Sailing

I love sailing. There's something that I adore about going at high speeds and having the wind rush through my hair. A sense of freedom, perhaps. I would imagine one would get the same feeling when on a motorbike, then again I wouldn't know anything about that. My father would rather me capsize than scrape half of my face off. Reasonable, I guess.
I have recently come back from a sailing holiday in Kos, Greece. My parents and I travelled with Mark Warner, which we previously voyaged with for our last sailing holiday two years before and with whom we have been impressed by.* Over the course of four days, I was continuously assessed whilst being taught my RYA Level 2.
Admittedly, the thought of being 'continuously assessed' does sound daunting. In actual fact, one doesn't even realise that you're being tested and before you know it, five days later you're collecting your certificate.


NB when sailing:

Capsizing;

• Don't be scared of capsizing. This is when the boat is overturned in the water and its crew (aka you) fall in.
• If you do capsize, let go of the side. You're going to get wet, so just face defeat. Also, if you hold onto the opposite side of your boat when it's capsized, you're likely to pill it entirely under. This is called 'turtling' and yes, I am speaking from personal experience. It caused such a kerfuffle that I felt like everyone hated me for the rest of the holiday.

Gybing:

• This is when a sailboat turns the stern of the boat up through the wind. Basically, just remember to duck down whenever this happens as if the maneuver is not controlled, the boom can swing across and either do some serious damage to your skull, or make the boat capsize. 

Stay with your boat:

• If you have the misfortune of capsizing, stay with your boat. A RIB is likely to come and check if you're okay, but their advice would probably be to 'swim back to your pico and put pressure on the dagger board until it rights itself'. One of their last resorts will be to hoist you up into their RIB and drive you over to your boat, but it is so damn hard to get into one without looking like a flipper-less seal so you should probably choose to stay with your boat. This is especially essential if the RIB driver is attractive - it's not a great turn on for them if they have to drag you up by your buoyancy aid as you splutter a mixture of sea water and saliva over them. 

*If you would like me to write an article on them, please comment below.