Chinese Version
08-23-2021，Monday，Cloudy during the day，Rain in the morning and evening

Tropical storm Henri from Florida did not sweep greater Boston as expected on Sunday, but we still experienced a heavy rain and strong wind howling on Sunday morning. The plan to sail on the Charles River with my college roommates on Sunday afternoon was also cancelled.

On Monday afternoon, although the weather forecasted 100% heavy rain at 5 PM, my daughter and I arrived at the MIT Sailing Pavilion in Cambridge at 5 PM, looking forward to sailing for the first time.

Under the overcast sky and in the ticking rain, there were only two or three small sailing boats on the Charles River between Longfellow Bridge and Harvard Bridge docked one after another. Looking at the empty River, Skipper Alex asked, “Do you want to sail now?”

My daughter and I like rainy days so we replied immediately “Of course!”

I also added: “Today’s rain is much smaller the rain we encountered on Thursday.”

The skipper said, “The catboat we are sailing is very safe. You can walk freely on board after we sail out.”

We put on life jackets and stood on the shore to watch the skipper skillfully take the sail cover off and raise the sail. We boarded the catboat in the rain. After listening to the skipper’s safety instructions, we watched him steer and sail very closely. I thought of “Blowing by the wind”. It seems that “blowing by the wind” on a sailing catboat floating on the water is completely different from “blowing by the wind” on a speedy convertible driving on the road. A sailing catboat made “blowing by the wind” more gentle and romantic than a speedy convertible did.

Today, the skipper taught us the basic essentials of steering: the skipper always sits opposite of the sail. If the sail is on the right side of the boat, the skipper sits on the left side of the boat. If you want to turn the boat to the right, you can turn the rudder to the left. To make a tack turn on the catboat, you should push the rudder to the opposite direction completely and hold the position firmly for sometime, in the meantime remembering to lower your head to avoid being hit by the swinging sail mast.

On my first time sailing, I got the chance to be a skipper. Manipulating “the wind and the waves” brought me a unique powerful feeling. When the boat sailed to Longfellow Bridge, I steered in the direction of the golden roof near Boston Common. As the boat headed for Harvard Bridge, I steered in the direction of the Citgo sign.

The skipper also said, “When the wind is not strong, I can loosen the sail and let the catboat slowly float on the water, then I can relax on the catboat, or even lie on the bench a little and gaze into the sky.” This sounded very tempting. While gazing at the gray and empty river on the smooth sailing boat, “meaningful” and “happy”, two words I often thought about recently came to my mind. Is sailing in the rain a meaningful thing or a happy thing? It is meaningful to take the helm of the first voyage, because I collected another first time life experience. It’s also happy to be at the helm, because I felt the magical “the wind and the waves” controlling the catboat by steering the rudder.

Little Episodes

1. Longfellow Bridge and the golden roof

2. Harvard Bridge, the Citgo sign, and a young man flipping a capsized boat

3. A lone catboat on the Charles river and a new sailor on the catboat.

4. Thursday’s heavy storm

5. 2021-04-25
First time watching skipper Alex sailing

6. Captain vs. Skipper
When used as nouns, captain means a chief or leader, whereas skipper means the master of a ship.
When used as verbs, captain means to act as captain, whereas skipper means to captain a ship or a sports team.