Howdy. So it turns out that sailing isn’t an activity I’ll be satisfied with doing just once. I had a blast learning the basics on the Hunter 30. It had been a while since I’d had someone yelling at me to “Watch your heading!” while I was trying to do three other things. My instructor was a retired pilot and flight instructor with over 11,000 hours in airplanes, so at least we spoke the same language. From camber and angle of attack, to all the navigation stuff, I thought it was pretty interesting how many concepts and terms transfer from flying to sailing. I still felt like I was learning a whole new language while dealing with the sails. I never knew there were so many different names for “Rope.”
It felt great to be out on the water though, and in my opinion, being close hauled and healed over is the most exhilaration you can get at five knots. I kept having to remind myself of how slow we were actually going because it felt like things were happening as fast as on an airplane. The scale and pace of sailing really sank in when toward the end of the day, we were 4 nautical miles from the canal and I realized that it would take almost an hour to get there! Hey, if you want to get there quickly, take a plane.
I feel like I’m sort of back in the real world now. I’m renting my sisters basement in St. Louis while preparing for job interviews. I actually have a couple! My second day on the beach, I got a call from Airnet, a cargo company based in Ohio. Of course, my phone was in the car! I finally had a phone interview with them a few days later and found out last Wednesday that they wanted me to come in for the full interview. Later that day, I was also invited by Westward Airways to go to their base in Las Cruces, NM for an interview.
If I got on with Airnet, I’d be flying cargo four nights a week in a piston powered twin or a single engine Cessna Caravan turboprop. The position with Westward would be Second in Command of a Pilatus PC-12 (nine passenger single engine turboprop) carrying passengers around the southwest.
I really hope I don’t screw up these interviews. I’ve been studying hard and have set up a few lessons in the same model simulator used in the Airnet interview. Westward doesn’t have a simulator and they’re a new operation, so I’m really kind of lost as to how to prepare for that one. The Chief Pilot made it sound like he was just going to look at my logbook and ask about my goals etc. I guess we’ll see.
I still have almost a week before the Airnet interview in Ohio and almost two weeks before the one with Westward. In between the two (on the way from one to the other, in fact), I'm returning to the great state of Texas to see Todd and Cynthia's new (as yet unborn) baby. I'm also looking forward to seeing all of my Fort Worth friends at Josh and Maria's wedding.
You didn't think I'd stop traveling just because I'm unemployed, did you?
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Just Call Me Steve Zissou
Howdy. A lone sail peaks up from the panoramic horizon as peaceful little waves break in a continuous hiss on the beach before me. I lick my lips and taste salt. I’d never swum in the sea until a few moments ago. A small boy in a red and blue wet suit finds a treasure in every seashell. His mother attempts to match his enthusiasm as he offers them up to her, but fails. And so he chucks each prize back into the sea.
As of today, I’m no longer gainfully employed. In my final few days on the job, I left Michigan to do a few hours of mapping in Louisville, KY. I had no idea! That place is almost as hip and weird as Madison, WI. Bardstown Road very much reminds me of State Street in Madison.
A very serious looking man in socks and sneakers passes in front of me waving a metal detector over the sand. Another man asks if he’s ever found anything good, to which he responds that he’s just recently purchased the device. However, to demonstrate its effectiveness, he reaches into his pocket, tosses a coin on the beach, and waves the sensor over the coin. He points at the display and the other man gives an affirming nod with the up-side-down smile that says, “huh… not bad!” As the treasure hunter sweeps his way further down the beach, the inquisitor doubles over with laughter as he recounts the exchange to his wife.
From Louisville, I made my way to Kissimmee, Florida via good ol’ Athens, Georgia. None of my Athens friends were in town due to it being Memorial Day weekend, so I made some new ones at a five-star establishment called “The Taco Stand.” They were serving very inexpensive Anti-Grandma Juice ($4 pitchers of Amber Bock!!) so I stayed a while (all evening).
The next day, I had a beautiful flight down the Atlantic Coast of Florida to Kissimmee, which is just south of Orlando. After settling in and realizing why Bob Schneider found the place so depressing (all the kitsch of Branson, Missouri, but on a much larger scale… and Disney-fied…), I heard a familiar voice; the one that often leads me into trouble and adventure that I’ve previously referred to as “THE DEVIL!”
“So Adam, you’re in Floooorida…” His tone seemed innocent enough.
“Yeah… So?”
“So you’re really close to two very large bodies of water…” I could tell where this was going. “You should go take a sailing lesson!”
I didn’t even argue with him this time. He was obviously right. When else am I going to be down here and have a chance to go out on the open water on a big sailboat? So I decided to postpone my return to Kansas City until Saturday. This afternoon I headed for the Gulf Coast based on the recommendation of a man at a local lunch counter. He suggested I go to Long Boat Key near Sarasota if I wanted to find a nice beach. I wish I could thank him because it’s unbelievable here.
My day-long intro to sailing is billed as the “Like a Virgin” course by Wind Song Charters in St. Petersburg. (Insert your own punch line here) I’ve got that set up for Friday and I can hardly wait.
In the mean time, I think I’ll look for one of those red and blue wet suits.
As of today, I’m no longer gainfully employed. In my final few days on the job, I left Michigan to do a few hours of mapping in Louisville, KY. I had no idea! That place is almost as hip and weird as Madison, WI. Bardstown Road very much reminds me of State Street in Madison.
A very serious looking man in socks and sneakers passes in front of me waving a metal detector over the sand. Another man asks if he’s ever found anything good, to which he responds that he’s just recently purchased the device. However, to demonstrate its effectiveness, he reaches into his pocket, tosses a coin on the beach, and waves the sensor over the coin. He points at the display and the other man gives an affirming nod with the up-side-down smile that says, “huh… not bad!” As the treasure hunter sweeps his way further down the beach, the inquisitor doubles over with laughter as he recounts the exchange to his wife.
From Louisville, I made my way to Kissimmee, Florida via good ol’ Athens, Georgia. None of my Athens friends were in town due to it being Memorial Day weekend, so I made some new ones at a five-star establishment called “The Taco Stand.” They were serving very inexpensive Anti-Grandma Juice ($4 pitchers of Amber Bock!!) so I stayed a while (all evening).
The next day, I had a beautiful flight down the Atlantic Coast of Florida to Kissimmee, which is just south of Orlando. After settling in and realizing why Bob Schneider found the place so depressing (all the kitsch of Branson, Missouri, but on a much larger scale… and Disney-fied…), I heard a familiar voice; the one that often leads me into trouble and adventure that I’ve previously referred to as “THE DEVIL!”
“So Adam, you’re in Floooorida…” His tone seemed innocent enough.
“Yeah… So?”
“So you’re really close to two very large bodies of water…” I could tell where this was going. “You should go take a sailing lesson!”
I didn’t even argue with him this time. He was obviously right. When else am I going to be down here and have a chance to go out on the open water on a big sailboat? So I decided to postpone my return to Kansas City until Saturday. This afternoon I headed for the Gulf Coast based on the recommendation of a man at a local lunch counter. He suggested I go to Long Boat Key near Sarasota if I wanted to find a nice beach. I wish I could thank him because it’s unbelievable here.
My day-long intro to sailing is billed as the “Like a Virgin” course by Wind Song Charters in St. Petersburg. (Insert your own punch line here) I’ve got that set up for Friday and I can hardly wait.
In the mean time, I think I’ll look for one of those red and blue wet suits.
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