Ahoy PSC Sailors,
The hills are green, and the lake is calling. The flowers are beginning to bloom, and the views
from Ironwood have been breathtaking. After a week break for Father’s Day we are scheduled for our next race this Sunday. This week has seen some great sailing weather and I was fortunate enough to get out for a sail or two to enjoy it myself. The kids and I even ran into the African Queen on Saturday who had a couple children aboard. This quickly led to about an hour of circling each other in an exchange or water gun volleys. Both crews were thoroughly soaked but given the heat it felt wonderful! I hope everyone else was able to enjoy themselves as well this past week. Race number 3 is scheduled for Sunday June 24 th . Please check to see whether you are scheduled for Race Committee remembering that the race prior to that event you are expected to assist with Picnic duty. Many of us started sailing before we had driver’s licenses, and I was no different. In the Hudson Valley in New York my first sail was aboard the Clearwater Sloop a large wooden vessel with a massive tiller with a fist carved into it. Later in life I sailed sunfish with the Boy scouts. These little boats were a tad intimidating for this kid, but the feeling of slicing over the water was irresistible. What could possibly go wrong? Fresh from Boy Scout camp with a sailing merit badge earned in a Sunfish, I felt ready! Boy, was I wrong, but there in lies the interesting part, because it’s not where you start (a kid born into a non-sailing family) or even where you end up, it’s the journey. So with a supporting family, I left for Florida the summer after my fifteenth birthday to sail with the scouts from Mainland Florida to Key West. I fondly remember the trip the endless water and thousands of uninhabited islands. Looking back, these were some of the most important “learning” years of my life. I promised myself then that one day I would have a boat of my own. Later in life I joined the Army and while deployed in support of Operation Enduring freedom I thought to myself that Enduring Freedom would make a good boat name. I spent much of my time looking at sailboats for sale online, and on Christmas my soldiers and I held what is known in the North Eastern United States as ‘Yankee Swap’ where we traded gifts for Christmas. One of my soldiers gave me a brass ships bell saying that one day I’ll hang it in my boat. It would be ironic that nearly twenty years after my first sailing trip that I would find my first boat Yankee Swap a Macgregor 25 that many of you remember me first sailing. Last year I upgraded to Tommy’s Oday 26 sailboat naming her Enduring Freedom. That ships bell has hung proudly in both! I would be interested to hear how each of you also got into sailing if you wouldn’t mind sharing the story. With this past week off I’ve been struggled to find some interesting topics, and thought I would reach out to the club for some ideas given that I am new at this. Topics could include, your first or last boat, a cruising story, PSC history, or local news and events. Maybe even related sailing literature, advice, or recipes! Otherwise I am looking forward to our upcoming events.
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