sailing class

Picked up an email on the intranet during the week from Leisure Services inviting staff to an 'orientation' evening at Fairlop waters. Something about 'improving customer experience'! Wasn't quite sure how my maths 'customers' could benefit (how many landlubbers does it take to sink a dinghy?)but decided to tag along anyway.
There was about a dozen of us, very mixed bag. The Health & Fitness manager from RI, a couple of Finance people, some admin ladies from Leisure and Arts and The Director himself, looking suitably nautical in a navy tracksuit.
First of all we did Safety Orientation which was about Not Eating the Blue Green Algae and burrowing around in a dark container for bouyancy bits and splash tops. The ladies were disconcerted to discover we were mostly 'extra large' till we discovered they were child sizes (at least that's our excuse); then we did Paddle Orientation which meant getting in the Canadian canoes in pairs and paddling round the island in a stiff wind.
Then we all came back and it was time for Sailing Orientation. By now the wind is making whitetops on the lake, its getting dark and starting to rain. We look nervously at the line of little dinghys thrashing about at their moorings and are relieved when Mr Instructor Sir! pronounces it too windy for the Seaways and we should all go in the Bechstein 22 (?)
This has 3 masts and an engine and is big enough to take all of us with room to spare. He piles us all in, tells us to sit forard 'out of the way' and watch out for the boom, chugs us out unto the main lake then cuts the motor and we're sailing! Weeeeoooooo! Lots of squeaking and shrieking from the Finance ladies as we lean over into the wind. Me and The Director get to hold a sheet each from the jib and soon we're running down Canada geese and lee hoing with the best of them with Mr Instructor Sir! keeping a firm hold on the tiller and his chief mate Robbie standing on the deck at the front, presumably keeping an eye out for blue green algae.
The lights are on in the club house on the other side of the lake and Admin and Leisure want to stop off and see if the bar's open but it really is getting dark now so we do a last few near misses of the jetties and reedbeds and turn towards home.
It gets rather technical towards the end as Mr Instrutor Sir! and Robbie shout at each other from opposite ends of the boat about how to bring us in with the wind in 'that' quarter. We discover we're sailing under Lee, which isn;t good apparently. He's going to do a 270 off a broad reach and hopes to avoid a jibe (gosh, don't we all?) but we'd better all keep our HEADS DOWN! By now the nervous ladies from Finance are practically in the bottom of the boat, leaving me and The Director gamely hanging onto our sheets and Admin and Leisure ('DON'T stand up!') given the vital task of raising the centreboard. He guns the motor for the last few yards and we're back at the jetty.
After this we did Eating and Drinking Orientation which was very nice and went home. What a great way to spend an evening!