While going through NROTC at Auburn, it was a requirement that all Midshipmen pass a swim test. This seemed like a legit requirement, and I found the concept of non-swimmers wanting to join the Navy hilarious. The test took place at the university pool and wasn't that daunting. It included basic stroke proficiency, the ability to tread water for 5 minutes, and jumping off the high dive (to simulate a ship evacuation). The hardest part was being paired with a guy who outweighed me by a good 50 pounds for the rescue swim. I had to carry this dude and do a sidestroke the length of the pool.
A more enjoyable qualification was the sail test. Although from the Mississippi coast, I never did any real sailing. The closest was the infamous Hobie Cat incident that eventually involved the Long Beach Police Department, but that's another post.
In Auburn, the on-water qualifications were held at a local lake - the closest practical body of water for the event. The logistics made sense, hauling a bunch of us down to the coast would have been a scheduling nightmare.
I just have a personal hang-up about sailing on lakes. In my own romanticized view, sailing ships were vessels for exploration. You laid in supplies, updated your charts, and hopped on the rising wind and tide. Pointing your bow toward the open horizon, your destination was an unseen shore. By comparison, a sailboat on a lake feels almost claustrophobic and pent up - you never lose sight of the shore.
They feel like ships in a bottle.
The last time I had a ship's wheel in my hands was over a half dozen years ago on a buddy's boat. Three of us sailed out into the Chesapeake to meet the Eagle, a 295' barque used as a training vessel at the US Coast Guard Academy. She was a magnificent sight as she made her way into the harbor. The guys I was with, one a graduate of Annapolis and the other a graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, were happy to relinquish the helm to me for most of the cruise. It was a good day, and it's been too long.
As I type this, I have another window open on my computer for the NIH Sailing Association. I'm thinking it'll be my winter project to get my quals reinstated. Considering we're near one of the sailing capitals on the East Coast, it's a travesty I haven't spent more time on the water. With all due respect to the crew of the sloop John B, and again in my own romanticized view, I can't help but think a bad day on the water beats a good day ashore.
Brian Wilson & Al Jardine - Sloop John B
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