After yesterday's sailing experience, I feel redeemed and pleased with this latest experience. I would go as far as to say that it has re-inspired me about sailing. It all happened as a result of a call I got from Jessie, the crew member from Thursday night who mentioned some weekend sailing from the St. Pete area. She informed me that there was a race the following morning and if I could crew on this boat.

I met her Saturday morning and found out that I would be sailing with her and some friends on a boat owned by one of her friends named Reggie. We sailed his 2006 Catalina that is somewhere between 30-35ft. I haven't been on other Catalina Sailboats but I would have to say that this one was built for comfort. The mainsail was furled in the mast and the winches were operable self tailing winches. This is truly a beautiful boat. The owner is a real nice gentleman who welcomed me aboard and asked if I would jib trim.

The day was beautiful with great winds for racing or just cruising around. We practice for about an hour, getting the other crew familiar with the boat. I held my own and trimmed the jib on the port side and assisted with mainsail adjustments. It felt really rewarding to be a direct result to the boat's performance.

We were set to race in a small race related to USF. It was a bit unorganized but it was nice to race with a crew that didn't take it so seriously and really enjoyed what we were doing. It was truly a beautiful day of sailing. We got out about 10:30am and the race didn't start until just after 12:00pm. It was a long course with several legs, but fun all the way around.

We returned around 4:30pm and after stowing everything, headed to a small place for some burgers and beer. We got to know each other a little more and exchanged numbers. Hopefully I can sail with these guys and this great boat again. This experience renewed my interest the art of sailing, again I am hooked.

I have the Thursday night race this coming week and the woman who got involved with this great experience, wants to take me out on her boat this coming weekend. It should be great. Sailing out of St. Pete is really a nice part of the bay because of the open area and proximity to the skyway and markers to practice around.