On a recent trip to PDX (Portland) I was invited to experience sailboat racing as it is done on the Columbia River. Oh what a difference!! Since it is the season of snow melt and this has been a banner year for that sort of thing there was about a 3 to 5 knot current blasting its way toward the ocean…
On a recent trip to San Carlos, Rex and I had the usual discussions every day about where we were going to eat for each meal. This ritual involves surprises and wishful thinking but primarily it is about the mood of the day. Some places I am about to bring up are places I won’t go back to (as you will see) but I keep them in the lexicon because it’s part of the art form to, “Never say never”. At the top of the list…
We arrived at San Carlos Marina on Wednesday afternoon after trailering “Sarken”, my Catalina 25 from Tucson. Larry started the preliminary boat preparation, and believing that we needed to check in with the Marina, I headed to the office. A polite young Mexican male was filling out my particulars…
With tears welling in my eyes, I strolled down the dock toward my ship, with my sea bag over my shoulder, just as sailors have done for hundreds of years. Of course, mine were tears of excitement and anticipation, whereas most of theirs were of fear and regret. I was joining the Europa, a 185-foot square-rigged bark as a passenger trainee for a sailing delivery from the Canary Islands to Brazil…
