As one o'clock arrived so did Molly's new customer full of enthusiasm. He was much more cordial since their earlier meeting and ready for his lesson.
“I guess it might be nice if we knew each other's names,” Molly started. “I'm Molly Callahan.”
“Oh I know who you are,” the man responded. “You came very highly recommended as a sailing instructor. I'm Kevin O'Brien. Nice to meet you.”
“Alright then, let's get a move on, time won't wait for us,” Molly chirped to Keven and they set out for the dock.
Once out on the water Molly started Kevin with some sailing vocabulary to help him gain some confidence. Kevin was a quick study and took to the sloop like a natural. It was not long before Molly gave him some control of the boat and he was beaming with his new found skills. He still had a lot to learn, but she was sure with this lesson and another one the next day, he would do well with his boss.
As they docked the boat a few hours later Molly had to admit that she actually enjoyed this day. Besides the instruction she gave Kevin, they had a few moments to share some general chat about sailing and he was full of questions as to her sailing experience. This was the first time she had met someone who genuinely wanted to talk about sailing. She chalked this up to him being a salesman and knowing how to talk to people.
As they arrived back at the Sail Shop Kevin checked his phone and realized he had missed an important message. He stepped outside to take the call, but even at that separation Molly could tell in his voice he was quite concerned about something. At one point she could hear him say, “I'm on my way”.
“I'm really sorry I can't stay for a lesson tomorrow, Molly. Something has come up and I have to head back to Dublin immediately,” Kevin explained. “I do want to tell you that I really appreciate all you have done and that I had a great time today.”
“I'm sorry you won't have time to catch up for another lesson to make sure you can deal sailing with your boss next week. I enjoyed the day out also.” Molly replied a little sad that she would not have a customer the next afternoon.
Molly watched as Kevin drove off thinking that once she got to know him a little this was a very interesting man. Other than that she really didn't have another thought about him except to hope that she helped him so he did well with his boss and got his promotion.
As the days went by Molly was busy with her summer customers. Old and new, experienced and novices alike, she tried to make sure they all enjoyed themselves and learned about sailing by the Quay. On a slow day her dad would stop by and they might go out for a few hours. Peter missed sailing and when he got a chance he did not let it slip by. Molly loved going out with her dad. It was a time that when either of them were down in the dumps they could share, and sail to their heart's content.
As summer weather started to cool a bit Molly was surprised to get a call from a young woman one day asking about setting up a weekend sail lesson for someone named Kevin O'Brien. Molly had all but forgotten about Kevin until then and thought it odd for a woman to be calling and setting up the lessons. She specified that he wanted to go out on a sloop and take a two day weekend lesson. Of course this would not be the Kevin she had met. There were so many Kevin O'Brien's in Ireland.
Was he coming back?
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
#3 The Quay
#3
Molly had been booked up for sailing lessons during most of the summer. Tourist and vacationers came to Kilmore Quay to get away from the city and spend time at the beach and relax. The Quay was a sleepy little place that lacked the hurry and rush of the bigger cities and many of the cottages were rented up full every summer. Some visitors just sat by the water and enjoyed the view, some took boat trips out to the Saltee Islands to view the many species of birds, some came for fishing trips, and some just sat outside enjoying the atmosphere that Kilmore Quay had to offer. Come dinner time the local restaurants would be packed serving the day's catch, as fresh as it could be. The area had tons to offer with sailing lessons and diving among the choices.
Molly set her lessons mostly as weekly rates where she would take someone out for three hours of training and experience four days a week on Monday through Thursday. On the weekends, she would take people out for the three days and they would have more of a feel for sailing than actually be able to sail. This meant for the most part Molly didn't have any days off. With this kind of schedule she could do two lessons a day during the week, and two a day on weekends. She always explained to her students that one week of lessons would not qualify them for the open sea, but they would be able to sail around a harbour. Safety was always her first concern.
With the two three hour sessions, Molly was able to keep the Sail Shop open when she was not out training. Since the town was so small, all she did was leave a note on the shop door that she was out training and when she would be back. This had worked for many years as she never had any complaints.
When she arrived back from a morning training session at noon with a student on this particular Friday afternoon she found a disgruntled customer sitting outside the Sail Shop.
“Where have you been? I've been waiting for hours.” the disgruntled man complained.
Molly immediately became defensive as she hated this impulsive tone. “Did you see the note on the door? Do you have an appointment for a lesson? Do you need something for your boat?”
Molly was organized enough to know that she had not scheduled a lesson for that afternoon and was puzzled with this man's attitude.
“No, I don't have a lesson, but there should be someone here to help. I did see the note, but it made no sense. You don't close up just because you're out sailing!” he retorted.
