Chapter Six - Sailing the Seas - Seattle Marina
I arrive at the marina in my new Lexus LS430… a premium car, projecting the image of my business success… before my guests and park in the lot. A ramp from a platform on shore, smoothly follows the changing tides to give access to a tree of floating docks with mooring slips on either side.
There are boats of all descriptions. Small skiffs, center console fishing boats… family cabin cruisers… larger, long range power boats. And sailing boats… well, you can fish from a sail boat but it's really difficult as they are just not set up for it with all the lines and rigging to snag a fishhook.
Sail boats, so many types and styles. Moved primarily by wind power, sail boats are at once more aerodynamic and hydrodynamic… above and below the waterline. The hull is designed first to be easily moved by the limited wind power and then what ever accommodations that can be made to fit. There are sleek racing sailboats built for speed… with their cramped crew quarters. Dual purpose family cruising / weekend racing boats with limited but more complete quarters. In any case, boating shares the space restraint of camping… people had better be good friends because of the inherent crowding.
My dad, Carrick, has his twin diesel engine cabin cruiser, a runabout for fishing and a nineteen foot O'Day sloop that we all learned to sail as kids. Since their home is on the water, they are moored at their home on their private piers.
Today we'll be taking my 'Cal Forty' sloop out. Since I purchased her, I've had her completely restored and updated inside and out. I'll be glad to show her off to my family. An auxiliary sloop, she has a small motor for getting in and out of harbors. The thought makes me smile… Carrick had a pair of canoe paddles on the O'Day with "Aux. Power" painted on them… Yes, there were times Elliot and I were out so late that the falling wind at dusk had left us paddling home. Dad could have come and towed us home with a power boat but we were in no danger. I'm sure mom & dad could see us with binoculars but they let us spread our wings. Only by risking failure can you taste the thrill of victory.
Mia learned to sail as a matter of course and crewed with a young boy in Yacht Club regattas. Everybody thought they might become a couple but they went their separate ways at Summer's end so I think they were just two friends who like to beat the pants off others in the races.
I adjust the spring lines so the Grace (note 2) lies closer to the dock for my guests to board easily. I slide the main hatch cover open enough to lift the teak slats out of the companionway and stow them in a locker. While I'm there, I empty my pockets of keys, wallet, phone into a drawer in the cabin... this drawer, like all the drawers on board, have to be lifted slightly to open, otherwise when the boat heels, the drawers fly open, likely depositing the contents onto the cabin sole.
Elliot arrives next in his ratty old Chevy work truck with his faded magnetic sign "Grey Construction" on the door. I'm going to have to talk to him about his Business Image. I resolve to invite him over some night this week… some night other than Friday. I'll lure him with the chance to beat me at games or maybe pool… he's a sucker for free beer.
Elliot has a girl with him I've never seen before. How he can get girls to ride in that rust bucket is beyond me. She's a brunette with her hair in a ponytail, suitable for outdoor activities.
Elliot introduces her…
"Christian, Debbie… Debbie, my brother, Christian." I bristle at the implied familiarity of the introduction. I really dislike non-family members using my given name. There's nothing I can do about it.
"Welcome aboard," I tell her. I zip my lip… I really wish Elliot would check with me before inviting guests. Secretly I envy his easy connection with women.
Elliot goes below, she hands him her canvas bag with what must be her initials in signal flags. The nautical themed bag is not a definitive sign of a sailor… it's possibly a designer piece. She follows his lead, turning around to descend the companionway ladder. A lot of non-sailors are thrown by this simple necessity, so maybe she has a clue. They emerge on deck shortly, I hope they stored their valuables safely below.
Elliot learned that lesson as a sixteen year old when he made it onto Dad's cabin cruiser but his wallet with his newly minted driver's license didn't.
His date has changed… she has on shorts and what appears to be a bikini top under an unbuttoned white shirt tied in a knot, showing a sliver of mid-riff.
"Elliot. You and… "
"Debbie…" he reminds.
"want to go ahead and get the sail cover off?"
Debbie follows Elliot up the port side deck to the mast where he steps up on the cabin top. The cabin top has a lot of curve so no matter how much the boat heals, it will shed water… it's not slippery with a non-skid pattern molded in but it's not a normal place to be walking around.
