There’s that moment when you finally get everything right, your boat is running smoothly up on the plane, you have a good line, enough room from others to think and your boat is flat and you’re working hard enough to know and to feel the water hit your face and your legs are straining, but you have it and its perfect.

And then you see it.

The grey wind shadow moving down the lake which you can’t quite see from your angle over the side.  But you know the terrain, you’ve been here before and you know that any minute now it’s going to slap into you’re boat and you will have to react, you don’t know how – it might be something or nothing, but every part if you is poised for it, ready to make a move, haul in or jump back in the boat, knowing that even then it might not be enough.

I can see that shadow right now. Between work, sailing and personal I can feel my hand tightening on that sheet already and I’m holding my breath. There is so much about to hit this week – I have team meetings which I am not fully prepared for due to a number of unexpected gusts of other things that have popped up on the work front, I’m away in London the end of the week and then have two days on a safety boat course over the weekend.  I know it will be fine, but I’m panicking a little about fitting everything in and managing anything successfully.

Worry about this is the first sign of needing to get back out on a proper boat, where actually it is as easy as just trying not to fall in.  So my boat is coming back with me next weekend and I am going sailing at South Shields in their Spring event the weekend after.  Definitely.  Without fail.  Regardless of weather and the fact it’s on the sea.  And I don’t know anyone.  And I haven’t sailed for ages so I’m setting myself up to be embarrassed in front of strangers who will then think I am incompetent.

Strange – this week isn’t looking so scary all of a sudden….