Memoirs - Sailing Days
(preliminary)

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Outside of cycling, I was a skier and a sailor.     I am not sure where I started sailing - but it was when I still lived in New York. Mostly they were small boats like open 16 foot sloops and occasionally a sailfish or sunfish. But when I got to Massachusetts I met Jim White who was very much into sailing (see Jim and Margareta - the Wonderful House on The Lake). There was also a guy where I worked at Harvard named Henry who was a sailor and had a sailboat himself (which rarely left his yard at home).

Serious Sailing

The Nauticat rather than have a single main cabin which usually included the galley and eating space had a separate dining area and at least one or two separate sleeping quarters besides the luxurious . This was useful if we sailed 24 hours around the clock, since some people were berthed in the main cabin, so others could eat without disturbing the sleeping crew. The boat had a large fore cabin a plus luxurious stern cabin (owner's cabin) as well as a small crew cabin. Clearly this was the most luxurious boat I have ever sailed in or on.

Fore cabin		Aft cabin
Not the exact same boat but like it - from a newer Nauticat 39 foot boat

I believe we had it for one week, during which time we sailed it from its dockyard in nearby New Hampshire to Acadia Maine. Most notably I remember taking 2nd shift just before dawn (apparently alone) and reaching the island of Monhegan Maine - a place I often went to for vacationing, just after sunrise. I sailed in solo (I was very proud) and my my crewmates woke up I informed them of where we were. I asked if it was OK to take a short hike on my old tramping ground - which I did. We also had a young man aboard who was a great cook. So we not only ate sufficiently, we ate well.

As I said this was a beautiful boat and a beautiful sail. I don't remember how many people could sleep on board but it was more than six, probably seven or eight. We explored the many harbors and bays of the Maine coast and did spend some time at Boothbay Harbor, a well known tourist destination.

On other trips we rented boats more in the 30 - 35 foot range and sailed to, among other destinations the island of Nantucket where we had a sumptuous seafood dinner. I remember that I had oysters which were the largest, freshest and tastiest I ever had. Since it was a short sail we hung around there and were tourists too. We may have stayed several days using our boat as our waterborne hotel.

On another trip, probably in a boat belonging to the Boston Sailing Club, we went to Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod. This was a memorable trip. On our way out the weather was beautiful and a school of bluefish and some dolphins joined us. After an overnight stop at Cohasset, we got to Provincetown in good time.

But the boat was really too small for the venture. Nevertheless it was all that was available so we took it. I was only 26 feet long and although I could have squeezed inside, I decided to camp out in the cockpit where I erected a simple tent using some extra canvas to cover it. I think we left late so made one extra overnight stop outside Boston (Cohasset). Otherwise It was a single day each way and by the time we got to Provincetown the weather was changing. Also it was mid week so most things onshore looked closed. We decided to stay onboard and cook our own dinner. Next day we left for home hoping to make it in one day. It was a close call.

Overnight, however the weather it became cloudy and more significantly - very windy. I remember that as soon as we got out of the lee of the tip of the cape and tried to turn back toward Boston the little boat would barely turn (into the wind). Anyway we did make the turn, donned our wet gear (for sure we would be soaked) and heard on the marine radio that there were small craft warnings out. We should not have been out there but we were all due back at work the next day. Therefore we encountered few other boats. The waves were higher than the boat so when we were in a trough all we saw was a hill of water around us. A boat like this should not have been out in a sea like this. But I wasn't concerned because Henry was totally "cool."

I trusted Henry a great deal, since he had been a navy navigator and was basically an "old salt." At one time the Coast Guard either hailed us or came somewhat near to check us. We either told them we were OK (although Jim was seasick and I had to fight it). Henry was just fine though. Finally towards late afternoon as we approached what should have been the coast it calmed down and got real foggy. W realized according to our compass we should have seen land before the fog rolled in. After a while this became a concern but separate compass readings from the boat compass and from a hand held compass seemed to confirm the course we were on.

Eventually we knew we were off course because we sailed on and according to our charts should have intersected the Boston entry way - a well marked sealane to help small craft at sea find Boston Harbor. Also it had become dark and clear. Land was nowhere in sight.

Finally we saw a large sea going vessel going in the opposite direction but on the same course as us so we hailed them and asked for a compass reading from the ship. The result was that it appeared that our compass was off by about 30 degrees, enough so that we were essentially sailing out past Boston heading North.

With this information we adjusted our course and soon found the Boston entry markers (we had indeed past Boston). It was late and Jim and Henry had wives that may have been concerned. Also I believe that Henry was one of the first people to have a cellphone (that I knew of) so, now in reach of Boston, they called their respective families an assured them we were OK.

We did not figure out what was wrong until we unloaded the boat at the pier. It turned out that someone had brought an old FM radio. We took it mostly for the high quality sound of the radio which had a very big speaker. This speaker also had a very big magnet which was not shielded in any way. And to add insult to injury I had stowed it in the bunk directly under the boat compass. What we were most surprised of was that it affected the hand held compass we used to double check as far forward on the bow of the boat as possible. If we hadn't encountered that ship we probably would have had to call the marine operator and got ourselves rescued! Otherwise we were headed to Maine!

Casual Sailing

During that period and before I did a lot of casual sailing in small boats. In New York my friend from work Gustav (Gus) Polte had a nice little 22 foot skiff we went out in a lot (mostly in the Long Island Sound). After some years I totally accidentally got in touch with his wife. I hadn't seen Gus for a few years (and apparently neither had she). Her first question was whether I had heard from Gus? I was surprised at the question and asked why. She informed me that he had just disappeared one day, apparently in his sailboat which was also gone. Knowing Gus, I never could figure out what happened. I don't think he went down because he was too good a sailor and no trace of the missing boat was ever found. Also, knowing Gus, it is not unlikely this was his choice for "getting away from it all" (including his wife!).

In Boston I also went out almost daily in small boats on the Charles River Basin. Boston has a unique sailing club which is non-profit and so very inexpensive) A member could go out anytime if invited by a "helmsman."  To become a helmsman you had to take a test. With my experience I quickly became one and could take out a boat anytime - with or without guests. So I could sail every day if I wanted to.

My friend Jim also had a small sailboat he kept at "the lake." It was an old wood boat so needed a lot of maintenance but it did sail well. We enjoyed that and one week when I was at the house by myself I borrowed a sailfish belonging to one of his cousins (somewhere between a sailboard and a boat). You sat on it, not even in it. However I took it out for the day and was able to cover all of Melvin Bay with it. On the other hand when I tried to go out on the open lake I barely managed to turn around and get out of there, the waves on main Lake Winnipesauke were way to big for such a small boat.

I have sailed just a little in California. Before I move here when I was still hanging around with my girlfriend "Jane" we went to Sausalito where I convinced the rental place I had credentials by pulling out my "helmsman" card from Boston Community Boating. The boat was OK for the bay but I was surprised by the winds that came off the California hills. This was a new experience for me.

After I moved out here, I met a woman who was a sailor and also had privileges at the Berkeley Yacht Club. So we were able to get a ride (like at Community Boating). The skipper let me take the boat out of the protected dock area, but did not let me sail in the bay. I probably could have done it but didn't push my luck. After the sail we had privileges at the club which is pretty classy. Dinner was served and it was prime ribs with all the best trimmings. People there were talking about their sail to Hawaii and such. Definitely not in my class.

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