"Help me unlace the sail cover… watch your step."
Elliot has undone the ties on the heavy Dacron sail cover where it laces around the front of the mast.
"Christian!" Elliot calls out, "so this is the new jibe preventer?" Elliot looks it over.
"Yes, though I think it's more of a brake. Not like a simple rope to a chain plate."
"Sure isn't."
Elliot and Debbie continue down opposite sides of the boom to the cabin edge rolling up the sail cover as they go. Elliot stands on the cockpit benches to free the last lashing hooks and Deb finishes rolling it. They work well together. Knowing Elliot's trail of broken hearts, I wonder how long Debbie will last.
The mainsail is still held on the boom by several wide Dacron ties. The Genoa jib has roller furling so it's ready to go from its furled mode.
Mom and Dad arrive with our little sister Mia… followed by Lily and her mom, Ashley. Lily, a gorgeous and buxom blonde, like her mother, carries herself with an air of entitlement. Mia's friend since kindergarten… Elliot and I have endured Lily at seemingly endless play dates, sleepovers and with assorted other big brother indignities. Lily is also under some mistaken impression that by hanging with my sister… that through some magic, I'll suddenly become interested in her. That is just not happening! Like Mia, she's a Senior in High School… oh, yes, and best not forget, she's still a minor.
She's Mia's friend so I plaster as much of a fake smile on my face as I can muster. Ashley is a social climber who always has an angle. Grace gives me the eye… indicating I should be nice to Mia's friend and her mother. When am I not?
Mia has run down the dock with Lily in pursuit, jumping onboard without hesitation; throws her arms around my neck in an exaggerated hug just to prove she can, while Lily stands there acting odd. I wonder what Lily is thinking… Probably wishing she dared to do that… I am NOT letting her get that close to me. The thought of it makes my skin crawl.
Dad helps Grace on board then Ashley. Dad then passes an honest to goodness split wood picnic basket up and a couple of canvas totes up to them. As soon as everyone's on board, everything starts happening at once. I start the auxiliary engine. I can barely hear the motor's soft purr, accented by the regular spurs of cooling water from the wet exhaust.
Mom and Ashley have gone to the galley to store the lunch fixings they brought. Mia and Lily, thick as thieves, have disappeared somewhere below deck too.
"Lelliot, cast off?" I ask.
"Debbie, will you help me?"
"Sure."
"Go up on the bow…" he points forward. "I'll untie the lines from the dock and you pull them on board."
Elliot jumps down on the dock, uncleats the dock lines and Debbie pulls them on board without letting them hit the water. Well done!
Elliot easily steps on board by the stays, stepping over the lifelines. I take the wheel, steering the Grace II out of her berth… before the wind can get her.
Mia and Lily come up from below… wearing bikinis. Mia's top is pretty copper color with cut off jean short shorts… yeah, legs. Lily's scoop neck designer top in Jade green seems modest until she moves around… the fabric barely contains her breasts. She's standing in front of the companionway… directly in my line of sight. The bottom isn't a thong, thank heavens, but still she puts on a cheeky display. Lily bends and twists showing off her barely covered body from every angle like she's on some fashion runway nearly banging her head on the boom. I stifle a snicker. I'm focused on steering my boat in the tight confines of the marina… so I'm constantly looking all around, ignoring the display in front of me. From somewhere behind me, Mia says "Nice suit!"
It's like Lily's trying… way too hard… to be noticed. They are not lounging on some beach. I do hope her body parts don't make an 'unplanned' appearance. Perhaps I'm mistaken. Am I misjudging her intentions? Perhaps it's all innocent? I could care less what they wear but once we get out in the wind… they are going to want more clothes. I smile inwardly.
Ashley and then Mom come up the companionway on deck. Ashley is wearing tan cargo shorts with a stylish halter tankini top with a blown out hair do. She looks like she stepped out of the glossy pages of a high end magazine… that look won't last long in the Sun and wind.
Once we're away from the docks, I get a better sense of the wind. It's moderate but steady a good day for sailing.
"Elliot, you're a really good deck-hand!" I kid him, as he stows the coiled dock lines in a cockpit locker.
"Ready for the mainsail?" I ask. Elliot nods.
