Yeah, I can sail that...

So, I've been sailing since 3 years old. Not to sound cocky (except my friend Jeff will say all sailors are...) but I've sailed lots of boats, from little dinghies to 50 Ft cruisers. I am very comfortable on the water. Which makes this story something Mel and I laughed at a long time on vacation.

So we go to rent this little sailboat (seen in photo). Actually a quick word about the photo, sure these two girls may look like little, but they are pros or midgets with a long sailing resumes cause they seem to be doing quite well). The guys inquires about my sailing experiences...so we get the nod.

So we set up and push off in a 10 kt breeze. Easy right? Well the boat doesn't respond to my rudder as I frantically try to change course away from the dock, then we are careerning toward the beach. The sails are full and we can loosening their sheets fast enough. We head dangerously close to the metal pots in the water they use for fire in the midnite party they have...

So I try to bail out and stop the boat with my brute force, only my foot gets stuck and now I am hanging out of the boat being dragged along, one foot in and one out. Looking totally pro I might add...

I finally get the boat stopped and am told by the sarcastically grim smiling man that putting the centerboard down makes all the difference in the world with this boat.

So we do that and away we go. No further problems. Saw a bunch of sea turtles that would dive when we got within about 10 feet of them. Very cool. Not as cool as me, but hey. I managed not to hit anyone or anything else the remainder of the trip. Mel was not comfortable most of the trip. I am still not sure if it was the twitchy boat or my twitchy skills. I'll pretend it was the boat.