“Where should I go?” “Which side of the boat should I be on?” “How do you turn this F$*@ boat!!!!”

It was some of the comments I made this weekend as I took my first sailing lesson at St. Stephen’s Beach Water Sports Centre near Stanley on the southern part of Hong Kong island. It was a two day course and afterwards I could barely walk because my legs hurt so much but it was amazing. I want to go again.

On the first day I had no idea what to do. The instructor had us watch a video then basically rigged our boat and threw us into our boats and off we went. The boat was small; WAY too small for a big guy like me. I was thrown out of the boat a few times and the instructor helped me get back in the boat. I sailed really good and I managed to go really fast.

On the second day we practiced for the morning then in the afternoon we sailed far far out to the point. Getting out there was easy since it was a straight line. I sat on one side of the boat and held the rudder. Fairly easy. Once out in the open sea it was chaotic. The winds were really strong and I wasn’t confident as to where to go and how to do it. I capsized four times in a few minutes. I got towed into an area of calmer water and finally sailed to shore.

All and all, it was hard and challenging but I loved it. I can’t wait until I do level 2 or even do level 1 again so I can be better.