I grab hold of some rigging and lean a little farther out over the water. My Uncle tells me “I could do this all day. You’re not losing time when you’re out here. You’re gaining it.”

I’d like to learn to sail. Yacht racing is a sport that demands vigor in every sense. You are executing tasks that demand clear and imaginative thinking, fine motor skills, balance, brute force, endurance, and teamwork.

“How do I get into sailing?” I ask another friend of the family. “Show up to the dock and say ‘Yes’.” He says.

All parts of my time on the water this past weekend suggested that this was an activity that could be completely fulfilling. Having a boat is having a special kind of freedom. It promises opportunities for travel, with access to an outgoing and welcoming group of likeminded explorers. Indeed, many of the finest and most exciting cities in the world are port cities. When you wish it, the open sea provides room for contemplation and peace of mind.

My family on my father’s side has a long history of sailing. The family was once the proud owners of the Tigress, a Herreshoff design. I believe this is a shot of it, which I pulled from Flickr.

Of course, owning a boat much more than a canoe is a very expensive proposition. Besides the boat itself, you have to pay to keep it in the water somewhere during the Summer, and either bring it up to overwinter or move it somewhere warmer. Maintenance can be tremendous. I know that it is the dream of a number of people in my family to have a boat some day. I might suggest they pool their resources.

But to enter the racing scene, apparently, I don’t need to own. I don’t even need so much experience. Just show up and say “yes”.

In Newport R.I, long a first class sailing hub, I saw Speedboat, a design funded by Richard Branson to be the fastest boat in it’s class on the planet. I saw gorgeous wooden sloops and skiffs, day sailers with lines far sexier than most anything on land. (Pictures are coming next week.)

I don’t know a spinnaker from… from… an I don’t know what, and I can barely sort out my port and starboard. It would certainly help to get a few basics down on land before launching into the spray, but I’m thrilled by the possibilities. The windblown sailor look seems to work for me, not to mention, 70% of the guys I saw milling about the marina were… handsome… and some Aussies to boot! Not to get too far off track, but can you think of anything much more romantic than sailing down a bit of coastline with your lover, taking in a sunset from the deck with a bottle of champagne on a perfect summer’s evening? Romance motivates so much in our lives, why not this?

In any event, it’s been a productive weekend, and I feel more prepared to tackle “Doug’s Life – Part 2″.