One of the things Seattle makes you want to have is a sailboat. Since I got here last year, I planned on taking sailing lessons this summer. Not because I plan on buying a boat - but because want to know enough not to embarass myself while I'm on somebody else's.

Last week, in a major 'coup,' I managed to secure myself a spot on a crew for a boat that races every Thursday night.

Me: You realize that I've never sailed before.
Skipper: That's fine. We have two rules on my boat: don't spill your drink and don't get hit in the head by the boom. You get extra points if you bring good booze and food.

Thursday was our first race. I brought chocolate chocolate cupcakes that I made myself. Not from a mix. They went well with some homebrew a crewmember brought. Which I actually drank. (Turns out I like blonde beer. Who knew?)

In an effort to continue the good first impression, I asked about the rules of the race itself, to which the skipper said, "The rules are simple. Don't hit other boats and have fun."

We shoved off and motored to the start - which was quite a picture - I will bring my camera the next time. About 40 sailboats hovering around each other, with the Olympics in the background. The race started with a blow of a foghorn. One would think that this would herald a flurry of activity, but no. There was no wind, so we just sat there. (This reminded me of that Monty Python skit where the Greek and German philosophers were playing a soccer match and when the whistle was blown to start play, they just meandered around philosophizing completely ignoring the ball in the center of the field.) Apparently, these races run regardless of the wind and weather conditions. If there is no wind, you wait at the start for some wind to hopefully come your way. If it doesn't, in about 45 mins, everybody just motors their boats through the course. Then there is free bbq and beer for all crews at the yacht club. All in all a great way to spend a beautiful evening!