An Autumn Day on the Water
P/C Charles D. Hayne, S
It's a bright sunny day in early autumn as you step off the dock into your boat. The hectic pace hasn't allowed you any free time for almost two months. But, today is all yours. While you make preparations to cast off, the outlook for a quiet, carefree day on the water causes the work-a-day ballast to drop from your mind. The cares, worries, and responsibilities, which confront you every day slowly, begin to lose importance. Stress is loosening its hold on you as you cast off the lines and begin to maneuver your boat from the slip.
With just the foresail in place, you glide quietly, smoothly on the light breeze. The marina begins to give way to open water as you move out into the bay. You lay on more sail as the breeze freshens and the snap of the sails plays a staccato beat as they fill with air. They belly out and stiffen, causing the boat to surge ahead. You set a course and settle back while the sun blankets you with its warmth.
At last, you begin to relax and enjoy the undulating movement of the boat. Gulls are dancing a ballet around your masthead while the boat glides through the light chop. The rigging sings in the wind as you feel the vibrations of the water passing around the hull. Your craft comes alive in your hands as the vibrant, pulsing energy of the wind and the sea plunge your craft forward. As the bow knifes through the water, you are overwhelmed by a feeling of serenity to which little else can compare. You are master of a world into which nothing can intrude unless you allow it. You have become one with Nature, strong and free.
Cruising along, you put your mind on autopilot and let your thoughts wander through the pathways of happy memories. Your conscious mind responds only to the vagaries of the wind and the sailing of your boat. Your mind lingers from time-to-time to savor an especially poignant past moment that brings a smile to your face and crinkles the crow's feet around your eyes. Toil and strife fade into the deep recesses of your mind, as you travel peacefully, quietly through the pleasant valleys of days gone by.
After several hours, your reverie is broken by the squawk of your weather radio announcing that a front is moving in and you decide it would be prudent to head for home. As the squall line approaches, your boat races before the impending storm. All the skills you learned in the USPS education courses come to bear now as you retreat to the marina and safe harbor.
The storm breaks; the pelting rain and the increasing wind make your adrenaline flow as you use mind and body to maintain control of the craft. Soon, the danger passes and you are safe, sound and afloat; you rode out the storm. You maneuver your boat back into its slip and tie up. The body of the storm has passed, leaving just a light drizzle as a reminder of what could have been. The sun breaks through the clouds and the day begins to brighten as you finish your chores, get everything stowed and step onto the dock. Walking toward your car, you turn to take one last wistful look at the boat and then out into the bay. Shaking your head you mutter to yourself: "I've gotta make more time to take this boat out on the water."