Jon Eisberg's passing

[Sandero]

Jon's own words:

"
My dad loved Friendship Sloops and Barnegat Bay catboats, in that order. One of his favorite musings was that one day we’d go to Maine, acquire a Friendship, and spend the summer cruising Down East and sailing her back home to New Jersey. To a boy of my tender years, to whom Maine was an impossibly distant and exotic place, such a vision seemed the dream of a lifetime. I’ve now outlived my father by several years, and I’ve come to appreciate that ambition of his to be a relatively modest one, yet one entirely in proportion to the wondrous nature of the man. How he could have survived the great war he so bravely fought in yet never managed a simple cruise to a place he always dreamed of is about as cruel an irony as his brief passage through life presents to me and about as good an argument as I’ve ever known in support of the oft-heard cruisers mantra, "Go now."
My dad would have loved The Basin. He’d have noted its striking likeness to a lake in the Adirondacks. Most of all, he’d have relished the fact that after dark, the only lights to be seen were above the tree line, thousands of light-years away. As I watched the sky darken and the water grow still, I opened a special bottle of wine given to me by a friend at the outset of my cruise. I drank a toast to my father, who’d nurtured the dream that had brought me to this special place, and felt for the first time that my life as a cruising sailor had officially commenced. Although I’d previously delivered other people’s boats to these waters numerous times, I’d come to realize that sailing my own boat there, and leaving a small token of him there in the waters he’d always hoped to explore, would be the most fitting way to honor both my parents."

[boatman61]

BUMMA..!!
He will be missed...
:flowers

[PortClydeMe]

Jon passed way? Very sad, indeed.

He chased me around this forum like a bad smell. He never liked davits on a Hinckley. Odd, and sad. Hope his family and friends do well.

[bob_77903]

Wow, so sudden...a good guy.
Condolences to the family...

Fair winds Jon

[Cthoops]

So sad to hear this. Condolences to his family and friends.

[cpa]

Very sad news.

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Sandero

Jon's own words:

"
My dad loved Friendship Sloops and Barnegat Bay catboats, in that order. One of his favorite musings was that one day we’d go to Maine, acquire a Friendship, and spend the summer cruising Down East ........ and leaving a small token of him there in the waters he’d always hoped to explore, would be the most fitting way to honor both my parents."

Very touching piece, made me think of my sail to the South Coast of Newfoundland, a place Dad always talked of visiting but never did, a special place Jon also visited. This piece spoke to me of feelings I too have had but could never express half as well.

[Delafontaine]

For newcommers to CF, some information from ''Cruising World'':

Jon Eisberg, was a professional photographer and delivery skipper -as well as a writer who has authored features for Cruising World on chartering in Croatia ("Through the Croatian Looking Glass," February 2002) and negotiating the Intracoastal Waterway ("An Insider's I.C.W.," September 2004) - kept his cutter, Chancy, on a mooring in front of his New Jersey home.

see: Executive Decision | Cruising World

Fair winds wherever you are, Jon !

[brownoarsman]

I never met Jon, but I very much enjoyed reading his posts and viewing his pictures. Sad to know that we won't see more. Condolences to his friends and family.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Paul L]

One of the good guys crossed the bar.

[Mambo]

Sad news indeed.

[Mike OReilly]

Sad news indeed. I always appreciated reading and interacting with him on these sailing forums. He was, as the saying goes, the real deal. I will miss his wise and civil words.

[Vasco]

Will miss him. One thing that always came through in his posts, Jon was a gentleman.

[Steadman Uhlich]

That is sad news.

I had really hoped to meet him on the water someday, or to have the chance to buy him a pint of ale in a quayside pub.

I always enjoyed reading his posts, learned some things from him, and enjoyed seeing his photos of his boat too. He was a real, valuable contributor to this forum and others where I had seen him before.

I had not seen a photo of him till today, when I came across a photo posted by Mainesail on another forum. In the photo, he is sitting in a dinghy next to a sailboat, looking up at the camera with a great big smile, as if he is visiting a good friend for a gam. That is how I will remember him.

Farewell Jon!

[GoingWalkabout]

Rest in peace Jon. I enjoyed your clear thinking posts full of wealth of experience and intelligence. May your family and friends be comforted.