Week two was the first five day trip of the season. Five day trips are always maxed out as we try and squish in: sailing, games and fun, eating, sleeping, 5 lessons and a written test and 6 oral tests, plus room for all the spontaneous visitors who might decide to show up! This week I would like to introduce the Bilgey Bottom Boys, who graced us with their presence during mug-up on the last night.
This past week we had a group on from Calgary, who we proceeded to get very muddy and very wet, but enjoyed every minute of their oceanic adventures. It was not only the kids though, I should add, that got muddy and wet, I too collided with some of the earth and ocean. We had launched the dories and were preparing to row ashore, and I, as a "seasoned sailor" had donned my foulies and rubber boots to avoid the cold water that I knew would freeze my toes as soon as the dory ran aground and it was time to jump out and pull it up the beach, and I was right. I jumped out in a few inches of water and proceeded to pull the dory up with dry feets thanks to the infamous pink boots. The mud came next as we ran around a more than slightly soggy field hurling frisbees at eachother as we played a game commonly referred to as "bean-the-guy-softly". I thought however, that despite my muddy knees, that through my intelligence I had escaped the fridgid water, but alas it came time to push the dories out again. This time, I didn't have the advantage of momentum to push the dories further than they would naturally float, considering the 10 people already weighing them down. So in I tread and with one step too far, my boot is filled! But the dory is still on the ground so I must go further before I jump in myself. Finally my little boat begins to float and I jump up and slide in, however doing so I must go head first and then right myselfonce aboard, and in doing so all the water that had collected in my boots found its way not back into the ocean, but up the leg of my foulies! This was quite amusing back onboard when once I had stripped of the rain gear, my pants were "mysteriously" wet up to my pockets!
Sometimes I love these trips the most because, despite the wet and cold of early March, it is when we get the trainees that find every shell, crab (dead or alive), bit of seaweed, starfish, anenome, porpoise, and sail absolutely fascinating! It reopens my eyes to the beauty in the creation around me and makes me realize how lucky I am to be doing what I do.
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