I was raised around powerboats. When I was in 5th grade my grandfather gave me Peter Freuchens Book of the Seven Seas, and I knew a sailboat was in my future. When I was 21 I bought my 1st sailboat. Back then if you left the
safety of a harbor in any boat that was not double ended you would surely die. So I bought a converted
Navy whaleboat originally built in 1928 and converted to a
ketch right after WWII. For being only 26 feet it had an enormous Grey
Marine engine. I had never sailed ever. My brother had taken 2 group
sailing lessons the years before in Marina del Rey so we went out sailing together. About an hour into our maiden voyage as the Delphi Tramp began to sail sluggishly I came to find a foot of
water over the floor and a gallon can of lacquer thinner floating around leaving a slick of the most powerful
sea sickness producing stank I ever encountered. We changed tack and brought the leaking
thru hull above
water and I plugged it and then laid in the
cockpit pumping water out and vomiting until we were back in Ventura Harbor where due to the Grey
Marine being half submerged we sailed into the slip. I did not learn too much about propelling a boat with the
wind that day. However I did feel I had learned some valuable lessons none the less. My other brother, now my sister, had gotten a Kool 11 foot styrofoam Snark sailboat with Kool cigarette coupons, but never went sailing. He gave me the boat and the next weekend my wife and I and our infant son went to Hansen Dam and in 20 minutes I could tack to windward and broad reach without capsizing and sail downwind. My wife took twice as long to learn that stuff, but I had read a how to sail pamphlet and she took several minutes standing up to her waist in the middle of the water recovering from a
capsize. Next weekend I threw a bowline from the ends of the fingers one after another behind the 5
boats between the Delphi Tramp and the turning basin and pushed her out of the slip with my wife at the tiller, then I ran to the end tie
dock and pulled the boat out and leaped on raised some sail and we spent the
day sailing in the Pacific. The following weekend we sailed to
Santa Cruz Island and stayed for one night. It is not that hard. After a year or so I put an
outboard on the side of the stern, but the Grey Marine never ran again, mostly due to my lack of any mechanical ability back then. Back then the marina did not even require
insurance. I also found that I could launch the Delphi Tramp with the tossing towing method by myself and frequently
single handed for an hour of so a few times a month when I was returning home after
work.
Linear Mode
Recent Discussions