I head the boat into the wind so the sail guides won't bind in the track. Carrick loosens the main sheet while Elliot and Debbie go forward. First they remove the sail ties and Debbie passes them to Mia in the cockpit. The sail spills free covering the cabin top and blocking my view… I stand to the Starboard side so I can watch for other boats. Elliot begins cranking the halyard winch. Soon the mainsail is fully up, flapping wildly in the breeze. I fall off the wind on Port tack as Carrick sheets in the sail.
Moving under sail power now, I shut down the engine… the noise ceases. There is only the sound of the wind in the rigging and the soft lap of waves against the hull. It's a song as old as the sea. I love it.
Dad cleats off the main sheet close hauled on the wind and approaches me at the wheel…
"Christian?" I know he's offering to take the helm. He taught us to sail… in much smaller boats… he knows what to do.
"Sure, Dad… take the helm for me."
Before we deploy the jib, as the owner and master of the vessel, I need to explain to and caution the guests… of unknown sailing experience.
"Everyone, listen up! We have guests on board. Watch your head on the boom… The sails are quite powerful. Way more powerful than a person can hold by hand. Any line we need to pull, gets snubbed on a winch. The ropes always wind on clockwise."
Elliot demonstrates.
"Beyond the winch the rope's tail gets cleated off. To release them, we ease the rope toward the winch. Keep your hands, fingers and feet out of the ropes at all times. There's enough power there to crush hands and fingers."
I look at Elliot. I wonder if he is thinking the same things I am. A couple of years ago, we raced with other boats to a distant harbor. As soon as we were anchored, the boats on either side of us sent people up the mast on Bosun's chairs, winched aloft on their spare jib halyards. On the first boat they retrieved the top ten feet of a blown out spinnaker… a very expensive event.
On the second boat there was something tangled in a halyard at the masthead but we couldn't make out what it was. We even tried with binoculars. They saw us looking and satisfied our curiosity after it was retrieved. The object turned out to be a boat shoe previously worn by a crew member who only just managed to avoid getting hauled aloft themselves, only because the shoe came off. A very lucky crew member we reasoned.
Our Genoa is equipped with "roller furling" so it is wound around a special head stay. Grace smoothly feeds the furling line as Elliot opens the sail… which begins flapping wildly in the wind. He wraps the jib sheet four times around the winch and with a whir of the ratchet, the sail is taut, filling with the breeze. A few final hefts on the winch handle trims the sail perfectly. We pick up speed dramatically and begin to heel. Lily's Mom… looks a little green around the gills… obviously uncomfortable with the boat heeling.
"Sail boats only move if they have wind… They are to designed to tip. It's called heeling. If the boat's not tipping, we're not moving! You have to learn to walk on the tilted deck… and sit braced. It's better if you sit on the high side. Every time we tack across the wind, we change sides. Don't worry, we'll warn you, ahead of time."
Grace scoops Ashley into a comfortable spot on the high side, at the front of the cockpit.
"Elliot, be my look-out, please?" It's an important job… being the helmsman's second eyes.
"Sure."
Elliot and Debbie are happily sitting on the lee side chatting… like they are on a date. While Debbie is angled aft, Elliot is sitting so he has a good view behind the deck sweeping Genoa jib. On the "Port tack" we 'only' have to yield right-of-way to sailing vessels on the Starboard tack but even that is not an absolute right. Large ships which can't maneuver outside a channel take precedence and even if they didn't, it's just smart to stay clear. The saying "tonnage has the right of way" may not always be legally true but IS as a practical matter. Boats at anchor… fisherman drift fishing… not underway must be avoided too. We see some cabin cruisers anchored near the shore. They could be fishing or just enjoying a quiet lunch. We're good. Our course is well clear of them.
Mia has put on a zip front sweat shirt… Lily has a matching beach lounge cover up on… it's stylish, provides sun protection but it's not warm and its loose flapping is a potential hazard with all the ropes and rigging… If the thin fabric catches on something, I think it will tear away to release her.
Twenty minutes later we are well out of the harbor. We are not near any shore but if we tack here it will give us a good course. Grace has loaned Lily a sweatshirt.
"Prepare to come about!"
"Dad, will you let go the jib sheet?"
"Elliot, you're on the other sheet."
Carrick replaces Elliot at the lee side; Elliot & Debbie move across the cockpit. Everybody stands ready.
