Memories 4

After the American 24 sailboat, came my largest and one of the best boats I will ever own.   It was an Ericson 29 that I bought in partnership with my friends Mike and Deanna.   I had been without a sailboat for a few years and I had gone to Mike to discuss this unchangeable need for another sailboat.  I don't know if I wanted him to talk me out of it, but I just shared my heart and my desire for some more adventure in my life.   We talked and within a few weeks he started sending me ads for sailboats for sale.   I then realized that he had captured my same disease and wanted to partner with me in buying a boat.   Financially, this was just what I needed and we soon found the "boat of our dreams."   It was beautiful and would sleep four.   Deanna, I believe, was equally excited and soon we were sailing the ocean blue.   They were great learners, the best of friends and were always (it seemed) up for an adventure.

 This sailboat had been kept up and was too large to trailer.   We were now introduced to renting a slip and the marina life.    We also had the monthly expense of a bottom cleaning and the haul out and bottom painting every few years.

I do believe that Mary actually liked the boat also.   Mary is a fair weather sailor and I am afraid that I (who like a good stiff wind) would sometimes get her and our son (who also suffered from mal-de-mer) into some rough weather.   They didn't like that.   Sara, our daughter, on the other hand was like me and never got sea sick.   When it got rough, she would put a few boards in the gangway and go down below to do puppet shows for the rest of us huddled into the cockpit.

Ericson 29

One summer my dad who lived in Colorado had planned on coming to California and spending a week with me sailing up to the Channel Islands.
I so looked forward to spending time with my dad and letting him experience the thrill of sailing.   He was a hard working carpenter all of his life and never joined the carpenter's union.   He had put in for vacation and even though he was 66 years old, he was still working.   One week before we were supposed to go, he called me and told me that his boss had told him that if he left, he wouldn't have a job when he got back.   He cancelled the trip.   By the next summer he had a heart attack and died at the young age of 67.   We never did take that trip together.

My sis Diana, however, did come out the next summer from Colorado and we cast off on the same trip that I would have taken with my dad.   I don't know if it was Dad helping us or not, but we had a great and safe adventure.   On the first night, my sis was extremely tired and I could not awaken her to stand watch so I just did what I had to and sailed on through the night.   Toward morning, I was falling asleep at the wheel and I began to think about all of the "what if things " that could happen in the night.   I have seldom felt fear in the ocean, but that night I did.   We could hit something and hole our boat, a whale could hit us, our mast could break and on and on.   Within a very few moments, the sun started to lighten the eastern sky.   Just then a small group of dolphin came out of the darkness and frolicked around and around me.   I got the overwhelming sense that my dad had sent them to let me know that everything would be just fine and that "maybe" he was along for the fun.