How To Date The Crew

So over the years I've crewed on a bunch of different boats.  Some only once & others for a few different races or as a semi-regular on Wednesday nights.  And now I have a regular ride on Bump...which is great--I like having a home.  I think I have a new spin on crewing--it's a hell of a lot like dating--how?  Well let me tell ya'.  I used to write a lot about my 50 first dates & how I kissed a lot of frogs until Xing Fu became my Frog Prince.  I think finding the right boat to call home is a lot like that.  I've spent a few years "trying out" a bunch of boats--50 first crews?  

I don't like skippers who yell a lot or who verbally bash their crew & I've seen it & been put through it.  If sailing is supposed to be fun, who the fuck needs that??  I also don't enjoy being put on the rail for the entire race as ballast--I need a job--I may not be the most experienced racer out there (Xing Fu is miles & miles better than me), but I do know how to sail, been doing it all my life, just not racing, & I can trim jib or do pole on down wind legs if I'm not regular crew.  I wouldn't ever dream of taking the job of a regular, but don't have me sit & do nothing except get bashed up diving across the deck during the tacks.  To me, that just ain't fun.  

What I've learned is that when you find "the one", it just doesn't matter that you get banged up crossing the cabin top--and I may hurl myself across even faster because I want us to do better.  That's how I felt last night during the Wednesday night race.  In fact, the first time I crewed on Bump for the first race of the Wednesday night series on the West River, I felt that tingle--that these people were fun to be with & that I fit right in, uh-oh...And I stayed with them & now I look forward to being with them both on & off the water.  It is a good fit & it took a little while---I'll never forget the "infamous tiller" on another boat I crewed with for a few races...ah, the stories...anyway.

Last weekend I'd taken a guest spot on another boat for NOODs.  It just wasn't a good fit & if, when Sunday rolled around,  and my head & heart weren't in it & I questioned why I love sailing--then there's a problem.  And, watching Bump's transom in front of me is a bright spot during the racing...and that I don't freakin' care if I get an Annapolis NOOD red hat....you see what I mean.  So, when I arrived yesterday to climb aboard my regular ride, I was just so happy to see everyone.  These are the folks that I want to be with--a little yelling sometimes doesn't bother me because I know that they appreciate my contribution--and I do have one.  And also, if I have to ride the rail sometimes, I don't mind because I know that when the down wind leg arrives, I'll be on--that's when I'm busy & I want to do it well.  I look forward to the challenges & I can't hide my smile because it is just an easy fit--just like finding the right guy.  Yeah, we don't always see eye-to-eye, but we have fun--and that's what it's all about.  And beating the boat I was on on Sunday doesn't hurt either.

Bump....Comes To Annapolis

What a wild ride last night!  It was the opening race for the Wednesday Night Series in Annapolis & the winds were pretty intense--gonna say at least 25 knots sustained, 35 knot gusts, with threats of thunderstorms & a tornado watch.  Call me crazy--hells yeah--with about 60 other boats!  Actually, that was what was so jaw-dropping to me. I had never been out for a Wednesday in Annapolis--only White Rocks with my grandfather & the West River.  The West River has a lot of boats but holy crap, Batman! Annapolis was insane!  Just getting ready for the first race & getting the watch set with the guns from the RC, I had an opportunity as did the rest of the crew to really take it all in--I think most of us hadn't realized how many folk were out there along with t2p.tv & Spinsheet taking pics & video--it is a big-ass deal.  And here we were, up from Pirate's Cove, competing with the rest of the J-30 fleet--adrenaline rush! 

We worked our asses off & didn't even fly the kite.  At one point we dumped the main & were only using the number 3 jib & we still were able to clock 7 knots on the tacktik...crazy!  And we didn't finish last--WOOHOO!  I gotta say, it was a rush!  And, as we were rounding a mark, up comes a J-105 who attempted to squeeze us out--my skipper is yelling at the other skipper to hold his course--at first I thought he was ignoring us, & then she got a bit more insistent--we all had to laugh--"Bump... comes to Annapolis!"  Welcome!  And fireworks too (a huge lightening storm overhead as we crossed the finish)!  Great to be with my crew & back on my boat--I will miss them at NOODs, sailing instead on another J30--competition.  But, as always, looking forward to the rest of the season, flying out of Annapolis.


Check out t2p.tv   http://www.t2p.tv/index.php  They usually broadcast the Wednesday Night Races & there may be a glimpse of us there or on Spin Sheet  http://www.spinsheet.com/  I am posting a picture taken by Spin Sheet last year during the Miles River Race.  Very light air--NOT like last night.