To play a pirate or to be a pirate
As any of my friends in SF will tell you, my SF friends really like pirates. It seems that SF in general really likes pirates (and not just the butt kind). Thanks to that piratephillic atmosphere, I too, have come to like pirates.
It is in that eyepatched spirit that I am remaining here in Airlie Beach to learn to sail. I have a long way to go, as the topics of plank building, booty burying and whoremongering still escape me. Nonetheless, I feel happy that I have taken the first step.
I found my instructor's card at the tourist info desk, and I was impressed by it's message. The rest of the sailing schools here in Airlie Beach are run by the tourist charters and spend as much time sightseeing as they do in education. Also, it is impossible to meet with the instruction staff, as you have to go through the tourist booking agents, who while very nice and pretty, don't know much about the actual course. Instead, the "Wind Skills Sailing School" card says this:
Serious instruction with a very healthy dose of anti-tourist snobbery? I love it. Awesome. I gave them a call.
On the line was "Lochie" who informed me that the "Sail Training Centre" was actually just him, and his "office" was actually his boat, docked at the Abel Point Marina, berth B14. I walked over there and knew I was in the right place. We chatted about the course and various logistics for about an hour. Based on talking to Lochie and other marina regulars, it became clear that the man is a local legend, both for his superb sailing skills and his beer-fueled good natured attitude.
The class doesn't start till Monday, so I've just been killing time here around Arilie Beach. Wednesday evening, Lochie invited me on board his boat, "Felicity," as a passenger for the twilight races. We sailed out into the harbor and met up with all the other local boats and had a great time racing around the triangle for a few hours. If you've never sailed before (like me), it's quite striking when the motor is turned off and the sails go up and suddenly you're moving, but quietly. A real pleasure.
After the races, we all went out to the Yacht Club and drank it up the the other skippers, crew and yachties. Lochie was starting my education early by giving me a lead on the social aspects of sailing, which, I've discovered, are paramount. Time on the boat is actually pretty chill as there's only work to be done when you change direction. The rest of the time is spent sipping a cold one and telling dirty jokes.
The real side benefit to all of this, as some of Lochie's former students have attested, is that with my "Competent Crew" certification from his course, any skipper would be happy to have me aboard as a volunteer to crew their boat (taking into account, of course, my enthusiasm and general affableness). After I get done with the class, for example, I can sign on as crew on one of the tourist boats and get a ride around the Whitsundays for free.
The rest of my time has been spent exploring the local area. Yesterday, I drove inland and spent the afternoon all alone at the picnic ground on the shore of massive Lake Proserpine, watching the birds and insects, reading and snacking and relaxing. Spent more energy than I though I would, I was blasted when I got back to town, checked into a new hostel (BBtB was full up), shared a beer with my roommate Johannes, ate dinner and was sleeping by 11.
This morning, I got up early, had brekky and visited the Queensland Parks office. Got a wilderness permit to drive around in the state forests west of here and I'm headed out there now to do some walking and camp for the night.
I just have to rememeber to buy a lighter before I go-- my pasta dinner will be a little crunchy if I don't.
It is in that eyepatched spirit that I am remaining here in Airlie Beach to learn to sail. I have a long way to go, as the topics of plank building, booty burying and whoremongering still escape me. Nonetheless, I feel happy that I have taken the first step.
I found my instructor's card at the tourist info desk, and I was impressed by it's message. The rest of the sailing schools here in Airlie Beach are run by the tourist charters and spend as much time sightseeing as they do in education. Also, it is impossible to meet with the instruction staff, as you have to go through the tourist booking agents, who while very nice and pretty, don't know much about the actual course. Instead, the "Wind Skills Sailing School" card says this:
"Wind Skills is a Sail Training Centre. We do not include paying tourist passengers with students, nor do we visit popular tourist destinations as part of the course. Tourism combined with Sail Training downgrades valuable instruction time and reduces the certificate to having little worth.
Your choice is basically whether you want to learn how to sail and are serious about it or whether you wish to receive a certificate but never have the confidence to use it"
Your choice is basically whether you want to learn how to sail and are serious about it or whether you wish to receive a certificate but never have the confidence to use it"
Serious instruction with a very healthy dose of anti-tourist snobbery? I love it. Awesome. I gave them a call.
On the line was "Lochie" who informed me that the "Sail Training Centre" was actually just him, and his "office" was actually his boat, docked at the Abel Point Marina, berth B14. I walked over there and knew I was in the right place. We chatted about the course and various logistics for about an hour. Based on talking to Lochie and other marina regulars, it became clear that the man is a local legend, both for his superb sailing skills and his beer-fueled good natured attitude.
The class doesn't start till Monday, so I've just been killing time here around Arilie Beach. Wednesday evening, Lochie invited me on board his boat, "Felicity," as a passenger for the twilight races. We sailed out into the harbor and met up with all the other local boats and had a great time racing around the triangle for a few hours. If you've never sailed before (like me), it's quite striking when the motor is turned off and the sails go up and suddenly you're moving, but quietly. A real pleasure.
After the races, we all went out to the Yacht Club and drank it up the the other skippers, crew and yachties. Lochie was starting my education early by giving me a lead on the social aspects of sailing, which, I've discovered, are paramount. Time on the boat is actually pretty chill as there's only work to be done when you change direction. The rest of the time is spent sipping a cold one and telling dirty jokes.
The real side benefit to all of this, as some of Lochie's former students have attested, is that with my "Competent Crew" certification from his course, any skipper would be happy to have me aboard as a volunteer to crew their boat (taking into account, of course, my enthusiasm and general affableness). After I get done with the class, for example, I can sign on as crew on one of the tourist boats and get a ride around the Whitsundays for free.
The rest of my time has been spent exploring the local area. Yesterday, I drove inland and spent the afternoon all alone at the picnic ground on the shore of massive Lake Proserpine, watching the birds and insects, reading and snacking and relaxing. Spent more energy than I though I would, I was blasted when I got back to town, checked into a new hostel (BBtB was full up), shared a beer with my roommate Johannes, ate dinner and was sleeping by 11.
This morning, I got up early, had brekky and visited the Queensland Parks office. Got a wilderness permit to drive around in the state forests west of here and I'm headed out there now to do some walking and camp for the night.
I just have to rememeber to buy a lighter before I go-- my pasta dinner will be a little crunchy if I don't.
posted by Scottley at 6:49 PM
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