SAILING

The 3 older boys had an extra special opportunity to take two weeks of sailing classes while in Nova Scotia (this is still the highlight of their entire vacation:)

(If you click on the highlighted words below, more info will be given about the particular boats - interesting;)

Patrick and Luke taking in some of the action.

Preparing to head out.

Sean holding 2 sailboats as his mates finish preparing to lauch.

The water was a mere 15*C (brrrrrrr, 59*F)

Aidan spent a lot of time the first week whipping around in this speedboat....

On his very first day, Drew and Aidan were "treated" to a ride on a 420 by a more experienced sailor. As it happens quite frequently, the boat flipped. Drew was able to leap clear, however, Aidan ended up under the boat. I asked him why he didn't just dive down and swim out... he tried, but his life jacket prevented him from diving deep enough. Eventually, he saw a crack and swam for it. Needless to say, it scared him to death and it took him a few days to recover his nerve.

Drew "crewing" an echo

This is not a pic of the boys, but gives you an idea of just how hard/far they have to lean to keep the boat from tipping over.

Sean skippering, seconds before they almost flipped.

Well, they managed to remain upright, but took on a LOT of water.

Here you can see the back of the boat beginning to sink.

Aidan in his opti.

Race day