"Ready!" After a silent three count... "Coming about!" I call out. As I turn the helm, the bow heads into the wind, the jib loses its air, the sheet going slack. Carrick, times releasing his jib sheet perfectly. With a whir of the winch pawls, Elliot hauls furiously on the opposite jib sheet as the sail changes sides, cranking the last few feet of line as I straighten the wheel, steady on our Starboard tack. Debbie was at Elliot's elbow tailing the jib sheet. Well done! She's impressing me as a sailor.
"It's like a delicate dance, a ballet, when everything goes right."
We're not racing and I deliberately didn't turn as sharp as possible, giving a few extra seconds but there was no need and we had plenty of way on.
The main sheet doesn't need adjusting between tacks, just changing sides on the traveler with a bit of a thud. Mia has managed to keep Lily from getting any body parts in the way of moving objects. Once the tack is complete, Grace moves Ashley across to what is now the high side of the cockpit.
"You see sailboats can't sail straight into the wind. It's just impossible… the wind would just push us backwards. To get to windward we must tack in zig-zags diagonally across the wind. The shape of the sails actually creates lift like an airplane wing so tack by tack we sail toward the wind." Carrick explains to Ashley.
The fore deck is quite windy and uncomfortable but here in the cockpit, the cabin shelters us from the wind. The wind rushes past our sails and we leave the hissing sea in our wake.
"Mom, we're going to be on this tack a while. Do you want to bring up the lunches?"
"Sounds good."
Grace… and Ashley… go below and offer sub sandwiches to everyone. From my place at the wheel, I can see Ashley moving wobbly, grabbing the galley counters. Everything must be kept secured while underway. There are raised wooden moldings on the counters so lunches don't go on the cabin sole. Our sub sandwiches, ham & cheese, turkey & cheese with all the fixings are made to order and passed up to the cockpit. Water and soft drinks in individual containers are passed around. I won't allow alcohol consumption while we are underway. We take turns at the helm so everyone can eat. Mia and Lily share a turn at the helm under dad's watchful eye… Mia is a good small boat sailor but she has little experience on this, much bigger, boat and Mia's distracted by her friend and a distracted error could get people hurt. I pretend to be looking for our waypoint, so I can avoid looking at Lily's butt which is again prominently on display.
We make a couple more tacks.
We tack again off Shilshole Bay North of Discovery Park headed West North West towards Port Madison Bay. The wind direction changes as it wraps around the land forcing us to change course.
"Are you going to put up the spinnaker?"
The spinnaker would have the old girl flying but we don't have a well oiled racing crew on board today… we have as many guests as sea dogs today.
"Mia, are you up for the spinnaker?"
"Yes, that will be fun!" she says enthusiastically.
"Okay then. Let's put the spinnaker up after the next turn… we can make a long run and carry it on the way back. Yes, we'll do that."… "Go ahead & you can help Elliot start rigging it."
Elliot goes below… to stage the sail in a launching tube in the forward hatch… which he leaves closed for now. They rig the spinnaker sheets to snatch blocks near the transom and lead the halyard back to a winch on the cabin top. The spinnaker pole, lift and down haul are all made ready…
"Prepare to come about. Trim the sails!" We're approaching Port Madison Bay. We come about onto Port tack.
"Ease the sheets, we'll run before the wind."
"Elliot hook up the spinnaker; Mia are you ready?"
As soon as Elliot's back in the cockpit, he hoists the spinnaker… its limp in the lee of the other sails. Elliot and Debbie haul on the guy while Dad tails for Mia on the sheet and the spinnaker opens with a woosh of the light nylon sail. The Grace surges forward.
"Furl the jib." Dad eases the jib sheet off while Grace pulls the small furling line. Lily's been seen more than heard through most of our sail changes… we've had to move her out of the way a few times as different procedures needed to be done.
Once we are settled on course, I have Elliot lock down the new jibe preventer. This is his first time with it since its part of the Grace's refurbishment and equipment upgrades.
"Elliot, exactly what does that do?" Debbie asks.
"It's a safety devise. A wind shift, getting off course or a roll in a sea might cause an unplanned jibe… you know, when the wind gets behind the mainsail and throws the boom violently across the boat. It's hazardous in a small boat but in a big boat it becomes even more dangerous. Not only is there the hazard of getting hit by the boom, vessels have been dismasted or even sunk by a jibe gone wrong."
