Sailing on Duende

duende

/duːˈɛndeɪ/

(n.) the mysterious power of art to deeply move a person

Today, I experienced Duende.

Berthed at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia 

Captain Damien Parkes invited me to join his crew as they raced in Sydney Harbor this week and what I experienced was art, and yes, I was moved.  Sailing is a performance art with the yacht as the instrument, wind and water as the music, the captain as the choreographer and the crew as the dancers.  It was beautiful to watch and be a part of.


Duende is the name of Parkes yacht.  She is competing in the Club Marine Wednesday Summer Series that runs for several weeks.  There are just a few races left andthe Duende team sits in second place.

I have no sailing experience whatsoever.  I've been on a sailboat just twice in San Francisco.  I've seen races in San Francisco and most recently watched the start of the Sydney Hobart race on New Year's day from North Head as they all sailed out of Sydney Harbor.  The harbor was jam-packed with yachts and I had no idea how they didn't all just smash into each other.

Now here I was in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, home to the Sydney Hobart Race hopping onto the 50 ft yacht, Duende.  As soon as we motor out of the marina I see Ichiban, the winner of the 2019 Sydney Hobart.  Don't worry, we are not racing her! She's in a different class, but Duende is no stranger to the Sydney Hobart either.  She's been in that race for the last 6 years.

Ichiban, winner of Sydney Hobart 2019

We sailed around as the crew completed the setup. I'm sure there's some seafaring jargon I'm supposed to use here.  In Wedding Crashers, Christopher Walken's character said to Owen Wilson "We're tacking back around.  Do me a favor...ease the sheets and swing the jib starboard."  That, I can understand.  But honestly, they spoke a different language on the ship.  All I know is, they understood each other and they knew what they were doing.

When the race started, I couldn't believe how close all the boats were to each other.  I was still amazed that no one crashed.  Then we were off and it was fantastic!  I loved the wind in my hair and no sounds of an engine, just the water and the wind.  I switch sides along with the crew as we tacked.  I even sat on the upside gunwale, or the side edge of the boat with my legs dangling off, just like I've seen others do in the races.  It was so much fun.
When we came to the finish, we were up close and personal with the ship that had been tailing us for the entire race "Wild Thing."  It was close and we won't know results yet because I'm sure there are complicated things to consider like handicaps and such - much too involved for a first timer like me to understand.  

All I know is, I had an amazing time on the harbor today.  It was fun to see the camaraderie among the crew and listen to their stories.  Thank you to the crew for letting me tag along and a big thank you to Captain DP for the amazing experience!

Here's a highlight video from my point of view.  You'll notice it's taken from the stern.  I didn't want to get in anyone's way and mess up the race.