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| Pat |
Pat
The first time I ever sailed on a boat was with my cross country coach in high school. This time we were living at Fort Meade MD and coach had a nice old wooden 10 Meter he kept up the Severn. He always took the team sailing. He claimed it was to build "Team Spirit" but now that I know a little more I think it was his way of getting crew to go sailing.
On one of our trips we sailed up the Severn and I cut the buoy to close and ran us aground. This was the trip I also learned to row on when as I was taking the anchor out to kedge us off. "Those who have, Those who will and those who are lying!"
Since then we have managed to sail at various places all over the world in everything from a 8' dingy in Okinawa, Japan to a 45' Island Packet up and down the west coast of Florida.
After spending 18 years navigating a KC135 all over the world one of the things Joan and I miss most about that part of lives is the traveling and living in different places and cultures. We think we have found a way to solve that by going cruising.
After I retired and we moved to Kansas little did we realize how much we would be able to get back into sailing but we did that in a big way, in fact it just about consumes all the time and thoughts that we have. We bought our first boat, a 26' Chrysler, 12 years ago. We had a budget and Joan was a stickler for sticking to that. We learned a lot from that boat, how to fix fiberglass, broken keel cables, breakwaters are not soft and boats leak, some a lot. The most important thing we learned was that working on a boat can be a labor of love, because when you are done working you can go sailing! Since then we have owned, worked on and loved a Laser, a Sunfish, a 29' Ericson and now Santana 20. I would not say we bought the Ericson so much as we bought a Atomic 4 engine that came with a sailboat. In the 3 short years we owned her we learned a great deal about electrical wiring, plumbing and mostly about internal combustion engines.
The first time I ever sailed on a boat was with my cross country coach in high school. This time we were living at Fort Meade MD and coach had a nice old wooden 10 Meter he kept up the Severn. He always took the team sailing. He claimed it was to build "Team Spirit" but now that I know a little more I think it was his way of getting crew to go sailing.
On one of our trips we sailed up the Severn and I cut the buoy to close and ran us aground. This was the trip I also learned to row on when as I was taking the anchor out to kedge us off. "Those who have, Those who will and those who are lying!"
Since then we have managed to sail at various places all over the world in everything from a 8' dingy in Okinawa, Japan to a 45' Island Packet up and down the west coast of Florida.
After spending 18 years navigating a KC135 all over the world one of the things Joan and I miss most about that part of lives is the traveling and living in different places and cultures. We think we have found a way to solve that by going cruising.
After I retired and we moved to Kansas little did we realize how much we would be able to get back into sailing but we did that in a big way, in fact it just about consumes all the time and thoughts that we have. We bought our first boat, a 26' Chrysler, 12 years ago. We had a budget and Joan was a stickler for sticking to that. We learned a lot from that boat, how to fix fiberglass, broken keel cables, breakwaters are not soft and boats leak, some a lot. The most important thing we learned was that working on a boat can be a labor of love, because when you are done working you can go sailing! Since then we have owned, worked on and loved a Laser, a Sunfish, a 29' Ericson and now Santana 20. I would not say we bought the Ericson so much as we bought a Atomic 4 engine that came with a sailboat. In the 3 short years we owned her we learned a great deal about electrical wiring, plumbing and mostly about internal combustion engines.
My first encounter with sailing was probably in 5th grade when we were asked as part of an art project to draw a "Dream House." I drew a sailboat. Now this might not have been unusual except at the time we were living in Colorado at the base of the Rampart Range.
At some point I was asked to help with our clubs Youth Sailing program and found that I really liked teaching sailing. I still love teaching in the youth program but over the years wanted to do more so I went after as much of the ASA teaching certs that I could get.
Ending up for now with everything from 110 SmallBoat to 104 Bareboat chartering. Next goal, after we get off the dock, is to get my Coast Guard Captain's License but first and foremost we are buying the a boat and going cruising
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| Joan |
Joan
While in college Joan needed to fill some time during a summer internship so she took the local Parks and Rec sailing course. Boy was that providential. She has been engaged in sailing about every place we have lived but no more so than since we have lived in Kansas.
She is the handiest women sailor that I know. Not only is she a good skipper at the helm but has a unique eye for getting the boat trimmed and is not afraid to pick up the sander, sew up a sail with her Sailrite machine, have epoxy stuck to her skin and bottom paint in her hair, or going up the mast. She got in trouble with the other ladies at the club when were re-doing the Ericson and she spent hours under the boat sanding off the old bottom paint and husbands going home and asking their wives to help like that. One of her best attributes is that is cautious and measured in all she does.
She learned that women wanted to learn in a different environment. One without males taking their traditional rolls. She formed 
the Sailing Sisters who now spend the off season taking classes and then putting their learnings in practice during the sailing season. They recently refurbished a Santana 20 from the gel coat up. This boat is now used as a sail trainer and racer. Of course in order to ensure there is no mistaking who can be on this boat it is of the appropriate color. Along the way Joan also became certified as an ASA 101 Basic keel boat instructor.
the Sailing Sisters who now spend the off season taking classes and then putting their learnings in practice during the sailing season. They recently refurbished a Santana 20 from the gel coat up. This boat is now used as a sail trainer and racer. Of course in order to ensure there is no mistaking who can be on this boat it is of the appropriate color. Along the way Joan also became certified as an ASA 101 Basic keel boat instructor.
At some point we both took up racing, both in dinghies and keel boats. Your learning curve sure goes up when you race. Joan is a much better driver than I am.
At some point I ended up on the pointy end of the boat. You can see that I am not always the most successful but there is no better way to learn a spinnaker than when the Captain wants it down at the mark. That's me taking a rest on the side of the boat, can't spill the beer.
We are going cruising! We are working on finding the next boat and getting our "Stuff" in order.
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| Sarah |
We are also lucky to have two great kids. We hope that they will share in the adventure with us.
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| Thoma |
Can't think of a better partner, skipper and crew to go cruising with!
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