learn to sail

Before I was born, my dad (he was about 15) and his friend used to sail in competitions. He absolutely LOVED it. It was funny, because my dad was always very skinny. He and his friend won the finals in their country and then started to enter international olypic competition in Canada. The competition was based on ages and craft sizes. (They were living in Europe at the time.) My dad had to “fatten up” to meet the weight requirements. (If and when the boat would flip over, the 2 teammates would have to lean over on one side and use their weight to prop the boat back upright.) My Dad’s mom made him lay on the couch all week and fed him really fattening foods – he made it just over the minimum limit and they were signed up…. and then his friend backed out, because his father decided to take him to Western Europe for a vacation (they had money) Anyways, that was the end of that. My dad did not have the money back then to have his own boat and supplies, plus he could only go with his teammate – since they qualified for it as a team. So he gave up on it. But the sparkle of whenever I mention something about water is still in his eyes. We took scuba classes together and had a blast. What better way to go scuba diving than from wherever you want to go!? One day, I want to have my own yacht. I don’t care if it’s an old, falling apart one. I would like to restore it. It would mean even more to me then. So. Now I’m about 2 classes shy of being a master scuba diver. (Same with my dad and my boyfriend.) So, what better way to compliment all our efforts? – I just have to find a place in Tennessee that teaches sailing. I know my dad could teach us as well, but I think the three of us would agree that a good certified instructor would be the best way to go. My boyfriend bought me a book fro Christmas – a book on knots (because of my rock climbing) and it had boating knots in it too! When I showed my dad, there went that sparkle in his eye again. So. That’s that!