[Rhodes22-list] A New Rhodie Joins the Ranks

[Wally Buck]

Congrats Bill, I had actually heard from Bob Ingram that you finally found a 
Rhodes 22. I was up on the plateau Friday and Saturday night so I missed the 
big winds. Horizon actually had races Saturday! I stopped by Blue Springs on 
my way back to Knoxville but the heavy winds were gone. I still got a nice 
sail in.

I am glad to hear that your family loves the boat. Are you going to trailer 
sail it or slip at Concord? Are you coming down to HYC for the Fall Regatta 
at the end of the month? Did you sell Opal?

Wally


>From: "William E. Wickman" <wewickman at duke-energy.com>
>Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>Subject: [Rhodes22-list] A New Rhodie Joins the Ranks
>Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2004 19:31:22 -0400
>
>After lurking here for a little while, I guess its time to come out the
>closet and introduce myself.  I acquired a new (to me) 2000 model Rhodes
>about a month ago.  Anyway, I am located on Fort Loudon Lake in Knoxville,
>TN at Concord Yacht Club along with another "Rhodie" that is in the process
>of restoring a 1976 era Rhodes.  Wally, you may remember me as the guy from
>CYC that came down to visit and look at your boat last spring.  Seems like
>a long time of searching and waiting for the right boat has finally come to
>an end; and just in time for some late fall sailing.  Stan was
>right....again.  He said to be patient and the right boat will come along.
>Kind of like cats, I'm not sure if we pick our boats or our boats pick us.
>If you are so inclined to read on, I would like to share my first
>experiences with the boat.
>
>After cleaning up the boat and admiring it in my driveway for about a
>month, I couldn't wait any longer and launched it last week.  During the
>past week, I have entertained a continuous barrage of interested sailors
>stopping by for a look and tour of all the neat and unique features of the
>Rhodes.  It has been very heartwarming to be on the receiving end of
>comments such as "beautiful!"  "Awesome boat!"  "Luxurious"  "comfortable"
>"opulent" "unbelieveable" "I want one."  Talk about pride of ownership!
>
>Several of you have related tales of wild rides during the heavy winds that
>swept through the Southeast late last week.  Well, my inaugural sail was on
>Friday afternoon.  My 16 year old son called me from school (for the first
>time ever) and asked if I would take him sailing.  Well, those of you who
>have teenagers will understand that you should never turn down your teen
>when they actually want to do something with you.  The wind was
>irresistible so I left work early and headed to the dock.  When my son, his
>friend, and I got out on the lake I suggested that we reef as the winds
>appeared to be blowing around 18-20+ knots and I was not really familiar
>with the boat outside of what I read.  Well, being the testosterone filled
>teenagers that they are (into extreme sports and all), and me not wanting
>to be thought of as the old man, I relented and put up full sails; not even
>dropping the boom to its lower position (at least I kept the pop top
>closed).  What a ride!  I kept saying to myself over and over as I stood
>vertically on the inside edge of the seat looking almost straight down at
>the water; water that was sliding up over the rail, "Stan said that it is
>impossible to capsize this boat...Stan said that the boat will not
>sink...how tragic, I'm going to capsize and sink on my first time out!"
>
>Well, the boat did neither.  In fact, just like everyone has said, it
>stiffened up tremendously as soon as the gunnel hit the water, and then
>simply rounded up.  It did this several times to the whoops of my son and
>his friend.  They thought it was great sport.  I was afraid I was going to
>slide out of the boat into the chilly lake, although I too found it
>exhilarating as soon as I realized that we were not going over.  I finally
>convinced them that we would go "faster" if we experimented with some
>reefing.  The evening came too soon we and returned to port safe and dry.
>My son and his friend could not wait to do it again.  I was looking for any
>rum that the previous owner might have stashed in a secret place.
>
>I learned several valuable lessons on that first sail.  The Rhodes cannot
>be capsized (or if it can, I would hate to see the conditions).  In heavy
>winds anyway,  the Rhodes sails with the exhilaration of an oversized
>dinghy.  Even when you have buried the rail, you stay bone dry.  The Rhodes
>is a boat that can captivate the interest and excitement of a 16 year old.
>It most certainly passed the extreme sailing test.
>
>In contrast, I gathered my whole family of five (my other kids are 13 and 8
>years old) for a quiet Sunday evening sunset dinner cruise.  I was
>interested to see how the boat would handle a family of five.  The winds
>were light to nil; more typical of what we see on our lake.  Other than a
>few nasty power boat waves, it was smooth sailing.  What a contrast to
>Friday.  We set up the cockpit table, spread the table cloth and munched on
>hor'derves and wine (soft drinks for the kids) while a whisper of breeze
>ghosted us along as the sun slowly set.  The kids enjoyed bundling up
>together at the bow as we slowly motored back to the slip.  My 13 year old
>like it so much she begged me to haul the boat out and trailer it to
>Charleston for the weekend where we are going to my son's high school
>sailing regatta.  The boat most certainly passed the "family" test.  I hope
>their enthusiasm remains over time.  Mine has only grown in the short time
>that I have had the boat.  The possibilities are endless...
>
>Sorry, I didn't mean for the is posting to be so long, but I guess my
>enthusiasm just got the better of me.  I also love reading about everyone
>else's adventures and thought you might enjoy mine.  It sure beats
>politics!
>
>And now...to think of a name for her.
>
>Bill Wickman
>
>__________________________________________________
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