Hoisting the Sails

It was a glorious day today and we headed down to the sailing club for the first time this summer. Club members were coming out of the woodwork. It was a real hub of activity down there. I took my friend, Bree, and my four girls out for a sail for an hour or so. My two eldest mucked around and pushed each other in. I didn’t mind, the wind wasn’t really up and it was easy enough to double back to pick them up. I also caught up with a few of my favorite club members. There is Ant – a young man with a fairly high flying job who is the club trouble maker. He tricked me last year by pretending to give my girls alcoholic drinks. I gave him a foul look and told him, “you have crossed the line”, only to find out it was just water and that everyone else knew except for me. He laughed about that one for ages, “the look on your face, ha ha” (sort of thing). Then there’s Judy – one of the social committee organisers. Every club member is assigned a rostered duty by the social committee. My duty this year is to cater for the entrees for the club’s progressive dinner. The progressive dinner is a new idea and I was pleased to be able to discuss the arrangements with Judy. Everyone is assigned a number upon entry. This number dictates where you are seated and the seating arrangements change after each course. Unlike the traditional progressive dinner where you progress from one venue to another, we will be progressing around the dining room to a different table and a new group of people. There is Grant – who is usually behind the bar. He likes to stir me about last Australia Day when he served me sparkling red from four o’clock in the afternoon. I had been sailing all day in the heat and came into the club rooms quite thirsty to listen to the jazz band we had playing. I had a lovely time on the balcony chatting and enjoying the music, but I hadn’t had enough water during the day and hadn’t eaten since lunchtime. When our pizzas arrived at nine in the evening, I was too green to eat them and had to be driven home by Ant. ”Can I get you a sparkling red Bindi?”, Grant asked me today with a cheeky smile. “No, haven’t touched the stuff since last Australia Day, Grant”, I replied. He laughed. And so it goes. Another sailing season has begun.