The rest of the love story

There could be all kinds of stories behind the photo from my last post. I freely admit having a crazy love affair with my house, Seattle, the Pacific Northwest, and the West in general, but this is different.
Two weeks ago, I was pressed into not-quite-emergency service as a chaperone to Her SeaScout crew for their Long Cruise. Long Cruise is a two week sail that has been a tradition for this group since the beginning and is a test of skill, self-reliance, patience and tolerance. I had never been on a sailboat before, never been out on a boat overnight before, have a goosey digestive system, and only knew one crew member--the one most likely to throw me overboard if she had the chance and a discussion of hair dye came up again.
Well, it was a raging success from my point of view. Sailing reminds me a bit of backpacking on water and the wooden boat we were on speaks to my love of lost skill and antiquated technology. I was pleased to recognize in the captain the same twitchiness for getting away from land that I get for getting out of town. We went places I had never seen before and would never have the chance via car or foot. The kids were amazing. There were moments of 14-year-old-wtf when I wanted to smack them, but when they were focused and working together, they had a precision and intiution that was impressive in such a young crowd. If this is our future, we might just be ok.
One thing that became painfully obvious is that, while the concepts of sailing are not difficult, the details provide a lifetime of study. To that end, I have signed up for a round of classes beginning (sigh...) in November. In the mean time, cue Josephine Baker:
J'ai deux amours...