Better Places 

Really enjoyed your program, this entry is true, your class was life-changing. I'm now part of a fractional ownership program up here in Chicago, taking out a 42' Jeanneau every week and having a the time of my life!

I’m in control.

It should be scary...a 42 foot boat stretching out in front of me with a billboard of fabric looming over my head that is working in determined cooperation with the wind to propel me to a place of its choosing...but I’m in control. I’m responsible for it all. I harness the power of the wind, and glide through the waves, steady on course, with a warm breeze hitting my face. I find it’s not fear I feel. It’s...exhilaration, power, control.

Did I really get to this point with just one week of sailing school? How could I have gone so quickly from a hapless Sunfish sailor to a certified skipper confidently maneuvering a yacht as valuable as my house? The thought was overwhelming at first (I’m really going to know what all of those ropes are for?) but they said I’d do fine and I did. They taught me how to sail but now, to my surprise, sailing teaches me.

I’ve learned that each day of sailing is like life’s journey in miniature. There will be headwinds, stormy seas, inertia and times when I’m in the perfect groove. I may find myself in places I have never been and my strengths and weaknesses will be exposed in stark relief. Out on the water there will be joys, challenges and moments of pure bliss, just as in life. And just as in life, I must keep it all in balance, steady on the course and as much as possible, under my control.

As I make my way back towards land, I’ll review life’s lesson on the water that day and look forward to my fresh “life” tomorrow, improved. Anchored there in a quiet bay, surrounded by nature, bathed in the orange light of the setting sun, I know that sailing takes me to a better place.

David Nelson
Wheaton, IL
dknelsoniphone@gmail.com

David Nelson took the Offshore Sailing School Fast Track to Cruising course
in March 2011 at South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, Florida

Read the eight place story here!