[Rhodes22-list] Kids and Sailing

[Wally Buck]

Chris,

Thanks for sharing.

Wally


>From: NAPOLI51950 at aol.com
>Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Kids and Sailing
>Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 01:17:32 EST
>
>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)
>
>
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