“How come they’re all the way over there and we’re…. here?”

I was scanning the width of the Namequoit River in Orleans, Massachusetts, looking at another 14’ Arey’s Pond catboat that had sailed away from the mooring field, a half-dozen boat lengths away from us, a few moments before we did. “They” were 100 yards away from us moving at a slow pace… and moving. “We” were about 20 yards off our mooring and, for all intents and purposes, not moving. Never mind the weather forecast of “winds 7 – 10 knots from the Southwest,” we weren’t getting any. Apparently, “they” were.

“I think they are better sailors than we are,” I remarked.

“Every boat catches the wind differently, “ my partner replied, graciously.  Very kind.

I picked up the paddle from the sailboat deck.

“What are you doing?”, my partner asked.

“Paddling. Get further into the river. Looks like there’s better wind there.”

And there was. “Better” did not mean “copious amounts of”… just better… maybe 2 knots with the occasional puff to 3 ½ . Reminded me of an old joke about a snail riding into a bar on the back of a turtle, joyously exclaiming, “Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee! So fast!”

Mid-way across the width of the river at that point, “we” found enough wind to tack back and forth toward Namequoit Point and the entrance to Little Pleasant Bay. Meanwhile, “they” had cruised out past the Point and back. And a few times back and forth across the wide expanse of the river.

Both “we” and “they” were due back on the moorings by 3:45 pm; at about 3:30, we gave up our effort to reach Namequoit Point and sailed parallel to “them” back to the mooring field.

Our redemption, a small victory, came there. “They” had to be assisted to their mooring by the tender launch. “We” were able to sail to our mooring and snag it, successfully. Hah!

Once we were all aboard the tender, we compared notes on the sail. Turns out that “they” are, in fact, many more years experienced sailors than we are, particularly in light wind conditions, and that they had pursued a different strategy on the water. We set a course and attempted to sail it. They found wind and sailed.

Note to self: Change course, sail where there’s wind. Or sit with no results.

Next time….

Nick Miller is President of Clarity Advantage based in Concord, MA. He assists banks and credit unions to generate more and more profitable relationships, faster, with business clients, their owners, and their employees through better sales strategies and execution. Additional articles on Clarity’s web site.