Saturday, August 11, 2007

Old Man Sailing, Again - August 11, 2007


Having started sailing in 1982, and having three boats in the past with the last being a Morgan 416. I would like to get back into either the Chesapeake or inland waters.

Rather than buy a cruiser that needed a slip, yard $ $ on the hard, electric and midnight runs during hurricanes. I have decided to, with Pat's permission, my pretty wife, to find a trailerable sailboat.

Finding a boat was hard for the price I wanted to pay was hard, more than two boat units into the purchase. What is a boat unit you might ask. In terms of those of us that have come to the chapels West Marine, Bacon's Sails, Boat US, etc. , one boat unit is $1,000.

So my 25 year old son is taking me on the evening of the 16th of August to meet a nice young man who is delivering a boat that I have purchased from him. We will be driving to Knoxville, Tennessee, to meet. The trip was reduce by half, rather than having to drive to Missouri. The young man is on his way back to school in Florida. Spent a little more than two units.

Thus far in my sailing career, I logged 1,600 or 66 total days sailing time on my first boat, a 22 foot Cirrus Westerly, we named Cupie's Craft, in the Mobjack Bay and the Chesapeake Bay. At that time my son, Christopher was 6 months old. Neither Pat or I knew what we were doing. Especially on our first night anchored being caught in a northeaster in Put-In-Creek off the Mobjack. After seeing that my dear friend, Steve Capo', who taught me to sail. The time came to get a bigger boat. That vessel was a Morgan Classic 300, a 30 footer. I had over 2,100 sailing hours or 87 days on that boat. It was my home for three months in the 80's when taking a job in Maryland. Pat and Chris were in our home in Williamsburg, VA. Once that home sold and we moved to Prince Frederick, Maryland. We kept this boat in Solomons, Maryland. From there we sailed the middle part of the Chesapeake. In leaving Maryland and taking a a position in Southern Virginia. I am ashamed to say that I allow the Love is Two to sink on land.

We bought the Island Gypsy, a 41 foot Morgan 416 Out Island Ketch. Lord she was beautiful. I was on the bay, even when Pat and Chris could not join me. My dear friend, Randy and I did most of our sailing at night out of Fishing Bay off the Chesapeake. On the weekend and in vacations I logged the most hours on this boat given that the amount of time available.

All good things come to an end. With the business Pat started, I needed to help. So we sold the Gypsy plus he money from the sale of WJL. Plus, we could not keep since we had limited income.

I worked with Pat in the business that is now successful for a number of years and did some substance counseling for my friend Gene as well as help my friend Kenneth in his North Carolina operation securing sites for group homes.

I took up a position working finding homes and supervising staff in a foster home operation. I enjoy the folks I work with and perhaps will stay for a number of years or perhaps not, who knows.

I would like to get back into the H2O. The immediate family members bought a trawler and at times Pat and I will enjoy. But I think, it working on a boat is what I enjoy. So I come back to where I started.

Everything is an adventure...This is the lastest. I hope to continue to document my work on this new/old vessel s that my grandson can know his PopPop other than being a old man in a chair. Also I am back where I am with my own son, who is now 25 and loves to sail....That is the real reason I am doing this. I would like his son to have the opportunity to learn the joy of being on the water with his son. I do not plan to pass up any opportunity with Chris.
I will be tracking the $ put in to this project at end of each note , just to keep things in perspective. Again, I don't plan to put alot into this effort.

Tom

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