“So what is it you want?” Molly was trying to stay calm.
“Sailing lessons, I need sailing lessons and I need them right away. I hear you are the best around, so I came here,” he explained.
At this point Molly was annoyed at his demands and general attitude. Obviously this city dweller had no manners and had come to expect that he would get everything he wanted when he demanded it. This would not happen with Molly.
“Look, you do realize this is the busy summer season and I'm booked full through the middle of September. You can always try the Wexford Yacht Club up the coast some. I'm sure they have some openings this summer. Although they are a bit more pricey.” Molly was trying to extricate this person from her shop. She really didn't want to have anything to do with him.
“No, no, I heard you are the best. I need to learn this weekend. Don't you have an opening?” Now it seemed like he was pleading.
Molly knew she had this afternoon open, but was hesitant to offer it to this stranger. He was so annoying with his attitude and demanding tone, too.
“Okay, first let's chat a bit about this big rush to learn to sail. You don't seem like the seafaring type to me. And not the usual vacationer just wanting to learn something new. What's the big rush?” Molly was trying to get to the heart of this.
The man looked down to the ground as if it could talk for him. “It's my boss. I'm up for a promotion and he's taking me sailing next week. I guess I alluded to him that I knew how to sail and since he's an expert he thought it would be a great way to see if we would work well together. But I've never been sailing a day in my life. The most I've done is taken the ferry across to Holyhead, and there's no sails on a ferry. He just sprung this on me yesterday, so I'm desperate to learn and quickly.”
Molly understood the implication of this man's situation. Many a hire or promotion could be conducted outside of an office. It could have been in a pub, fancy restaurant, or in this case, out on the open sea. She actually felt sorry for this man. He put himself in a tenuous position and now he was trying to fix it fast.
“I can't train you to be an expert sailor in one weekend,” she explained. “But I might be able to give you enough knowledge to pass yourself off as having some sailing experience.”
“Anything would be helpful at this point. He just needs to know that I know how to sail,” the man explained. “I'm not really going to be asking him to let me sail his yacht.”
“Knowing that he has a yacht is good. You could always tell him that all your sailing has been done in a sloop. There's a big difference in the two. Besides he'll have all kinds of technology gadgets to help with the sailing. Most importantly a GPS and a radio.” Molly was trying to help with this information.
“Alright,” Molly sighed as she said this, “I have an opening this afternoon for a weekend training. We can start in an hour, and if you can remember the names of all the important parts of the boat, you might just have him fooled. I'll be taking you out on a sloop, so you know what I'm talking about. Will that work for you?”
Suddenly the man's tone changed to excited, “That would be wonderful! So we start in an hour?”
“Yes, you'll have just enough time for some light lunch. Don't eat too much in case you get seasick,” Molly chuckled. “Oh, and we need to settle payment.”
“It's okay, I'll pay extra if need be just for you taking me this weekend. I don't care how much it costs if this helps me get the promotion,” the man was almost dancing in his excitement at this point.
Molly explained that the standard rate for a weekend training was two hundred euros, and the man agreed and made his payment before heading off for lunch agreeing to meet back at the Sail Shop in an hour.
Molly had been booked up for sailing lessons during most of the summer. Tourist and vacationers came to Kilmore Quay to get away from the city and spend time at the beach and relax. The Quay was a sleepy little place that lacked the hurry and rush of the bigger cities and many of the cottages were rented up full every summer. Some visitors just sat by the water and enjoyed the view, some took boat trips out to the Saltee Islands to view the many species of birds, some came for fishing trips, and some just sat outside enjoying the atmosphere that Kilmore Quay had to offer. Come dinner time the local restaurants would be packed serving the day's catch, as fresh as it could be. The area had tons to offer with sailing lessons and diving among the choices.
Molly set her lessons mostly as weekly rates where she would take someone out for three hours of training and experience four days a week on Monday through Thursday. On the weekends, she would take people out for the three days and they would have more of a feel for sailing than actually be able to sail. This meant for the most part Molly didn't have any days off. With this kind of schedule she could do two lessons a day during the week, and two a day on weekends. She always explained to her students that one week of lessons would not qualify them for the open sea, but they would be able to sail around a harbour. Safety was always her first concern.
With the two three hour sessions, Molly was able to keep the Sail Shop open when she was not out training. Since the town was so small, all she did was leave a note on the shop door that she was out training and when she would be back. This had worked for many years as she never had any complaints.
When she arrived back from a morning training session at noon with a student on this particular Friday afternoon she found a disgruntled customer sitting outside the Sail Shop.
“Where have you been? I've been waiting for hours.” the disgruntled man complained.
