[Rhodes22-list] Kids and Sailing

[NAPOLI51950 at aol.com]

I enjoyed the whole exchange about kids and sailing and it put me in a 
reflexive mood also.  I bought my 1st Rhodes in '76 and our son was born in '82.  He 
went out sailing with me starting at the age of 9 mo.  Naked as a jaybird he 
would insist on taking the tiller.  By the time he was 6 he was my regular 
crew while we sailed the Chesapeake from Va. beach to the C&D canal.  Those were 
wonderful times.  Shortly before having to sell the boat in '94 I took it down 
(via trailer) to Ft. Lauderdale and sailed it across to Bimini and then to 
Nassau where his Mom and he joined me.  After a week he was put in charge of 
navigation (all DR) and planning the routes.  How he grew in those few months we 
were down in the Bahamas!  With much regret I sold our boat and moved to 
Oregon.

When Nick was a senior in High school he announced that he didn't want a car 
for graduation (fat chance anyway) but help in buying a boat in Greece.  He 
saved and made money with several ceramic shows.  We looked for an available 
Rhodes to ship over to Greece, but none were available in his price range.  (a 
Rhodes in Rhodes would have been way cool)!  As it was we went over and located 
a 22' British built boat and spent a month restoring it.  After a too short 2 
weeks sailing from near Athens to Turkey I left my son on his 18th birthday on 
the Greek Island of Simi.  He spent the next 5 months sailing the boar around 
the islands and Turkish coast.  Almost every year since he has managed to 
scrape together enough money (with a bit from us) and return to more sailing over 
in the Med.  

This fall when I had purchased another Rhodes and brought it out here, Nick 
climbed in and sat down in the cockpit.  Silent for several minutes with a 
faraway look, he reached over gave me a hug and said "With this boat you taught me 
sailing and a whole world opened up for me, sailing made me who and what I 
am".  Geez, can you ask for anything more from your kid?  What went unsaid is 
what the Rhodes did for his folks too.

Chris
SV Trepa (for now)