by Linda Aksomitis

White sails billowed above me, the wind whispering over the rippling canvas like a sea siren calling me to do more-see more-experience more. An adventure more than ten centuries old beckoned and I answered the call.

Wind Dancer Schooner Charters depart out of One South Harbor on the boardwalk in Grand Haven, Michigan. Captains, Mary and Chip Sayre, offer more than a boat ride; they provide seafarers with a chance to participate in all the action. Growing up land-locked, with next to no boating experience, I'd been looking forward to the experience for several months before taking my first voyage.

Captain Mary hoisting the sails

The ship was a 61-foot, double gaff-rigged schooner, which told me little, so I had to satisfy my curiosity with more investigation. A schooner is a ship with at least 2 masts (foremast and mainmast) with the mainmast being the taller-which I discovered simply means it must have two large steel poles to hold the sails, in land lover's terms. The name, schooner, comes from the term schoon/scoon, meaning to move smoothly and quickly.

Gaff rig, I soon learned, is a sailing rig in which the mainsail is a four-cornered fore-and-aft rigged sail controlled at its head by a spar called the gaff. A sail hoisted from a gaff is called a gaff rigged sail, makes sense. I've always figured hands-on is the best path to knowledge, especially with this technical stuff, so I joined a few other would-be sailors learning how to hoist those sails.

Mary demonstrated what to do, and I volunteered to take a turn. My grandson, Jon, always made me be the last mate when we played pirates, so I'd show him when I was done! Bit by bit the first sail rolled up until it floated in the breeze high above our heads. It was exhilarating.

My turn came. Not to be out-sailored, I stood, getting my sea legs set relatively easily as the schooner glided over the murky water of Grand River, heading out to Lake Michigan. I grabbed the rope, feeling its coarse thickness against my palms. It reminded me of playing tug-of-war, which I hadn't done since my school days, and I hoped the sail didn't end up winning out and dragging me over some imaginary finish line. (CONTINUE...)