Drove three hours
for a day
of Atlantic coast sailing.
Arrived at the shore
with strong winds blowing
inland from the east

Red flag day for catamaran rentals 🚩
thus no renters renting
No bother,
we brought our own boat

Our catamaran crew;
My friend, an experienced sailor
with his new boat
Myself, an energetic, overconfident
no experience sailor
My girlfriend Patty,
who hates sailing
but evidently liked me enough
to say yes to our quest

We pushed off and settled in fine
about 1/2 mile from shore
with 4 to 6 foot slow rolling waves

Adjusting sails for max wind
one haul of the catamaran
rose out of the water
our speed increased
with the reduced drag
of this now airborne haul

I was leaning way way back
to keep the balance of airborne haul
full sail and fast boat
Friend and I were thinking
this sailing is a ball

All was well in the wide open ocean
Until it wasn’t 🌊

When the wave white-capped
over the airborne haul
catching us off guard
driving the boat
into the deep

Flipping us into a catapulting launch

Patty landing on mainsail
my friend and I into the sea

My instincts
is Patty okay
While my friend is checking
the health of the boat

Thankfully nobody is cut
to call in the sharks 🦈

First and second attempts
to right the boat
result in winds catching
and flipping us
back into the sea

Finally ’third tries a charm’
and the catamaran is righted and ready
to sail back to the beach
where we concede, catamaran defeat

Back at hotel
on the elevator ride
to our hotel room
we talk with another couple
about the windy day
on the beach

They share a story
about watching a small
catamaran flipping in the sea
And with overtures of embarrassment
we confess
we were the foolish ones
ignoring the red-flag warnings 🚩
to test our fate
in the rough Atlantic waters

It was on that day I thought,
I want to marry this girl.
who despite, no love for sailing
chose to be, with me, on the sea

Fast forward 35 years
before morning light
in a small cottage
back near the sea
just Patty and I
as she lightly snores 💤
next to me