During the summer of 2002, I joined the Manhattan Yacht Club, which sadly is not as snobbish and exclusive as it sounds, but which does afford ample opportunities for meeting people and tooling about on sailboats in New York Harbor. I started sailing some years ago in Boston, on the Charles, and while I'm not a pro by any means, it is one of my favorite outdoor activities.

These photos, sadly, are not very gloomy. Indeed, it's very difficult to be glum on a day as beautiful as this one was, on a boat, on the harbor, when you're supposed to be in the office. If I'm ever lucky enough (and dumb enough) to have a boat of my own, I'll try to find some nice black sails for it.