Adventure on sail: Sailing lessons at TEIA Club on Peaks Island

Sailboats dot the water off Maine's coast, looking from a distance like paper creations floating in the bathtub of Casco Bay.

My personal experience with sailboats has been limited to onshore spectatorship and movie scenes where sailors alternately lounge on deck or are flung overboard by swinging booms.

Sailboats inspire a romantic one-with-the-sea feeling, their full sails looking like the puffed chests of proud soldiers who stand tall and ready to serve their windy General.

On Peaks Island, the TEIA Club (that's the Trefethen-Evergreen Improvement Association) have been helping novice sailors take to the water for years.

Among their classes, this year they're also offering a "Hot Mamas" sailing lesson for women. My colleague Wendy Almeida (of Raising Maine) and I couldn't resist.

We took the ferry over on Monday Night and met up with Sarah, Ally and Olivia, three of TEIA's youthful sailing instructors.

They first talked over some basic terms, including the points of sail. "You always want to pay attention to where the wind is coming from," they said.

We learned about sail position and used chairs and props to practice how to switch sides of the boat while holding onto the tiller and mainsheet (or, the handle thingy and the rope, as I like to call them).

But learning to sail is best done on the water, so we donned our flotation devices and headed out for some immersion learning.

The small 420 boats we'd be learning with were resting on a floating dock just off the TEIA waterfront. We boarded a motorized boat to travel out, then climbed onto the dock to prep the 420.

Olivia, Ally and Sarah walked us through the various ropes and pullies, knots and clips. Wendy helped hoist the sails (the larger mainsail and a smaller one in front). I tried to retain any of it.

Wendy volunteered to try her sailing hand first, along with another student Barbara. The pair climbed in while the instructors pointed out the essentials. The skipper sits in back and steers the boat using the tiller. She also controls the position of the mainsail. Wendy, sitting forward, was the crew.

Since the boats only hold two people comfortably, the instructor trifecta and I climbed back into the other boat to follow alongside and the novice pair sailed off.

The wind was a comfortable level for first-time sailing. The instructors offered pointers as Barbara and Wendy got the feel for how the boat moved, and how

Then it was my turn. I climbed in with instructor Ally, taking my place as skipper, steerer and apprehensive sailor. I was at least calm enough to turn and smile at the camera.

We cruised along through Casco Bay, dodging boats and buoys. I kept the sail in as instructed, adjusting the tiller to keep the boat straight. We practiced putting the boat into "safety position," with the bow headed directly into the wind and the sails loose and flapping. This "in irons" position, Ally said, was good for slowing things down if someone - ahem - was freaking out and needed to take the speed down a notch. It was also a good time to swap places, if needed.

Turning the boat around proved precarious, with the boom swinging across the boat just above our ducking heads and me scrambling to switch sides like we'd practiced on the deck.

While most of the lingo is still elusive, Wendy and I both got a good feel for how small changes in steering or in the sails - or where the crew is sitting - can have big effects on where the boat goes. And no one went overboard.

TEIA offers classes through Aug 20. The Monday Hot Mamas class runs 5-8 pm and cost $30 as a drop in.

FMI: http://teiaclub.org/index.php?page=teia-activities-and-events