One day Bugs invited me to go with him to Midmar Dam to try out his new sailing boat he had bought a few days before. This boat was white and bright blue, made of fiberglass material and therefore unsinkable. It was very small, there was space for three people only. Early one Sunday morning, we put the small boat and the mast on the roof-rack of Bugs’ Ford Escort and set off for Midmar Dam.
I had no experience as far as sailing goes and this worried me a little. Furthermore I did not like the idea of having to swim back to shore as the water of the dam was very cold and so dark that you could not see what was under the surface. Bugs put me at ease assuring me that I would quickly learn the art of sailing and that he knew what was to be done and how to use the wind to sail.
Photo copyright OnsStories.com
Here starts our true adventure. After having found a suitable place to put the boat in the water, we put up the main mast with the sail, we pushed the boat into the water and we got in. Bugs pulled up the sail which flagged in the strong wind that was blowing from behind us. In no time we found ourselves in the middle of the lake with the wind pushing us in the opposite direction to where we planned to go.
Our boat, although very small, because of its bright blue color stood out amongst all the other boats.
Bugs and I stood on the highest side to keep the boat down or else the strong wind would have toppled us over in the water. Nevertheless no matter how hard we tried, the wind was much stronger than us and the boat remained tilted on the other side. I thought to myself: “maybe that’s why no one else is sailing in this direction!”.
Bugs was a very good captain and he kept the boat in the direction so as not to get wind directly on the sail, thus avoiding to capsize. Fighting the wind was very tiring, so as we reached the opposite bank we rested a bit and decided to turn round and go back. The captain explained to me that we should turn the sail 90 degrees, so that we could use the wind on the way back. With skill he turned the boat and the sail flipped over into the right position. Unfortunately the sail turned so fast that Bugs had no time to worn me and the goose-neck pole, which holds down the base of the sail, hit me hard. I lost my balance and letting out a great “uh…” I felt myself flying backwards into the cold, dark water. That was exactly where I did not want to be.
Falling I caused the boat to turn over on its side and so Bugs fell into the water as well. The boat then slowly turned upside down with the sail and mast pointing down into the dark water. Swimming around the boat he shouted to me not to worry because everything was under control. I tried to see the funny side of the situation but I only felt wet and cold.
Bugs told me to stand on the keel of the boat and hold with both hands the railing and try and pull the boat upright. I pulled as hard as I could but nothing happened because the sail was under water and impossible to pull out. So Bugs loosened the ropes that held the top of the sail and that did the trick. The boat slowly came upright, although it was full of water. I don’t know how, but with the strength of our arms we hauled ourselves on board and we used our cupped hands to throw the water out. It took a long time to empty most of the water from the boat.
We then pulled up the sail and went back without further mishaps, only with a new experience to tell.
Photo copyright OnsStories.com
After this when we became very familiar and good with sailing we used to take friends and girlfriends for rides in the sailboat and usually capsized the boat purposefully in order to give our friends a taste of our first experience as “sailors”. Naturally we always made sure everybody was wearing lifejackets and because the boat was unsinkable no harm was done. We had lots of fun “saving” the girls lives.
About Mauro
I got my inspiration for this website from the song called “Imagine”, and so I decided to go on this adventure. I have always wanted to put up something like this where my friends and I could express our memories and dreams for the future. Share them with us, because if many people dream the same dream it will certainly come true.
I remember that boat, even though I was just a tubevest-wearing toddler when my favorite “zio” had it. And I will never forget the sunburn I got at Midmar Dam. Mauro, thanks for this website where I can relive my earliest years and the happiest place on earth, One-Ninety.