Spot On Perfect

At the Wickford Regatta a few weeks ago, the chairman of the jury came up to me and said, "I need to thank you."

"Uh oh!" I thought. What have I done now? Have I accidentally volunteered to serve on a protest committee, or act as a witness, or made some other terrible faux pas?

Apparently not. He had worked out that the old geezer thrashing around at the back of the Laser fleet was the same person as the venerable Tillerman, and he wanted to thank me for writing this blog.

This blew me away. I find it amazing, but very gratifying, that anyone would want to "thank" me for the drivel I write here.

Then today I received an email from someone who calls himself or herself BlueVark. As well as another totally undeserved thank you, the letter lays out the case better than I possibly could for why folk in mid-life should take up Lasering.

There's nothing in your face about it, but the balance ... is spot on perfect.

Thank you BlueVark.

Tillerman,

Thank you for your blog - it has been an inspiration to me.

I used to sail a Laser in my teens, and have recently got back into single handed sailing after many years (I did not sail at all for 20 years). Unfortunately I listened to the whispers, both in my own head and from others:

- "The Laser is a young man's boat"
- "You are too old for a Laser (mid-40's)"
- "You want a boat you can sit 'in' not 'on'"

And so I tried other boats. Most recently I have been sailing a Solo. I found myself floating around at the back of the fleet, I was not enjoying my sailing, I was close to packing it in.

I had found and read your blog so, when a month or so ago the Solo was briefly out of commission I decided to get the Laser on the water - the same Laser I had sailed in my teens and kept stored in a garage for years. I went out on a windy (but not overpowering) day and... What a blast! What Fun!

I came off the water more tired than I can remember, a bit sore and bruised, but with a great big grin on my face. Yes I capsized on a reach to reach gybe, but righted quickly and off again. Screaming along on a broad reach I simply whooped for joy.

I have now started racing the Laser at my club. My results are already better than in my Solo and above all I am enjoying my sailing again. I am looking forward to getting fitter, sailing better and improving my race results, but above all I look forward to having fun.

Regards

BlueVark