Sea Legs

It’s about the sound of wind whistling through taut sails.

The taste of salt encrusting dry, sun-beaten lips.

And the jolt of adrenaline as the yacht slices through choppy surf and jockeys for position with 21 others at the outset of the race.

This is relaxation.

“This is the sailor’s equivalent of running off on a Wednesday afternoon and playing nine holes of golf,” said Jim Brye, who sold his Thousand Oaks home for life aboard his 42-foot craft based at Ventura Harbor.

He is also race chairman of the Ventura Yacht Club, which co-sponsors a series of 17 weekly Wednesday evening races over a five-mile course from May through August.

The event is intended as an informal and relaxing midweek break. But when your skipper barks orders, surf cascades over the boat as its bow hurtles over 6-foot waves and the mast whips viciously while the tacking vessel is “beating the wind,” relaxation may not be the first thing that comes to mind.

Unless you live for days like this--with 24 knots of wind and big waves.

On this day, “Freebird,” shown at left, owned by skipper Mike Mellin of Ventura suffers the ignominy of a classic hourglass spinnaker wrap, as the sail fails to properly catch the wind. In contrast, “Lotta Zuma,” below, owned by Paul and Debbie Defrietas, slashes its way to victory.

“It was rockin’ and rollin’,” Brye said. “There was heavy surf. A lot of wind. A perfect day to be in the water.”