Molly immediately became defensive as she hated this impulsive tone. “Did you see the note on the door? Do you have an appointment for a lesson? Do you need something for your boat?”
Molly was organized enough to know that she had not scheduled a lesson for that afternoon and was puzzled with this man's attitude.
“No, I don't have a lesson, but there should be someone here to help. I did see the note, but it made no sense. You don't close up just because you're out sailing!” he retorted.
“So what is it you want?” Molly was trying to stay calm.
“Sailing lessons, I need sailing lessons and I need them right away. I hear you are the best around, so I came here,” he explained.
At this point Molly was annoyed at his demands and general attitude. Obviously this city dweller had no manners and had come to expect that he would get everything he wanted when he demanded it. This would not happen with Molly.
“Look, you do realize this is the busy summer season and I'm booked full through the middle of September. You can always try the Wexford Yacht Club up the coast some. I'm sure they have some openings this summer. Although they are a bit more pricey.” Molly was trying to extricate this person from her shop. She really didn't want to have anything to do with him.
“No, no, I heard you are the best. I need to learn this weekend. Don't you have an opening?” Now it seemed like he was pleading.
Molly knew she had this afternoon open, but was hesitant to offer it to this stranger. He was so annoying with his attitude and demanding tone, too.
“Okay, first let's chat a bit about this big rush to learn to sail. You don't seem like the seafaring type to me. And not the usual vacationer just wanting to learn something new. What's the big rush?” Molly was trying to get to the heart of this.
The man looked down to the ground as if it could talk for him. “It's my boss. I'm up for a promotion and he's taking me sailing next week. I guess I alluded to him that I knew how to sail and since he's an expert he thought it would be a great way to see if we would work well together. But I've never been sailing a day in my life. The most I've done is taken the ferry across to Holyhead, and there's no sails on a ferry. He just sprung this on me yesterday, so I'm desperate to learn and quickly.”
Molly understood the implication of this man's situation. Many a hire or promotion could be conducted outside of an office. It could have been in a pub, fancy restaurant, or in this case, out on the open sea. She actually felt sorry for this man. He put himself in a tenuous position and now he was trying to fix it fast.
“I can't train you to be an expert sailor in one weekend,” she explained. “But I might be able to give you enough knowledge to pass yourself off as having some sailing experience.”
“Anything would be helpful at this point. He just needs to know that I know how to sail,” the man explained. “I'm not really going to be asking him to let me sail his yacht.”
“Knowing that he has a yacht is good. You could always tell him that all your sailing has been done in a sloop. There's a big difference in the two. Besides he'll have all kinds of technology gadgets to help with the sailing. Most importantly a GPS and a radio.” Molly was trying to help with this information.
“Alright,” Molly sighed as she said this, “I have an opening this afternoon for a weekend training. We can start in an hour, and if you can remember the names of all the important parts of the boat, you might just have him fooled. I'll be taking you out on a sloop, so you know what I'm talking about. Will that work for you?”
Suddenly the man's tone changed to excited, “That would be wonderful! So we start in an hour?”
“Yes, you'll have just enough time for some light lunch. Don't eat too much in case you get seasick,” Molly chuckled. “Oh, and we need to settle payment.”
“It's okay, I'll pay extra if need be just for you taking me this weekend. I don't care how much it costs if this helps me get the promotion,” the man was almost dancing in his excitement at this point.
Molly explained that the standard rate for a weekend training was two hundred euros, and the man agreed and made his payment before heading off for lunch agreeing to meet back at the Sail Shop in an hour.
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Quay - 30 years earlier
30 years earlier...
Callahan's Sail shop was well known in Kilmore Quay. Pete Callahan had been an All Ireland Sailing Champion through the junior and senior competition, so it was only natural that when he retired from competition that he opened a sailing business. Mostly he took tourists out sailing and on occasion he taught sailing lessons. Along the way one of his students was a beautiful lass his own age. She took to the sea like a natural and over time made regular visits to Kilmore and Pete's shop.
Eventually Pete and Kara started dating and after about a year, they became engaged and got married. Together they ran the successful sail shop with both taking out tourists and giving lessons. That was until Kara became pregnant with their first child, Molly.
Molly grew up on the water with her mother and father, and eventually took over the business when they decided to retire and turn the business over to her. She lived to be out on the water and even when times were slow she would take a small boat out and sail around the Saltee Islands to listen to all the birds. She never did enter any sailing competitions like her father, even though she was encouraged to do so, but always had in her mind that she would make a long distance sail at some point in her life.
