Why am I here?- Converted Landlubber's Confessions
The waves are large, the swell is lumpy, the wind strong, I feel slightly scared and quite sick, and even though I know I should eat and drink I cannot make the effort to prepare anything. The Captain seems no more inclined to go below than I do and we have finished all the 'easy' food.
'What am I doing here?'
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Penny and David Kerr sail Pastime with the Coastal Cruising Club, and here Penny writes of her own particular seven step formula for turning dreaded sailing journeys into joyous adventures:
Have you ever asked yourself why you agreed to venture offshore yet again, despite your promises to yourself last time that you would neveragain leave the safety of closed waters? Is it like childbirth where you forget the details in the euphoria of the outcome? This question has come into my mind frequently when comfort is at a minimum and there is no immediate relief in sight.
After our last seven day trip I believe I might have a positive answer to this question: I have finally discovered the joy of sailing. 
Until then, I had enjoyed the destinations, the cruising way of life, the chance to visit people from different cultures in their own environments, the simplicity of the life style. The coming and going to each country was a necessary hurdle to be endured. Finally on this last trip something clicked.
It is probably little wonder that my conversion has been slow. David and I began our sailing career on a lake with a Heron. Our average speed in a very heavy old wooden boat was about half a knot. Needless to say this suited me but not Dave, so we moved up to a Lightweight Sharpie, a very fast three- man centre- board boat, with a narrow beam and a large amount of sail. All this adds up to 'very unstable' and so it proved on our first outing when a line squall hit the Lake and we tipped over. My vivid memory is of David and our third crew member righting the boat and climbing on board, calling as they sailed into the distance 'We'll be back for you'. They weren't, so I was rescued by a police boat, still clutching my spectacles.
We did improve as a crew and sailed competitively on the Lake, with me as mainsheet hand getting very good at adjusting my position according to the wind. If I stayed out too long, the boat would tip over. David was a very competitive and aggressive helmsman and for me the pre-race jostling was a nightmare as we passed at speed within inches of other boats.
Wind forward 20 years to my introduction to Pastime . It took me many hours of sailing to re- train my ref
Maroochy River, QLD
