A few years back, I was walking down one of the docks at Granville Island in Vancouver, BC. looking at the various sailboats for sale. I came upon a massive all wooden cutter-rigged sailboat. It had wood mast, wood boom, wood hull, wood decks, and a the huge wood bowsprit! It must have been well over 70'.
Standing there admiring this piece of classic history, the owner, a very large, burly bearded man in late 60's or 70's strolled up. "Do you like her?" he asked. "I just bought her. They took my old boat in trade." He pointed to a 30' fiberglass (something) with a red hull. It was one heck of a step up. His plan was to spend his last years exploring the inside passage up into Alaska. "Around every corner is another gorgeous place to drop anchor for a month."
Now, he claimed to be on his third wife; the previous two had passed at sea. Cause for alarm? Not really, though it did seem ....odd.
As we spoke, his new wife popped her head out of the forward hatch to ask him a question. I was stunned! She was in her late 20's - early 30's, had long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, and the only other part I could see of her was that she was clad in a skimpy white bikini top that could have used a little more material in its construction. She was a stunning woman! I looked at him, then at her, then back at him. From just under the brim of his ragged captains hat complete with a gold embroidered anchor, he winked at me, smirked and said, "I hope she's a keeper." I started to laugh, uncontrollably.
As our conversation continued, I told him of my plans to retire in the South Pacific on a sailboat. It quickly became apparent that this old salt had some very sage advice about life on a sailboat that has since become etched into my brain.
"You will find a lot of prairie people on the ocean; it's flat and you can see a long way. Prairie women make great shipmates. They see the distance, not the waves."
"Sailing is just like being in jail, ....but you can drown. So it is best to pick your cellmate wisely!"
But his best line, and this one had a lot to do with who I chose to be my 'cellmate': "If you are looking for a woman to live with you on a sailboat on the ocean, best to find one that sees dead calm as an opportunity to be creative, rather than a reason to dive into the last of the Oreos."
Yup! Forever etched in my brain!
Standing there admiring this piece of classic history, the owner, a very large, burly bearded man in late 60's or 70's strolled up. "Do you like her?" he asked. "I just bought her. They took my old boat in trade." He pointed to a 30' fiberglass (something) with a red hull. It was one heck of a step up. His plan was to spend his last years exploring the inside passage up into Alaska. "Around every corner is another gorgeous place to drop anchor for a month."
Now, he claimed to be on his third wife; the previous two had passed at sea. Cause for alarm? Not really, though it did seem ....odd.
As we spoke, his new wife popped her head out of the forward hatch to ask him a question. I was stunned! She was in her late 20's - early 30's, had long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, and the only other part I could see of her was that she was clad in a skimpy white bikini top that could have used a little more material in its construction. She was a stunning woman! I looked at him, then at her, then back at him. From just under the brim of his ragged captains hat complete with a gold embroidered anchor, he winked at me, smirked and said, "I hope she's a keeper." I started to laugh, uncontrollably.
As our conversation continued, I told him of my plans to retire in the South Pacific on a sailboat. It quickly became apparent that this old salt had some very sage advice about life on a sailboat that has since become etched into my brain.
"You will find a lot of prairie people on the ocean; it's flat and you can see a long way. Prairie women make great shipmates. They see the distance, not the waves."
"Sailing is just like being in jail, ....but you can drown. So it is best to pick your cellmate wisely!"
But his best line, and this one had a lot to do with who I chose to be my 'cellmate': "If you are looking for a woman to live with you on a sailboat on the ocean, best to find one that sees dead calm as an opportunity to be creative, rather than a reason to dive into the last of the Oreos."
Yup! Forever etched in my brain!
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