Molly was so focused on the business she rarely had time for relationships. Oh, she had friends and would visit the local pub and spend some weekend evenings, or rainy winter days out of the water, but come a good day to sail, Molly could be found setting out with a customer, or on her own.
Everyone in Kilmore knew about Molly. She was a striking lass. Tall and lean like her father, with the long dark hair like her mother and lightly tanned skin from being out in the sun so much. She was very careful to protect her skin as her father had to be treated several times for skin cancers that popped up as a result or not protecting himself. Anyone in town could distinguish her sailing out on the water and point her out. And they did this as a compliment to any tourists who asked about sailing lessons.
Molly was happy with her life at the time. She had all she needed. The Sailing shop was busy enough to provide a decent income and she had plenty of time on the water between sailing classes and down time when she could sail to her heart's delight. Parties with friends and family, and an occasional date when a friend would try and fix her up with a potential husband. So far none of these dates ever worked out as most of the lads she dated didn't have much of an interest in sailing or know enough about it to keep her interested.
After a while her friends gave up and just invited her over to dinner once in a while. Molly kept herself busy in the shop and visiting her parents. It was one summer when things were a little quiet down on the harbour that all this changed.
Callahan's Sail shop was well known in Kilmore Quay. Pete Callahan had been an All Ireland Sailing Champion through the junior and senior competition, so it was only natural that when he retired from competition that he opened a sailing business. Mostly he took tourists out sailing and on occasion he taught sailing lessons. Along the way one of his students was a beautiful lass his own age. She took to the sea like a natural and over time made regular visits to Kilmore and Pete's shop.
Eventually Pete and Kara started dating and after about a year, they became engaged and got married. Together they ran the successful sail shop with both taking out tourists and giving lessons. That was until Kara became pregnant with their first child, Molly.
Molly grew up on the water with her mother and father, and eventually took over the business when they decided to retire and turn the business over to her. She lived to be out on the water and even when times were slow she would take a small boat out and sail around the Saltee Islands to listen to all the birds. She never did enter any sailing competitions like her father, even though she was encouraged to do so, but always had in her mind that she would make a long distance sail at some point in her life.
Molly was so focused on the business she rarely had time for relationships. Oh, she had friends and would visit the local pub and spend some weekend evenings, or rainy winter days out of the water, but come a good day to sail, Molly could be found setting out with a customer, or on her own.
Everyone in Kilmore knew about Molly. She was a striking lass. Tall and lean like her father, with the long dark hair like her mother and lightly tanned skin from being out in the sun so much. She was very careful to protect her skin as her father had to be treated several times for skin cancers that popped up as a result or not protecting himself. Anyone in town could distinguish her sailing out on the water and point her out. And they did this as a compliment to any tourists who asked about sailing lessons.
Molly was happy with her life at the time. She had all she needed. The Sailing shop was busy enough to provide a decent income and she had plenty of time on the water between sailing classes and down time when she could sail to her heart's delight. Parties with friends and family, and an occasional date when a friend would try and fix her up with a potential husband. So far none of these dates ever worked out as most of the lads she dated didn't have much of an interest in sailing or know enough about it to keep her interested.
After a while her friends gave up and just invited her over to dinner once in a while. Molly kept herself busy in the shop and visiting her parents. It was one summer when things were a little quiet down on the harbour that all this changed.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
The Quay
Summer, 2009
The cool breeze blew in off the quay rustling the sheer curtains of the open windows. Summer was beautiful here along the water. She would not live anywhere else. The water was part of who she was, and would always be. Where she was born, and where she grew up.
The beaches were pristine and just a short walk down the path from the whitewashed cottages. In the morning the gulls created the morning music as the fishing boats returned to the harbour with their catch of the day.
The years had passed by quickly and this once vibrant lifestyle had become a solitary choice for her. Quiet days turned into years. Life became a pause before more quite lonely times. She didn't mind, as long as she could hear the lull of the water and smell the fresh ocean air.
As she sat listening to the call of the gull, there was a knock at the door. Little did she know how answering the door would change her life once again....
The cool breeze blew in off the quay rustling the sheer curtains of the open windows. Summer was beautiful here along the water. She would not live anywhere else. The water was part of who she was, and would always be. Where she was born, and where she grew up.
The beaches were pristine and just a short walk down the path from the whitewashed cottages. In the morning the gulls created the morning music as the fishing boats returned to the harbour with their catch of the day.
The years had passed by quickly and this once vibrant lifestyle had become a solitary choice for her. Quiet days turned into years. Life became a pause before more quite lonely times. She didn't mind, as long as she could hear the lull of the water and smell the fresh ocean air.
As she sat listening to the call of the gull, there was a knock at the door. Little did she know how answering the door would change her life once again....
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