The Gift of Sail

Published in Southwinds Magazine in the Fall of 2019

I read something long ago, I can’t even recall when or where, but it stuck with me.  It said that we need to thank people for things they have given us.    Not necessarily physical things, but events or lessons that have changed or influenced our lives for the better.    We need to thank our educators, our mentors, and those that have inspired us.  What gifts have they given us?  It could be a religious belief, a passion for our work, our way of thinking about things.  Gifts that they never really knew they gave us.

Fifty years ago my father bought the family a Sunfish.  We kept it on the beach behind our house in Ft Walton Beach, Florida.  I was 12 years old at the time.  I loved sailing that little boat, loved it when the wind would pipe up and I could get her up on a plane.  The center board would hum, that wake behind me was a thing of beauty.  My sailing career took off with that little Sunfish  and never stopped.

I’ve had many mentors along the way to fuel the passion.    Dr. Reily took me on my first offshore passage at the age of 16.  The challenges of that trip lit a new fire for sailing to far away places. His generosity of that trip would shape my life for the next 40 years.

Hugo Vilhen taught me to plan well, prepare well, and sail over the horizon at age 18. I learned to do things right, to research, and study my sport.   Hugo had just set the world record for sailing across the Atlantic in the smallest sailboat.  His boat was 6 feet long.  He later broke his own record with an even smaller boat. 

Tom Dickenson was 76 years old when I met him.  He sailed a skipjack with a long bow sprit and hank on sails.  I learned from him how sailing can be the thing that keeps you going and keeps you nimble in old age.  I also learned a certain calmness from Tom.  When things got stressful or crazy, Tom was like a guiding star.  That’s why today when I look up at the North Star I say hello to Tom and ask him to watch over me at sea. 

When I thought about it, the gift my father had given me was the gift of sail.  He bought that Sunfish with me in mind and it turned into a lifelong passion for me.  I wrote him a year before he passed away and sincerely thanked him for the gift of sail.  I told him how much it has shaped my life, and how much pleasure it has brought me.   

Who gave you the gift of sail?  Consider letting them know how much you appreciated it and what it has meant to you.  I’m sure they’d love to hear your thoughts.