Straight from The Horse’s Mouth

Most weeks I do not know what I'm going to write about until the last minute when the procrastination has turned into panic. This week I got some help. You see, I had an interesting dream last night and upon awakening, knew that it would be my topic. I realize there may be several pretty sharp dream interpreters out there who read my column, and I may or may not be in trouble. But I'm a risk taker, so here it goes:

The gist of the dream was that my mom took our sail boat out for a week end... alone. She left the marina in Kemah, sailed four hours to the Galveston Jetties, went south half a day and pulled into a marina fifty miles off shore. (I know, it's a dream... there are no marinas in the Gulf of Mexico) In the dream I didn't know about her adventure until she was on her way back. My first thought was how proud I was of her! I didn't start thinking of how dangerous it was for her and for the boat until later. Then my worries multiplied exponentially.

It's a pretty big boat, 32,000 lbs, 47' long and loaded with complicated equipment. Did she know how to read the anemometer and the depth meter? What about the charts, was she using the right ones? Was she plotting her course on paper charts or using the GPS Captain's charts? Wait! Did she KNOW how to plot a navigational course? Did she tune the VHS radio to the coastal NOAA weather to check the forecast? Did she register a sail plan with the coastguard?

At the dock the boat is held with three lines, often more. How did Mom manage to release the bow line, spring line and stern line alone? Doing this solo requires a methodical dance involving timing and grace. How did she back out of the slip without scraping the dock or taking half of it with her? There are so many variables; was it windy, and from which direction, was the tide flooding, ebbing or slacking? Did she know how to steer in reverse? It's not like driving a car. What about running aground, did she know where the channel was? The boat has a 6'2" modified fin keel, did she know her draft? She could hit a mud hump or a shell bank, or worse, if she weren't following the markers she may run into sunken wreckage in the bay.

It's dangerous out there! Did she know how to communicate with the other traffic? The container ships and oil tankers in the ship channel could crush a sailboat like a toy. What about wearing the safety harness...did she clip in? Was she running under power or sail? The mainsail is in mast. Getting it out is easy enough, but furling it is tricky, she could get herself in real trouble. The jib lines are very large and require an electric wench. Did she know how to use them, or was she trying to crank them by hand? Did she know how to tack?

Coming into a marina is so much harder than it looks. Boats don't have brakes. I know she knows this, but this boat is much heavier than anything she's driven. Heavens! She's 70+ and has no experience with an ocean going sailing vessel. And further more, what in the world is my mom doing at a marina in the Gulf of Mexico alone? Doesn't she know that there are likely to be some salty types who'd just love to swap sailing stories with her over a 'sundowner' or two?

As you can see this dream was a hoot for me. I am very proud of my mom's real life accomplishments, and I know that she's capeable of many things, but sailing this boat is not one of them.

Glenn, on the other hand, can do anything he puts his mind to. Any new venture is a challenge for him. His most recent is taking the helm of the Buffalo Spring Fest scheduled for May 1st. There will be loads of entertainment including local musicans and bands and a fiddler's contest. This year's chili cook-off promises to be larger than anything we've seen at Harriman Park. Mark your calendars... May 1st: Buffalo Spring Fest!

Well, my sailing days may be over, but I can dream... and do, even if it is about my mom taking the wheel.