Holding true to Stiletto’s inherent ability to make an impression, a little girl named Emma had her first experience on the sea yesterday. Our Stiletto 27 catamaran, Here We Go, certainly made an impression. She had never been on a boat before in her life, and I was lucky enough to share in her delight, excitement, and joy. If you’ve ever witnessed that almost tangible look of discovery and adventure in a child’s eyes, then you can relate. There is something magic and eternal in childhood discovery. A sparkle that makes you know that she’ll never forget this day and remember it as one of her best.
The day started with some trepidation, cautious concern about the tiny leap from the dock to the boat, but with some stern coaxing from Mom, Emma leaped like a brave girl. First thing she says, “I wasn’t really scared, but I’ve never been on a boat before. And I want to go really fast”! As we motored down the canal and out of the neighborhood Emma was quiet, taking it all in.
Once the sails were up and the motor powered down, with a steady 12 knots of northeast breeze we were sailing fast. On our Stiletto 27, Here We Go, we averaged 13 knots, and our speed peaked out 15 knots. When the winward hull lifted just a little from the water, our skipper had that serious, puffed up look on his face, a smile from ear to ear proud to be showing these kids what his cool Stiletto Catamaran could do. I think his expectation was that Emma would be a bit afraid of flying a hull. Right at that moment, Emma says with and a big smile and a little jump, “Faster, Faster, make it go faster”!
And I knew, Emma is a sailor.