Water & wind

By LYNNETTE HINTZE

Camaraderie, competition mark race nights on Flathead Lake "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Dream. Discover." . Mark Twain

The Daily Inter Lake

A primal feeling washed over me as we waited in the hot sun on Flathead Lake, waiting for the wind to blow.

It was an odd juxtaposition, considering I and Daily Inter Lake photographer Kristine Paulsen were lounging in a medium-sized racer/cruiser at the invitation of skilled sailor Brian Brown of Somers and his first mate Terri McAllister. The luxury vessel can sleep up to five and is equipped with a motor to get between the shore and open water.

Still, in the quiet calm of that Tuesday evening, as 33 sailboats waited for the wind-inducing thermal to come in from the west as the sun set, it was primal.

Water. Wind. And being at the mercy of both.

Shortly before 9 p.m., the promised wind came and the air horn sounded. Just another Tuesday night race at the North Flathead Yacht Club. But it was my first time sailing.

The boats quickly began to maneuver and jockey for position between a starting buoy and the race officials' boat, and in another minute we were off.

Most of the next hour was a blur. Technically, we were part of the crew, though all we did was move from one side of the boat to the other when they emphatically shouted, "Time to move!"

McAllister, who began sailing just last summer, was grace in motion as she set the sails and manhandled the whisker pole. Brown, who has been sailing since 1969, had his strategy down pat.

"It's serious work," he admitted.

It's also his passion, and he knows his boat like the proverbial back of his hand.

The competition was keen. Our

boat, aptly named Apparition, was racing neck and neck with boats named Hot Ruddered Bum and Howling Gayle. Since different fleets, based on speed, start at different intervals, it seemed impossible for a novice like me to figure out exactly whom we were competing against.

Some of the fleets don't use the billowy spinnakers and fly only white sails. Others use the showy, colorful spinnakers, but it remains a mystery to me which boats use which sails when and why.

The Apparition competed in the C Fleet; the fastest boats sail with A fleet and have the longest course.

It was amazing - and slightly unnerving - to witness how close the sailboats come to one another during the height of the race. A couple of times, a vessel swished by us with just inches to spare.

"The more you go out, the more you know your boat," McAllister assured us.

The Apparition's first-place finish that evening was a testimony to how well Brown and McAllister know their boat.

THE COUPLE routinely participate in the North Flathead Yacht Club's Tuesday and Friday night races and enjoy the camaraderie among fellow sailors. While there's an exclusivity to the club - it's limited to 140 members and there's a $1,000 initiation fee - its Web site is welcoming, urging people to stop by the club and visit with members if they're interested in sailing.

"We're a very friendly club," treasurer and past commodore Maren Amnotte said. "And it's Montana casual."

Though the membership roster is full with a waiting list, it's ever-changing as members move away or retire from sailing. There is, however, a standing invitation for crew members.

"People are always looking for crew," McAllister said.

The Web site, www.nfyc.org, includes information about how to sign up for crewing.

The yacht club also has a charitable side, participating in annual events to help area nonprofit organizations. Every year the club invites Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers to the clubhouse for a picnic and evening of sailing and swimming.

Discovery Developmental Center is another beneficiary of the club's efforts. Area businesses and individuals sponsor boats that compete in a race; all the money goes to the center.

The club formed in 1975 and racing has been a tradition from the beginning. Up next is the coveted Montana Cup on Aug. 3.

IT DIDN'T take long for both Brown and McAllister to become smitten with sailing. But Brown has been at the sport for 38 years; McAllister has less than a year's experience.

Brown spent one of his high school years aboard a sailboat off the coast of Norway. The floating classroom was started by a couple who wanted to "create an environment where kids would want to learn," he said.

McAllister was immediately taken with the sport.

"It puts you in a totally different head space," she said. "It's just a different world, a change from the 9 to 5. And the sunsets take your breath away."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com