[C38] What a wonderful post!

Donald Strong drstrong at ucdavis.edu
Wed Jun 22 13:43:42 EDT 2011


David: You can tell a good story! Inspiring. I am gagging on the worst smog
that I have seen since LA in the early 1960s. Beijing air is proof positive
of the vale of the Clean Air Act. I'm yearning to get back to Discreet
Charm, our 38, for a good sail. And, by the way, Boat Bits is my fav daily
sailing blogread.
Keep it up, hombre!
Regards, Don

> In the late Summer of 2007 I began looking in earnest for a boat big
> enough to stuff my family into, sturdy enough to take us anywhere we
> might
> want to go, and cheap enough for us to buy with cash.
> 
> My friend Bob Wise (boatbits.blogspot.com) helped me sort through what
> was
> needful, and we got the shortlist down to about four boats, all about the
> same size and cost.
> 
> "How do I choose?" said I.
> 
> "You'll know," said he.
> 
> While ruminating on the shortlist, somehow I can across a listing
> "turn-key cruiser". The price was right, the size was right, and there
> was
> something about her that held me (that photo in the header on our website
> is from the original listing)
> 
> "It's a Catalina 38, Bob. I know she's just a club racer, but..."
> 
> "That boat will take you anywhere you want to go."
> 
> Maybe two hours after that convo, I joined this email list to find out as
> much as I could about the boat before going to see her in person in
> Georgia.
> 
> When I finally did see her I knew exactly why she spoke to me. I flashed
> back on being 13 years old in 1979, sitting in class, day-dreaming and
> drawing cartoons of sailboats with ridiculously exaggerated tumblehome
> flying big multi-color chutes.
> 
> Yesterday we flew a chute on S/V INTEMPERANCE for the first time, that
> big
> red assym I've been so happily bragging about since I got it.
> 
> It was *amazing*.
> 
> My guests couldn't believe their eyes, and they couldn't believe they
> were
> on a boat with such a huge, sexy sail. Dad was at the tiller, and I could
> tell he was captivated, lost in the same wonderful fantasy-land I was in
> in math class in 1979.
> 
> Except it was real!
> 
> This morning I'm thinking about all the amazing adventures we've had on
> INTEMPERANCE, and all she's given to us. We've put new bathrooms, and a
> new kitchen in our house, she paid for all the gear and plane tickets we
> needed for our Caribbean adventure, and now she's letting me get paid to
> share what we all love with people.
> 
> And I'm also thinking about how generous and supportive this community
> is.
> I know from the occasional outbursts of politics that we come from pretty
> diverse points of view about a lot of things, but it really warms my
> heart
> that we have a place we can set that aside and enjoy sharing this thing
> we
> love.
> 
> Now I'm off to the auto parts store to see if I can't get my overheating
> problem sorted out!
> 
> Fair winds and following seas!
> 
> 
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