Tough Choices

I've heard it described as beautiful, ideal and perfect.

The only thing I haven't heard the weather talking heads say is that "If you were going to be on vacation next week, you have picked the absolutely best week weather-wise - especially if you're going to be on a schooner."

They haven't said it yet but I know on one of the next weather updates they will.

The weather watch is just about complete. I've even started getting a gauge on the what the wind conditions might be. Right now, Monday and Tuesday is forecasting 5 to 10 knots, blowing out of the southwest. I'll take that.

So, now, I have an inkling of what the weather is going to be and what kind of wind we might have, which gives me a hint in which direction we'll sail.

Those are the first few things I think of as my trip on the Victory Chimes approaches.

My seventh trip on the three-masted schooner begins Sunday when I board the vessel and haul out Monday morning.

Now that the weather worries are taken care of, my attention turns to packing. I've got an idea what clothes need packing and what items should make the trip. I'm thinking it's going to be an all-shorts journey again this year, meaning only one token pair of jeans will get packed - unless of course, I decide to live dangerously.

So, that's one of the big decisions I have to make in the next day or so - whether I pack jeans or not.

Another choice I must address is my cocktail hour strategy. You see, when the Chimes drops anchor each day at four p.m. in some harbor in Penobscot Bay, the custom is to have the freezer lid open before the anchor even hits the mud. The various cocktails of choice begin to appear. Who thought sailing could be so challenging?

Of course, for me, the drink of choice becomes complicated. I used to pack a couple different six packs of beer and that would suit me for the week. But, I tend to get bored easily. I have the whole try-something-different-be-unusual-don't be repetitious thing going.

By Tuesday, I'd be sick of beer and want something else. So, last year I had beer and had provisions to mix drinks. This year I may do the same. I'll probably bring some brews but I also have a concoction of rye and Moxie that I might make - that should get people talking on board. I've also already got gin and tonic to mix but might opt for rum and ginger ale- is it bad luck to drink a Dark and Stormy on a boat? If I drink that and Lenny keeps whistling, we might be tempting fate a little too much.

Isn't it nice that the biggest choice and decisions revolve around long pants and what alcohol to bring on board?

That's what I like about sailing on the Chimes. I can toss aside all other problems, stress or things that sap my attention and focus. All that really matters is what kind of soup we're having for lunch, what I've got to drink with the appetizers at 4 p.m. and whether I can keep up with Lenny on lobster night. Last year, I failed miserably. I think he had 4 and I had 2.

I used care about where we're going. I still do a little. Being completely obsessed with where I'm going and what I'm doing next, I can't help but ponder where the boat is headed. I've already started thinking about where we're sailing Monday and it's Friday afternoon. The captain himself probably hasn't even thought about Monday's destination.

I've often sat on the aft deck and been able to listen (as opposed to eavesdrop) on the captain. I'd bring along my maritime chart and begin guessing by late morning where we might be going. Sometimes I'd be right - especially if I heard the captain say where we were going - and sometimes I'd be wrong, imagine that. Now, I don't really care. It's either likely that we'll go someplace I've been before and if we go someplace new, that will be awesome also.

I don't really have to worry about whose's going to be on board. I was fortunate when I tried the Labor Day sail - now officially called the Labor Day Hooker's Cruise - that I met a great group of people. So there will likely be 25 to 30 or so passengers on board next week and I already know close to half of them. It will be fun seeing them all again and picking up where we left off last year. There will also be some new people that will be fun to meet and help provide great times. Or they'll completely regret that they booked themselves with a batch of rug hookers and one smart ass sportswriter.

This is probably my favorite week of the year. It's a week of sailing out to sea and leaving most everything else behind. I said most everything else. I may do some keeping in touch with the mainland but otherwise, I'm out of circulation for the week. I'm chillaxin on a boat. I'm hauling sails. I'm eating and drinking. I'm trying to find the most gullible newbie onboard to tell far-fetched stories to - some of which are true and some of which are not. I don't think about work. I won't wonder how the Red Sox are doing. I won't have a to-do list in my head.

All that will really matter is what concoction I'll have at cocktail hour - or before and whether I'll regret not packing long pants or not.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.