Since I'm trying to live life to the fullest and experience things I have never before, and since I have a blog, I suppose I should share my amazing adventure, if you will, I went on last week! Being in Florida, it is almost essential to visit the beach a time or two when vacationing. Clearwater beach has a vast array of cheesy tourist activities lined up throughout their lovely harbor, but I needed change! I needed to be different from the rest! I had to do something that not everyone and their mother does when visiting this area, but what? After researching activities and other recreation I came across a promising prospect! The Clearwater Community Sailing Center!
It was there that I took a two hour sailing lesson from my adorable instructor, Justin. After a quick overview in the terminology of all that is sailing, he and I set out in what I referred to as a pontoonie catamaran. Clearly I'm an expert on the topic. Might I say this was one of the coolest experiences ever, yes I will. Super cool! You quickly get used to how to maneuver the sails and the tiller, (I just threw out some awesome terminology) then pick up amazing speed on the open waters. Justin was a fantastic guide who actually laughed when I almost knocked him off the boat, accidentally of course, saying that definitely would've been a first! Very sweet of him to laugh off my mistake that he would've paid for. We chatted about many things, microbreweries, hipsters and school being some of our unique topics. It's nice to have a sailing partner if you're in the social mood, but going alone I'm quite certain would be rather fulfilling.
How something can be so exciting your heart races, and yet so calming you become completely at ease with the world as the ocean breeze grazes your face, is truly an amazing thing to experience. In short that was my reaction to this sailing adventure. While out on the water we saw numerous dolphins, some getting very close, a sea turtle and two stingrays. Nature is much closer to you when sailing than any of those other tourist activities. I highly recommend experiencing this at least once in your life. I plan to attempt it a few more times at least!