"Yes, I know a jibe. It gives a whole new perspective in a big boat. It's not a Sunfish."
"No, it's sure not a Sunfish." Sunfish are a fun "bathing suit boats", perhaps Debbie has sailed one.
Elliot and Debbie take over for me at the helm.
"You see the compass mounted in the binnacle in front of you. We want to keep this heading about eighty five degrees. It's a magnetic heading so it's off some fifteen degrees from true directions. But we sail by wind in the sails. If the wind shifts we must follow it or adjust the sails to avoid that jibe scenario."
"Got it."
"See pendant at the masthead, and the small tell-tails on the stays… and watch the extreme edge of the spinnaker… if the wind gets too far around the edge of the chute will start to quiver. That's a warning. If the wind gets behind that edge, the spinny will collapse." Elliot coaches her.
"That's a lot of things to watch…"
"You'll do fine. You get a feel for it. Fortunately we have enough wind but not so much to make things dicey." I reassure her.
"Dad, maybe Lily would like to steer." Elliot suggests after a while.
It's warmer sailing with the wind and Lily & Mia have taken off their cover ups. Mia seems a little annoyed that Elliot asked Dad to supervise. I'm just relieved to keep Lily at arms length.
Ever the wise one, Dad turns to Mia to show her friend. Mia doesn't have much experience on the Grace but she crewed on my previous, smaller boat. They should have heard everything going on right in front of them.
"Mia, Lily needs you to help her."
"You stand like this with your feet apart some for leverage. Both hands on the wheel. Now watch the edge of the sail."
The wind has shifted to the West, we adjust the sails and alter course. We're about half way home. With the wind behind us… there's little sound from the wind and there's little heeling. Our wake is nearly quiet.
"We could sail her right up to the dock!" Elliot exclaims.
"Yes, a few minutes more on this heading and we'll have a clear path to the harbor entrance." … "We should probably take the spinnaker down before we get there!"
I get a chorus of "Spoil sport!" led by Mia. The wind has dropped off to only a light breeze now.
It's all hands to the sheets again for a change in course. It's rare to have the exact right conditions of smooth seas, light steady air, to practice this close inshore.
"If the wind holds this direction, we can carry sail right into the harbor entrance." It's a bold move… a decidedly show boaty but there are no rules against it. If conditions change, we drop the spinnaker there and proceed. It's not like we don't have a way out.
"Elliot, Mia… Are you up for this?"
"Oh, yes!"
We pass by other boats… fishermen and cabin cruisers, loitering outside the harbor, reluctant to end their day. They look up, startled. Perhaps they are watching to see if we crash into the harbor.
"Okay guys. Slack the jibe preventer."
"We'll keep the spinnaker up until we're almost to the first docks. Elliot, you're going to release the spinnaker guy, Mia, you're still on the sheet. The spinnaker will swing in behind the main, loose the wind and collapse. Then, Mia, you and Lily will move forward there" I point for Lily's benefit, "on the deck beside the cabin. As I start to turn you grab the foot of the spinnaker, then Elliot you cast off the halyard."
Mia, remember when we raced… just like that, you guys grab it and dump it down the main hatch."
Grace moves Ashley to the back of the cockpit, out of the way. "Keep your head down… It's going to be busy."
People on the nearby boats stand up to watch. We have quite a crowd of spectators… people have their phones out recording… we better not flub this!
Gawd! I can see us as the headline of some sleazy tabloid… photos from a dozen angles.
I have complete control. Scary to the unknowledgeable, sure, but I won't let us crash into the row of docked boats.
I give the signal as I turn the wheel, the spinnaker collapses spent behind the main sail. As the boat starts to turn… the girls quickly gather the foot of the limp spinnaker. They chase the main boom as it swings over the center of the boat… Elliot times releasing the halyard perfectly. The drooping cloud of nylon sail drops and Mia and Lily are enveloped by it, stuffing it furiously down the main hatch.
Dang, that was like clock work! Grace is sputtering about the sail suddenly deposited in "her kitchen".
"It's a galley, Mom." I say kindly. Secretly, I'm loving it.
