Since I was a little kid, being the captain of my own ship was a mere dream. I used to imagine that I would sail around the world, have a crew, and be in some type of thief-less pirate fantasy. I’ve written about how I’ve always had a fascination for the ocean, and of course, that hasn’t been limited to just swimming. Although I’m still waiting for my own sail ship, I recently had the pleasure of captaining a ship around the docks of Newport Beach. Apparently, in Southern California, it isn’t so difficult to drive a boat!

Recently, there have been warnings of high tides – however, the port was extremely calm. I was with a party of 8, all of whom happily hopped into a little motor-powered boat for a ride through the famous marina. On the journey, we viewed some of the area’s beautiful seaside houses, some of which were so impressive that they had their own security.

The boat wasn’t able to surpass a rather low speed, but the experience was still a new one. Driving a boat isn’t any more difficult than driving a car, something I can admit I’ve always been good at. The trip was a mere 2 hours, but for me, that was more than enough. Until I can maybe fulfill my ridiculous childhood fantasy, this will be the moment I always remember as that time I commanded a ship.