"For whatever we lose, ( Like a you or a me), It's always ourselves we find in the sea".
On Sunday morning my friend Kevin picked me up for a sailing trip. When we got to the yacht club we wandered down to the dock with obscene amounts of food and beer. On the dock we heard the soft echos of some old country song wafting through the air with an accompaniment of lapping waves. We honed in on the music to find our ship and our captain.
My first glance at "Hank" told me that he was going to be an interesting guy. Picture a sixty year old Japanese man sitting in a beat up old lawn chair on his boat, staring at nothing in particular with the hint of a smile on his face. He seems to be enjoying the music, the rocking of the ocean and generally being alive on a Sunday morning. This is Hank.
As Kevin and I approached the boat he noticed our presence. His smile widened and his eyes lost their cloudy contemplative appearance, becoming instantly attentive. He and Kevin began to chirp back and forth in Japanese. Despite my efforts to listen I could only understand one word, "fugu." Sure enough, I wandered towards the bucket that he was pointing at to discover three small poisonous Japanese blowfish (fugu). He seemed equally proud of his catch as I was impressed.
As I climbed on board Kevin said to Hank,"This is Chris," and without thinking I immediately began the "introduction sequence." "Hajimimashite. Watashi wa Kurisu. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." (This is my first time meeting you. My name is Chris. It's nice to meet you). Both Hank and Kevin laughed as Kevin explained, "Hank speaks English man...why do you think his name's Hank?" Alright, fair enough...I overlooked that detail. "Hi Hank, I'm Chris."
"Nice to meet you, where are you from?"
"Toronto...in Canada."
"Ah, I see...Canadian."
As we chatted some young women got on the boat and made themselves comfortable. They were part of a gospel choir. I still have no idea why they were on the boat with us, but they we very nice so I'm glad they were. After a few quick preparations we headed out on the Pacific. When we got far enough to open the sails, Kevin enlisted me to help him with some of the labour. Pull this to raise the sail. Tie this off. Etc, etc. I loved it. I was glad that I could be of use and it made me want to learn more.
When we began to tack (zig zag back and forth based on the direction of the wind in order to make large turns) I was surprised at the incredible angles that the boat was capable of. I could have sworn at one point that the boat was going to tip. The sail was on about a 30 degree angle to the water and it seemed as though the hull was as far on its side as it could be. However, Kevin and Hank assured me that the boat wouldn't tip, so I tried to simply enjoy the ride. And I did!
After we had finished tacking Hank asked the ladies to sing a song for us as we sailed. They sang "Amazing Grace." It was surreal to be out on the water while these young gospel singers serenaded us. Here's a video. It gives a rough idea what it was like, but during the real thing the wind wasn't so loud or invasive.
Before I knew it we were back at the yacht club. It began to rain just as we pulled up to the dock, so our timing was perfect. We took a few quick pictures with the whole "crew" and then the singers went to the clubhouse to practice their songs and we covered the boat. As we worked I asked Hank what his real name was and why everyone called him Hank. He explained to me that he listened to Hank Williams alot when he was young. Then when he was twenty he travelled to California (which explains the English) and brought his guitar with him. He played for as many people as he could and as often as he could...either Hank Williams or something that sounded like Hank Williams. Alot of the people that he began to encounter knew him as the kid who played Hank Williams, but no one could say his real name. So, after a while he was dubbed Hank and the name had stuck with him ever since.
When everything was in order, we went into the underbelly of another boat to have some food and a few drinks with other members of the club. The club members asked me lots of questions about Canada and about my life and I asked them lots of questions about sailing and where they had travelled. At one point they invited me to crew a ship with them on a race from Japan to Australia. The race takes about a month on the seas to complete but the way back would be longer because they were planning to stop in Fiji or Bora Bora. I would loved to try it...but there's no way that I could take that much time off work. Maybe I'll join them for a trip after my contract is finished or sometime later in my life. For now, I want to visit the club as often as possible so that I can learn to sail! Next month I'm trying to get onto a crew to take part in an overnight race. I'm eager to learn and they're eager to teach.
