I bought my Montgomery 17 to take my father out one last time. A life long sailor, old age, artificial hips, and cancer had brought his sailing days to an end. I had my GP14, but I felt a small unballasted dinghy like that would have been too hard on the old man, so out came the cash to splash for a well kept Monty.
Sadly, Covid kept me from launching her in time to take him out before cancer finally took him from us. I did get to spread some of his ashes over the stern, but it was not the same. I am glad you got out at least one last time. I hope you continue to find like minded souls to get you out on the water when the need presses.
Aw, you made me cry. I'm long past my last sail, and have camped out at most of the places you talked about, so memories swirled around this old noggin, too. I used to love camping up-river in Mendocino where no one else ever went - such gorgeous experiences. I was always alone, and never carried a camera - on purpose - I didn't want to view my outdoor life through a peep hole. I'm glad that despite the recalcitrant legs you got to sail that trip - it sounded wonderful!
Great article , Welton. I have rowed the Napa and Petaluma Rivers. Most of my rowing was in the San Juans and Gulf Islands of B.C. I 'd spent six weeks or two months gunkholing ( i dont like the word either) each year from 2008 to 2019 . I'd put in at Bellinham , clear Customs in Sidney and see how far I could get. Nanaimo was my farthest North but there were plenty of places to visit on my way North then back down to Bellingham.
Back East they'd say , put an oar on your shoulder and walk inland. When someone asks , "what's that on your shoulder ? " , that would be where you'd retire.
At 81 I'm deep into bonus time and manage to cart my 12' EasyB canoe down to the water once or twice a week in season.
There's always...always a sense of gratitude and wonder at it all but often it's just on the surface of my mind. Welton's tale brings it to the forefront and I've copied the final two paragraphs to print and place next to the door from the study so that I might better appreciate the wonder of it deeper in my heart.
This is the kind of thing that is great to read. Trouble for me is I'm now wondering how many years (hopefully) I have left. That makes it just a little sad. Better to think how fortunate one might be for one more sail!
I agree with Spark. Your sailing days need not be over. Years ago, I rigged my schooner to be sailed by a quadriplegic friend.
You can still sail, just not by yourself. This an opportunity to reach out to your local scout troop or other youth group and offer to take/teach them sailing. That way, everyone benefits. You have years of knowledge and an opportunity to pass it along.
NG Herreschoff used to singlehand when he was too old to go out on his own. A friend would take him out to the boat, raise the sails and turn him loose. At the end of the sail, they would come out and reverse the process. I believe the boat in question was the original Alerion.
An important bit of skill you mentioned is reading the ripples. Most of the time I have trouble getting students to understand that that there are often several breeze processes going on at once, demonstrated by the several types of ripples around you. Figuring out the patterns is important knowledge.
I bought my Montgomery 17 to take my father out one last time. A life long sailor, old age, artificial hips, and cancer had brought his sailing days to an end. I had my GP14, but I felt a small unballasted dinghy like that would have been too hard on the old man, so out came the cash to splash for a well kept Monty.
Sadly, Covid kept me from launching her in time to take him out before cancer finally took him from us. I did get to spread some of his ashes over the stern, but it was not the same. I am glad you got out at least one last time. I hope you continue to find like minded souls to get you out on the water when the need presses.
Aw, you made me cry. I'm long past my last sail, and have camped out at most of the places you talked about, so memories swirled around this old noggin, too. I used to love camping up-river in Mendocino where no one else ever went - such gorgeous experiences. I was always alone, and never carried a camera - on purpose - I didn't want to view my outdoor life through a peep hole. I'm glad that despite the recalcitrant legs you got to sail that trip - it sounded wonderful!
Great article , Welton. I have rowed the Napa and Petaluma Rivers. Most of my rowing was in the San Juans and Gulf Islands of B.C. I 'd spent six weeks or two months gunkholing ( i dont like the word either) each year from 2008 to 2019 . I'd put in at Bellinham , clear Customs in Sidney and see how far I could get. Nanaimo was my farthest North but there were plenty of places to visit on my way North then back down to Bellingham.
Back East they'd say , put an oar on your shoulder and walk inland. When someone asks , "what's that on your shoulder ? " , that would be where you'd retire.
My legs retired me.
Such a nice story. Thanks.
At 81 I'm deep into bonus time and manage to cart my 12' EasyB canoe down to the water once or twice a week in season.
There's always...always a sense of gratitude and wonder at it all but often it's just on the surface of my mind. Welton's tale brings it to the forefront and I've copied the final two paragraphs to print and place next to the door from the study so that I might better appreciate the wonder of it deeper in my heart.
This is the kind of thing that is great to read. Trouble for me is I'm now wondering how many years (hopefully) I have left. That makes it just a little sad. Better to think how fortunate one might be for one more sail!
I agree with Spark. Your sailing days need not be over. Years ago, I rigged my schooner to be sailed by a quadriplegic friend.
You can still sail, just not by yourself. This an opportunity to reach out to your local scout troop or other youth group and offer to take/teach them sailing. That way, everyone benefits. You have years of knowledge and an opportunity to pass it along.
NG Herreschoff used to singlehand when he was too old to go out on his own. A friend would take him out to the boat, raise the sails and turn him loose. At the end of the sail, they would come out and reverse the process. I believe the boat in question was the original Alerion.
An important bit of skill you mentioned is reading the ripples. Most of the time I have trouble getting students to understand that that there are often several breeze processes going on at once, demonstrated by the several types of ripples around you. Figuring out the patterns is important knowledge.
I love the idea of reaching out to various groups to share tales and teaching!
And yes - ripple-reading - and on the ocean, reading the swells, too!