March 10
From the WYC in house magazine, The Windward Beat.

YOUTH SAILING--By Guy Fleming
It is going to be hard to top last month's article, but I will try to stick with the same themes. Sailing is good for the soul and our Spring Season keeps our racing teams and Saturday Sailors busy. Our racing team competed at Rainbow Bay Marina for three weekends in a row, beginning with the Hawaii Laser Association Regatta #3 on the 23rd of February. I was actually able or participate in this one as HLA events are open to adults. I was feeling pretty shaky as my wife had just passed on the 11th. I figured, at the very least, I would be able to finish at least one of the five races. Many times, mindset is a matter of getting started. The race committee was made of many people who knew my wife including WYC's own Scott Melander. They had organized a scattering of flowers and a moment of calm before the first start. Honestly, it was great just to be in a boat. Sailing is very zen, in that you have to remain in the present. You can only worry about the windshifts in front of you. I put together a solid first race even though my body felt like it was operating in slow motion.

I love sailing in Rainbow Bay because you can really see the effect of the land bending the wind. You have to be on your game to put together all of the windshifts. I was absolutely convinced that the wind had finally gone left for race three so I started at the pin. The wind shifted just prior to the start. As I stated in last month's article, "All you can do is to try and win your side."  I was significantly far back but closed to fourth place at the first buoy, I managed a nice wide and tight rounding at the bottom mark and hiked hard for the finish. It was fun just to be out there in a great fleet of Corinthian competitors.

Note: Sailing really was a tremendous sanctuary for Spencer and I during this time. We taught a number of clinics, regular classes and participated in a handful of regattas.