Swiftsure II
I realize that writing this post three weeks after the fact does not give it the breathless immediacy it deserves, but the penalty for taking four days off was three solid weeks of work. Luckily, I'm off one job for the summer.
So, Swiftsure is a yacht race in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, leaving from Victoria, BC. We sailed overnight to get there, rested a day, raced (poorly) a day, and returned home over two days.

Take a look at this picture:

I did not take this picture, nor is it of the boat on which I was, but it is an excellent illustration of what sailing hard looks like. See how far over it is tipped? Intellectually, we all know that this will make daily duties (like making sandwiches or using the head) much more difficult. It is hard to explain, however, how nearly impossible these duties become, because there are no flat surfaces on which to set anything. Or to walk on. Learning experience indeed.
That said, this was the most intense, real-life, no-shit sailing I have ever done. I have now buried the rail on the boat and recovered. And while it was scary at the time, She and I agree that we can't wait to be able to do it again.