The Gift

On the annual Maine vacation my family takes, my husband and I decided on a whim to go sailing. We are huge fans of all things sail, we have a tiny boat ourselves and love to go out on huge boats we have no chance of owning ourselves.
While the trip left early (we found ourselves scratching our heads, standing on the dock twenty minutes early), the mistake was an honest one and the boat turned around to pick us up. Once we actually boarded things were off to a good start! I loved that they didn’t crowd the boat– we’ve been on a couple trips on other vessels where every last spot gets taken and you find yourself making serious body contact with strangers. Yes, there was the usual older gentleman sailing aficionado type that wanted to make sure everyone onboard knew how much of a sailing expert he was, but eventually even he settled in…
The captain of The Gift is personable and interesting and very chill. There was no need to force conversation, but he was ready with a story, cool facts and answers to questions whenever needed. A couple of people got sick, and the crew was very considerate first pretending not to notice for privacy’s sake and then offering water.
One thing to note is that the protocol for this sail trip seems to be going out on the water and kind of wandering around. This isn’t a trip that happens in the same exact routine way, five times a day, every day of the year. I think this is a great feature, but if you’re looking for memorized facts about the coast and one set route of touristy sightseeing, this isn’t the trip for you. This one is just about hitting the water and enjoying the wind!