And so it was that Steve and I (along with a few other friends) hit the water last week, and now, I must confess, I'm eternally done for: I've come down with that most dreaded of afflictions: THE SAILING BUG. Case in point: this is me, several days later, describing the experience to James over afternoon drinks at Cercle Rouge: "So yeah, it's like, you're OUT there... On the WATER... It's like this primal thing... And it's like, with just two people on the boat [at first], and the wind changing all the time, you're so busy, checking the windex, minding river the traffic, tacking back and forth, you don't actually THINK about what you're supposed to do next, you just DO it, totally in the moment, no time for anything else... And then there's this moment, like, when you're piloting, and the wind hits full on, and the boat achieves this perfect tilt, everything in balance, like you're part of this beautiful and elegant machine, only greater than yourself... It's like, like... You know what I'm sayin'?" James: "Ah yes--you have it my boy! You've must definitely got it! THE SAILING BUG!!"
And so I did.
(And gentlemen, if you haven't yet sailed down the Hudson at midnight, the river all to yourself, taking in the brilliant Manhattan skyline all the while, you are truly missing one of the finer experiences to be had in NYC...)
Next stop: The Manhattan Sailing School! Each class is four people along with an instructor--so let's see, then, if I can find three other people to join me...
