When I used to surf a lot down in California, my friend—who also happened to be a former ASP World Tour professional surfer—would call me to meet him. “The waves look really fun,” he’d say. I’d arrive to find a monster swell with waves crashing way outside and a four-foot-high wall of foam rolling into the beach. I’d struggle mightily for most of the session just to get out to the theoretically ridable waves, only to watch, exhausted, as my buddy would drop-in and crank turns on wave after wave.
I thought of him recently when I bumped into another guy, a supremely experienced sailor I know. He races all sorts of boats, from 505s to catamarans, to cruising boats. His sailing resume includes ocean crossings, adventure races, dangerous deliveries, experience as a sailing instructor—you name it. He’s a regular James Bond of the sea. When I saw him at the coffee shop, a big wind was howling outside—I’m talking a legitimate 25-knot southerly blowing the tops off the waves and sending seabirds for shelter.
“A little breezy out there,” I said sarcastically.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s looking pretty fun. I’m heading out in a few minutes.” Say again? In conditions I was sure were best suited for hunkering down, this guy was suiting up. I was surprised, but then I’ve been on the other end of similar conversations a few times, with sailors expressing surprise I was going out in my little boat. It really depends on your perspective.
Years ago I was rigging my Potter 15 in front of my house in Morro Bay when this salty looking guy walked up and started giving me helpful advice between draws on his carved pipe. Turns out he’d owned a Potter for years and knew the boat inside and out. I ended up consulting him regularly.
A few months later, after I sailed out the harbor mouth and into the open Pacific for a mile or so and was returning to the dock, I saw my guru driving alongside the waterfront pacing my boat. When I landed he came walking toward me hurriedly.
“How was it out there?” he asked breathlessly.
“It was fun,” I said.
“But what was it like?” he asked.
“What was what like?”
“Sailing outside” he clarified.
I realized then my mentor had never actually left the protected harbor.
Is it fun out there? I guess it all depends where you’re coming from. —Joshua Colvin
First appeared in issue #117
What a surprise ending! So funny! All this time . . . I'm still laughing!
It's been a LOT of "fun" outside the bay the last couple weeks - for sure!!! We stayed tied to the dock!