I continue turning until we are headed back out of the harbor… a perfect U turn… and into the wind. The mainsail commences flapping in what's left of the breeze. Carrick has been hauling furiously to take up the now slack main sheet.
We lose our momentum, so I barely have steerage way. Before the breeze can get us, I push the button to start the motor… it starts instantly and idles waiting for my command.
Elliot has taken Debbie and they are standing by ready to lower the mainsail. I keep the bow into the wind… and nod to Elliot, the mainsail comes down. Elliot urges Mia up on the cabin top from the starboard deck to help furl the main. Lily jumps up too, Mia is dragging her by her hand.
"Lily, roll it inward like this!"
They furl the sail on top of the boom.
"Lily, can you grab the sail ties?" Mia says while holding an armload of rolled up mainsail. Lily bends low as if to try to reach the ties, her top gapes open totally showing her ample chest. All afternoon, I knew this moment was coming and I am so not falling for it. I ignore the shameless display. She straightens back up.
"Mom, just inside the companionway hatch on the grab handle" I direct Grace.
Grace, reaches the sail ties and then… seeing her daughter and her friend standing over the yawning open cabin hatch cover… Grace pulls the hatch closed before handing up the sail ties. "You guys scare the daylights out of me!" Grace exclaims.
Carrick is already busy coiling the main sheet.
It seems a mere minute later, I am backing into my slip. Admittedly sail boats aren't so great at backing into slips. As soon as we are close enough, Elliot steps off on the dock with a stern line to help guide us in. Debbie and Mia throw him the other dock lines and he makes them secure. Safe and sound in her slip again, I shut the motor down. In the sudden quiet, there's metallic echo of halyards slapping against the aluminum mast, the chatter of friendly conversation and the soft lapping of water against the hull.
The Grace is quickly being tidied. Elliot will not leave until everything is ship shape.
"It's been fun, thanks for coming… Elliot, you'll lock up for me!"
"Where are you going?" Grace asks.
"Gotta go! I have a dinner meeting." It's not the first time I have lied to her.
Besides I do have a dinner appointment.
"But Christian, Ashley has brought appetizers for us. Fruit cups… crackers and cheese, shrimp."
There it is, the hook, dangling in front of me. I shake my head.
"Christian, you work too hard."
"Someone…" I look hard at Carrick… "once questioned if my business would be successful. My company is very new. It will not be a one hit wonder."
Mom puts a fruit cup in my hand.
I sigh… Grace thinks she won… but I am so outta here.
"Elliot, I need to see you some night this week. My place. Pick your poison: Pool or X-box?"
"Are you buying?"
"Yes, I'll have beer. Call me."
"Okay."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Grace smiling.
Maybe I'll have Mrs. Jones cook us something for dinner. So far she's only been cooking for me. I'm sure she's capable.
Before I can escape, Mia tackles me again… kissing both my cheeks in the manner of the French… Where the hell did she learn that, I wonder?
"Love you, bro." She whispers in my ear.
As I drive home to my Penthouse, I think how much I enjoyed my afternoon sailing. When I'm sailing, my mind is focused on the wind and the sea blocking out the rest of the world.
The enforced socialization is trying. My family I can deal with for limited time. Outsiders really try my patience.
I can't wait to be home… to be in my safe space. Brandy will have my table set… and my dinner ready. Or there will be consequences. She wouldn't dare. After an afternoon of inane chatter… I'm looking forward to screwing her brains out a time or two.
Author's end notes: Christian has a phobia about being touched on his body in areas where he has scars from being abused as a child, by his birth mother's pimp. Mia, adopted into the Grey family as a baby, is exempt for his 'no touch' rule. Perhaps Mia likes to hug Christian because she senses she's the only one he'll let do it. We learn this in the Fifty Shades books by E. L. James.
End note (2): I intended to show that Christian named all his yachts Grace. I failed to explain the Christian would remove the name "Grace" from his old boats. I thought that my description of the vessel as a Cal40, a popular production boat (and a mono-hull) that Christian refurbished to his liking would differentiate it from the Grace from Fifty Shades Darker, a new catamaran boat custom built at his yard in Seattle. (In the movie the vessel which portrayed the Grace is a mono-hull but a schooner.) Grace and Carrick entertained on their yachts so Christian does initially. He didn't like how it worked out so he won't allow it in the future. Sorry for the confusion.