3rd Sail of '13 + Planet
It was summertime in January this weekend. High 70’s at the beach, light winds, clear skies. I set out with a friend and we had a good couple hours of sailing in the light breeze until the wind really calmed down. I pointed A Cenoura back to the marina and couldn’t help but wonder, “why are there dozens of boats just floating around in the same spot out here?” - people were gathering on their boats to witness the total 5-star treatment from the sea. hundreds of dolphins were swarming around in all directions, jumping and showing off. Sea Lions were everywhere, basking on their sides with a fin up. Birds were being birds. Then, an enormous humpback whale surfaced, then did that typical dive down deep while flipping its giant tail up out of the water. It was incredible. The sailboat quietly drifted along as we sat on the bow watching pods of dolphins slyly aqua-stampede all around the boat. My friends remark, “Wow, it’s like a disney movie” was actually a pretty accurate way of putting it. Of course, when I tried to capture it on video, it seemed like barely anything was going on, but you get the idea.
After a pretty great Saturday, came an even warmer and relaxing Sunday. For one, I walked to go surfing in the morning. I could only bare the 53 degree water for about an hour and a half, but caught some fun brain-freezing waves. Then I did what anyone would do, I sat out, for hours, wondering what I should be doing with this beautiful day. Then I got a message that my Dad was bringing his boat, Planet, down to King Harbor just to enjoy the day and watch the 49ers football game. I couldn’t have imagined a better way to improve the day.
I have some really great neighbors on the dock, and they have kayaks. I’m appreciative that, after asking nicely, I was granted permission to borrow one and paddle out to meet my Dad, saving him the trouble of unloading the dinghy and coming in to pick me up. It was genuinely surreal. I was paddling around in a borrowed kayak from a friendly neighbor, approaching my dads home, that he cruised down from Marina Del Rey in, to watch the NFL team from my home area play (and win) a playoff game while taking advantage of a warm calm day, and to share my brother’s (Matt) homemade beer I’d been keeping cool in my refrigerator for 2 months. Oh, and it was 78 degrees and everyone I saw was smiling, happy and enjoying themselves out on the water.
