We were cruising down the road nearing North Sydney. From a distance we could see a cluster of small sails circling about in the waters not far from shore. As we approached closer it was certain these we small vessels and they tilted and bobbed sharply as if out of control. Sonny looked over at me and said, "Do you want to stop?" as if making a statement of certainty rather than asking a question.
"Sure!" I replied trying not to seem to enthusiastic.
We rounded into a gravel parking lot, that seemed unkept judging by the size of the potholes and loose impediments guarding the surface. We jerked to a stop by a couple of boats that were up on blocks. The weathered and faded paint showed their age, and the black and orange signs, like the ones you get from WalMart or Canadian tire, proclaimed,"FOR SALE".
Out of the truck we ambled across the parking lot towards a building that was sided in blue. The concrete pier at the waters edge off the building was broken and sharp pieces jutted up in the air a few feet the abruptly fell off into the salty waters. A sign warned "Beware - pier Unstable". We ignored the warnings and hiked across the gaps and scaled the ravaged concrete.
Around the other side of that first building stood a wonderful new structure and a wide dock and pier with sail masts surrounding it, some two and three deep. A hose was strung out to the end where an owner washed his deck. Midway the streams from the leaks and punctures in the hose sprayed a fine cooling mist into the air, and small rainbows danced in their midst.
As we surveyed the walk, I stopped to ask a man who was standing midway what was going on. He explained to me it was the first day of a students summer sailing class. He rhymed off sailing terms and I politely smiled and nodded as if I had the slightest clue what he was talking about. While we conversed the boats continued to dart, slow turn then dart off in another direction. I glanced around and realized several of the sailboats docked there had people standing on them, watching and pointing, and joking about the novice sailors on the water. Without turning he tapped me on the shoulder and said, "watch this..."
As I turned to look, one of the little boats was speeding into a turn and with a whoosh, the sail hit the water like a slapping hand and the two novices were vaulted into the deep. The instructors dingy rushed over and the two men onboard pulled them from the water.
B
