Sailing

From early childhood, summer involved water-related outdoor activities. Swimming in a lake or sea, canoeing / kayaking, long time ago fishing are the ones I associated with summer. But still, there are many water sports I have not tried so far. Until last Saturday, sailing was on that list.

The first encounter on sailing was not entirely off my own bat. Konrad, a member of my circle of friends met in Szlachetna Paczka, has been a veteran sailor. He took it up over a decade ago, got hooked to the extent he honed his skills in sailing academia and now holds a sailor licence which allows him to navigate on an open sea several kilometres from the shore. On the first Saturday of July he took a few people from our circle for a cruise across Zalew Zegrzyński.

Sailing is in some way akin to driving a vehicle. You may decide not to sit behind the wheel and rely on a driver, which might be the case in sailing too. But if you are to steer a boat, you ought to learn some theory in advance and then practise for hundreds hours in different weather conditions to sail safely.

The biggest hindrance for me in acquiring basic sailing skills was… the vocabulary. Words or phrases unknown to me precisely describe boat elements or steering activities, but without a glossary even responding to commands of an experienced sailor is a challenge. So by the next time I undertake sailing, I will brush up on the specialised language.

After the heat wave became a history, the weather swung towards cold and windy face of summer. Few boats were on waters the last weekend, with wind reaching over 50 kmph in gusts and wind chill close to +10C in the middle of the lake. The conditions have given us a hard first time and there were moments of fear, even thought our ship was quite stable. Konrad has proven to be a seasoned sailor, knowing how to navigate the boat in nasty weather circumstances. Watching him, I recalled the old adage a smooth sea has never made a skilful sailor.

After the first try, I neither dislike it nor have grown fond of it. In some time, probably still this year, we will likely set off to repeat the experience and I will indulge in it occasionally, treating it as one of many socialising rituals, but not as a new hobby. Definitely I would prefer not confine to being a passenger and would aim to grasp basics of sailing, which definitely will do good to my brain. Stimulating the grey matter by trying new things should preserve the brain “in working order” for a long time.

Out and about

The spring of 2017 will likely go down as chilly and wet. The current weekend is the second one this spring (after the first days of April) when both on Saturday and on Sunday temperature neared +20C and sunshine was not sparse. While the weather was not high, outdoor did not beckon, unlike this weekend.

The first stopover during my short (20 kilometres or so) bike trip yesterday was the site of airplane crash in Las Kabacki. I visit the place each year around the anniversary of the tragedy. This year’s is a round one, it has been already 30 years ago. Oddly enough, most people hanging around, sitting about, praying or contemplating silently the memorial plaque were youngsters, who just like me have not had the chance to remember the day Il-62 crashed into the forest.

On my way towards leisure park in Powsin. I am heading east yet meet quite few fellow cyclists, runners and pedestrians on my way. Though the weather is conducive, lots of people are either too burdened by duties put off until weekend, or simply too lazy to get up from their sofas and take a few breaths of fresh air. Sadly.

The clearing on the southern edge of the forest is one of favourite hangouts for barbecue aficionados. Weather permitting, one can come across scores of people either burning bonfires or making barbecues, indulging in Poles’ favourite sport (grillowanie) and the place is filled with smoked and characteristic smell of grilled meats.

Having turned up at my destination I spot several traces of boars’ activity. Looks like flocks of wild boars ventured here when few humans were around and digged around the grass. Disturbingly, boars in droves are not afraid to approach humans’ dwellings and might attack if incensed. My mother, while walking to her spine rehabilitation classes in Konstancin on Friday, was surrounded by a flock of boars who fortunately only looked around (at her standing still) and ran away.

Klubokawiarnia is the focal point of the leisure park and a spot where visitors coming here for more than an hour can sit back, have a drink or a snack. I must plea I don’t know whether lunches are served to whet appetites of hungrier guests. Comparing to how it looked in 2009, little has changed. The place has its spirit and a whiff of modernity is absolutely redundant if the spirit to be nurtured.

The amphitheatre where concerts are played on Sunday afternoons, also a popular dating hangout for teenagers from Ursynow, Wilanow and northern parts of Piaseczno. In the foreground, my bike, I have had it nearly for a year, replaced a saddle to add comfort to my backside, had it overhauled (or rather serviced) before the high season and after overcoming ailing spine (though I stay cautious not to overstrain it), I can enjoy longer and longer trips (this year I intend to take at least a 50-kilometre day tour).

The further from densely inhabited district of Ursynow, the fewer individuals one can run across. Here, on the south-eastern corner of the forest one would sooner have an encounter with wild deer (heaven forfend!) than with a fellow human. While cycling there I felt a bit guilty, as if I trespassed someone’s home.

As I grow older, I learn to cherish more the days in spring, summer and early autumn when I do not have to toil away in the office. Clement weather is something one should make the most of, so on such days, I attempt to confine staying indoors to absolutely essential time dedicated for house-related duties which I could not handle over the working week. Some people enjoy themselves on parties on Friday or Saturdays and then spend a large part of a weekend fighting a hangover. What a waste of life! Given a choice between night-time revelry and day-time leisure outdoor, I would opt for the latter for most of weekends (some partying is essential, since a human cannot be bodily fit but socially dead). Actually while working long hours Monday to Friday, a decent dose of physical exercise over the weekend is essential to keep an office worker and let them recharge batteries.