Do you know that feeling when you meet someone and you're like "Nah, not my type of person" and then you meet them again several years later and suddenly you are simply crazy about them? I'm sure it happened to you in one of the other way. Maybe it was a person you started to like only after the second meeting, or a dish you didn't like at first, or a song? Well, I know that it happened to me. My story is one about sailing.

Kathrin Kasperlik

I was a small kid when my parents first took my brother and me on a boat. We didn't really understand how everything worked on deck, so we were involved only in the little things. We had family vacations like these a few times. And although I somewhat enjoyed being there, it never clicked. While my brother continued to sail and gain more and more experience, I abandoned any kind of yacht and took another path. Soon, I was infected with horsemanship and practically lived in a stable.

Several years passed. Actually, lots of years. I guess somewhat around ten.

Suddenly, I had the urgent feeling to leave, to go somewhere, to jump into an interesting challenge. Don't ask me how I came up with sailing, but somehow I ended up on a boat – and it clicked. You know, it's when ordinary things start feeling wonderful. Like, when you fall in love: all of a sudden the trees look greener, people are nicer and life looks better. That's what happened to me.

Kathrin Kasperlik

What is sailing anyways, you might ask? It's when you're out on the water, the wind caressing your face, and you're free of worry. It's when you have the sun over you and fresh air in your lungs and everything smells sweeter than usual. It's when you wake up to the sound of seagulls and fall asleep to the gentle rocking of the boat. You simply don't want it to end.

Kathrin Kasperlik

However, when I say "love story" I also mean it. Just like every love story has its tough times, so has this. Every relationship is marked by up and downs, and each new situation challenges you in some way or the other. So did sailing. After sailing on lakes, I discovered the sea, then the ocean. Suddenly the caressing wind changed into storms, and the gently rocking boat transformed into a restless vessel that didn't let me sleep during the night. At times, I even was scared.

Kathrin Kasperlik

There were days when I thought about getting out of that relationship, which was not a bowl of cherries anymore. But I stayed. And soon enough the waves smoothed out, the rain stopped pouring down and I saw the sun again. It was different, but it was still my love story.

Kathrin Kasperlik