

Anyway we had a beer or two and caught up with some old friends and chatted to some new people and met the instructor for the Advanced Laser Course that I wanted to do, and when we felt sufficiently mellowed out we staggered sleepily off to bed.

On Saturday morning it was blowing dogs off chains, so our instructor gave us a lesson about roll tacks and roll gybes.

Hmmm.

Then we sailed up and down Fornells Bay tacking and gybing on command although they were more like survival tacks and gybes than roll tacks and gybes, but it was all good, and better than being back in Rhode Island and mowing the lawn.

In the afternoon for the racing, the wind was much lighter.

But there were a lot of rain showers. Although it was warm rain.

And there were lots of holes in the wind. Although they were warm holes.

And there were huge shifts that turned reaches into beats and beats into reaches. Although they were warm shifts. 

And so ended the first day at Minorca Sailing in 2012.

After a hot drink with something alcoholic in it and a hot shower and a bit of stretching and a bit of a nap, it was off with Tillerwoman for a second welcome party on the beach, and then to Ca Na Marga for stuffed sardines, and pizza with anchovies and tuna and shrimps, and a bottle of white Spanish plonk.

Life is good.

I think I'll take a nap now.