In the Beginning….
Of course it all started many, many years ago for me. I can’t
really remember exactly when I got the bug but it probably dates to the
early 1960’s. The credit (Or blame, as it were) has to go to Gardner
McKay and his television show,“Adventures in Paradise”. If you never
saw the show you missed a real treat. Gardner played Captain Adam Troy
of the 82 foot schooner “Tiki”. The plot was, basically, just him
sailing around the South Pacific in search of cargo, passengers and
adventure. Many years later, in about 1990, I had the good fortune to
meet Gardner McKay in Hawaii. It seems that we have a common interest,
sea kayaking, and, I discovered, a few mutual friends. Gardner is a
fascinating man and I have a couple of great stories involving him. Buy
me a couple of beers the next time we’re in port and I’ll tell you all
about it.
Cruising the Pacific in my own boat remained just a dream
while I finished growing up and stayed on the back burner through my
fifteen-year career in the US Army. Then, while recovering from knee
surgery at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, I noticed the boats
out on the ocean and I remembered the dream. I had time on my hands and
access to a library so I started reading. I devoured Hiscock, the
Pardeys, Tristan Jones, Joshua Slocum and anything else about cruising
I could get my hands on. I resolved to own a forty foot ketch someday
and to live aboard and go cruising just like Captain Adam Troy.
Life went on, as it tends to do when you’re not paying
attention. Fast forward to 1990. Now out of the Army for ten years and
with a good job in Honolulu, I started looking for a boat. I had a
small inheritance but not enough for a forty foot ketch in seaworthy
condition. A friend of my boss got tired of listening to me talk about
my dream of sailing and said to me one day “Why don’t you buy my
boat?”. “What kind of boat is it.” I asked. “An Albin Vega 27” was the
answer and the price was just right for my budget. “But it’s too
small.” I complained. “Nonsense!” he replied. He was right. I moved
aboard on April 1st 1990 and found the hoard of VODCA Newsletters
stashed in the locker under the forward bunk. I dashed off a check to
Sid Rosen.
Now that I had the boat, the dream became a goal. I began
developing a plan to achieve it. The plan has changed over the years
but, surprisingly, not much. Laura joined me in 1996. Bree came aboard at Christmas that year. Today, after years of planning, we are living that dream.
Thank you Gardner McKay and Rick Monteverde!
