A SAILOR’S RAPTURE

Exponential enhancement of elation, experienced on a windward tack, will never be known, by those timid souls, counted in that landlubber pack. A freshening breeze, elevates the spirit, to towering heights untold. The mind and spirit, join the wind, as they bond indelibly in the soul. With rigging tightening, can be a little frightening, as you continue pinching the wind. That love of nature, captivates the sailor, like the grasp of a becket’s bend. As wave intensities increase, it forces a brief, slight fall off to leeward. With mainsail reefed, sailors know well, to quarter oncoming swells from seaward. Ah, but let me tell, how it all casts a spell, that capturing of nature’s power, enthralls the avid sailor, and elation never wavers, for hour upon wonderful hour. Yet within those hours, those happy hours, the sailor knows quite well, that sea so loved, with storm clouds above, can become a tempestuous hell. Enthralling and memorable, as it truly is, to enjoy that windward tack, the sailors toast, enjoyed by most, is: “May the wind be always at your back.”

—bill schneider