Twenty eight years ago...

Twenty eight years ago on this date, also a Friday, I was a lonely twenty year old soldier in a foreign country. I had just returned from four weeks in the fields and forests of Germany, I was tired and feeling a little down. My buddies and I sat down at a table out side of the Hard Rock Cafe in Sachsenhausen, Frankfurt, and that's when my eyes met hers. She still has that look in her eyes today and I am very happy to still hold her gaze. Hoffentlich als acht und zwanzig mehr!

Why choose Sailing?

Sailing has been defined as hours of boredom infused with moments of sheer terror and for some it probably is. It is confusing and frustrating and can make a normally easy going person cuss like a sailor (I think I know how that saying came about). But sailing can also be very rewarding especially if you are someone stubborn like me and love a challenge.

The confusion comes from the miles of rope and yards of sail on a sailboat. Its like attempting to fly two huge kites sideways with puppet strings while trying not to run around or hit another boat; but with training and practice it becomes easier and eventually second nature. I am currently between cussing like a sailor and easier, LOL.

At first, nothing on the boat makes sense; to begin with, the ropes aren't called ropes, they are sheets, lines, and halyards. Terms like heel, tack, jibe, starboard, and port seem like a foreign language that other sailors assume your are fluent in. And making the boat go in the direction you want, Ha ha, that's where the cussing starts, just make sure you have plenty of Rum on board.

 I am sure by now you are wondering, and so do I from time to time, why I love sailing? To me, the answer is simple, it is in my blood. My ancestors where sailors and I feel a connection to them when I sail. I am always looking towards the horizon and want to go farther, unfortunately right now I am land locked on a inland lake. But I know, that my future will include crossing that horizon. I hope I do them proud and just maybe, someday, they will make a place for me at the feasting table.

Gladiator - Theme Song

Lisa Gerrard has a song named Serenity, which I like, but given my love of history, I thought this one was more fitting. I also like this one better.

Our current sailboat

Early on in our sailing experience we discovered that our old boat Sentio Ventus wasnt big enough to weekend on comfortably. We started looking for something larger, but still small enough to learn on safely. We settled on a 27 foot Catalina. AQUILON (Latin for: North Wind) is the sailboat that we plan to sail until we reach retirement age and then purchase a larger live aboard sailboat. She was in pretty good shape, just needing some elbow grease and attention to detail. She has a fully battened main sail and a 150 Genoa roller furling head sail, wheel steering and a inboard diesel engine. She also has upgraded Lewmar winches and newer rigging which was a huge selling feature for me.

We had the interior cushions reupholstered and refinished all of the interior and exterior teak. We had the boat buffed out and the bottom repainted along with fixing some minor damage. We also added an air conditioner and flat screen T.V. with DVD player for our creature comforts. (also as an incentive to get my son to sail with us, but don't tell him)

Our first boat

Our first boat was found on Craigslist. The outboard motor didn't run and she needed a lot of TLC. What she did have was a very solid full keel hull and an excellent selection of sails. We named her Sentio Ventus
which is Latin for: Experience the Wind. We sailed her for a season on the Mississippi and then moved her to Lake Carlyle, Illinois. My son William and I cleaned and refinished all the teak and painted the inside of the boat. We had the bottom repainted and added all new sail bags before her launch at Carlyle. We sailed her for a season at Carlyle and then decided to purchase a larger boat, a 27ft Catalina.

It all started with a dream

Martina and I love to travel; but with our limited budget, we tried to determine the best way to see all the sites that we could when we retire. A friend that worked with my wife purchased a sailboat a few years ago, and together with her husband, they repaired her, sold all of the their belongings, and set sail. This idea intrigued us. Since two thirds of the world is covered with liquid h2o, you can see most of it, or at least, arrive at the coast, of many places by water. After discussing the idea with my better half ;-) we decided to learn how to sail. Now, both of us had never sailed and even our experience with boating was very limited, but we decided to try. We purchased a 25ft sailboat and started learning the ropes, no pun intended. LOL After a few outings on the Mississippi river where our boat was located, we soon discovered that we didn't know squat! We did some research and decided to take sailing lessons. ASA101, basic keelboat. We signed on with Bill Learn from St. Louis Sailing and jumped into sailing with both feet. The weekend of our training it was raining sideways and about 40 degrees out. We sailed in 3 to 4 foot waves and 30 knots of wind. My wife thought we were crazy and I was starting to agree, but I had an epiphany, I could sail that boat! Not perfect of course, but I knew or had a sense of what to do, so when we made it back unscathed,  the obsession began....