Last Practice

I know I'm going to miss racing the Megabyte. It's a great boat after all, and the competition is always good. But I also can't help feel a near euphoria as the Megabyte era draws to an end. With one last regatta just days away, I went out mid-week for one last practice session. Practice is good. Better than simply "day sailing" in many ways. Practice is purposeful. It makes perfect sense to tack sixty times in an hour if that's what you're working on. Capsize the boat on purpose? Sure, if that what it takes to eliminate the fear of doing it accidentally. And, where you go only matters relative to how it supports your particular training objectives that day. Well, this day I didn't tack sixty times, flip, or go to my usual venue. Instead, I just sailed hard on the wind on The Bay working the boat around, over, and sometime through the chop. A deep meditative breath, a face full of spray, and a minute or two to lock in the rhythm soon had me hollering out loud. "Whooop whooop whooop, %$*# yeah, this is sailing!"

I'll be back at this spot Saturday noon ready for whatever The Bay serves up. Two days of racing--the purpose for the last day of practice.