My first glance at "Hank" told me that he was going to be an interesting guy. Picture a sixty year old Japanese man sitting in a beat up old lawn chair on his boat, staring at nothing in particular with the hint of a smile on his face. He seems to be enjoying the music, the rocking of the ocean and generally being alive on a Sunday morning. This is Hank.
As Kevin and I approached the boat he noticed our presence. His smile widened and his eyes lost their cloudy contemplative appearance, becoming instantly attentive. He and Kevin began to chirp back and forth in Japanese. Despite my efforts to listen I could only understand one word, "fugu." Sure enough, I wandered towards the bucket that he was pointing at to discover three small poisonous Japanese blowfish (fugu). He seemed equally proud of his catch as I was impressed.
As I climbed on board Kevin said to Hank,"This is Chris," and without thinking I immediately began the "introduction sequence." "Hajimimashite. Watashi wa Kurisu. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." (This is my first time meeting you. My name is Chris. It's nice to meet you). Both Hank and Kevin laughed as Kevin explained, "Hank speaks English man...why do you think his name's Hank?" Alright, fair enough...I overlooked that detail. "Hi Hank, I'm Chris."
"Nice to meet you, where are you from?"
"Toronto...in Canada."
"Ah, I see...Canadian."
As we chatted some young women got on the boat and made themselves comfortable. They were part of a gospel choir. I still have no idea why they were on the boat with us, but they we very nice so I'm glad they were. After a few quick preparations we headed out on the Pacific. When we got far enough to open the sails, Kevin enlisted me to help him with some of the labour. Pull this to raise the sail. Tie this off. Etc, etc. I loved it. I was glad that I could be of use and it made me want to learn more.
When we began to tack (zig zag back and forth based on the direction of the wind in order to make large turns) I was surprised at the incredible angles that the boat was capable of. I could have sworn at one point that the boat was going to tip. The sail was on about a 30 degree angle to the water and it seemed as though the hull was as far on its side as it could be. However, Kevin and Hank assured me that the boat wouldn't tip, so I tried to simply enjoy the ride. And I did!
After we had finished tacking Hank asked the ladies to sing a song for us as we sailed. They sang "Amazing Grace." It was surreal to be out on the water while these young gospel singers serenaded us. Here's a video. It gives a rough idea what it was like, but during the real thing the wind wasn't so loud or invasive.
Before I knew it we were back at the yacht club. It began to rain just as we pulled up to the dock, so our timing was perfect. We took a few quick pictures with the whole "crew" and then the singers went to the clubhouse to practice their songs and we covered the boat. As we worked I asked Hank what his real name was and why everyone called him Hank. He explained to me that he listened to Hank Williams alot when he was young. Then when he was twenty he travelled to California (which explains the English) and brought his guitar with him. He played for as many people as he could and as often as he could...either Hank Williams or something that sounded like Hank Williams. Alot of the people that he began to encounter knew him as the kid who played Hank Williams, but no one could say his real name. So, after a while he was dubbed Hank and the name had stuck with him ever since.
When everything was in order, we went into the underbelly of another boat to have some food and a few drinks with other members of the club. The club members asked me lots of questions about Canada and about my life and I asked them lots of questions about sailing and where they had travelled. At one point they invited me to crew a ship with them on a race from Japan to Australia. The race takes about a month on the seas to complete but the way back would be longer because they were planning to stop in Fiji or Bora Bora. I would loved to try it...but there's no way that I could take that much time off work. Maybe I'll join them for a trip after my contract is finished or sometime later in my life. For now, I want to visit the club as often as possible so that I can learn to sail! Next month I'm trying to get onto a crew to take part in an overnight race. I'm eager to learn and they're eager to teach.
posted by Christopher Janca at 9:02 p.m.
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