— SLIM'S STEPS stern pulpit and light up the wind indicator from the deck with a spot beam,” explained the old sailor. “That’s how my Cal 20 is rigged for night sailing. Those masthead lights never work anyway, and the wires inside the mast make too much noise at anchor.” Now I remembered where I had seen this guy. He had a beat-up old Cal 20 that he sailed practically every day. He’s also a member of the yacht club, but hardly ever seen there and not active in any club activities. “Is that you sailing out of the marina every morning in your Cal 20?” “Yup, I usually go to Point Bonita and back, so I get in a lot of surfing, especially on a good ebb. Every day spent sailing,” he reminded me, “is a day added to your life.” “That’s why your boat needs a good scrubbing,” Lee called down from halfway up the mast. “Rather sail it than clean it,” he said. “Or help out at the community sailing center.” It turned out Lee knew him from the sailing center, where he spent his time
teaching beginners or fixing the co-op boats, when he wasn’t sailing to Point Bonita and back. Which explained why he never had time for the yacht club.
L
ee made me crank her up the last few feet without any help from her windsurfer-conditioned arms, and finally, gasping for air, I had her back at the masthead. She extracted the superfluous screws, and was refused permission to remove the masthead light so I could pull out the wires. We lowered her back down to the deck. “Good to meet you, Max,” our guest said as he climbed back to the dock. But his foot caught in a dock cleat, and we heard a sickening crack as he fell to the concrete dock. Lee and I both jumped off the boat to help.
“Are you okay?” “I broke my foot, dammit,” he muttered. Lee had her cellphone out in less than a second and was starting to dial.” “Don’t move,” I advised. “Help is on the way.” “No, put that phone away. It doesn’t hurt.” “But your foot!” Lee and I protested. “Naw, I’ll just have to buy another one,” he said as he lifted up his pants leg to show a plastic articulated prosthetic foot and lower leg. He picked himself up and seemed per fectly okay, other than being a little annoyed. Lee and I both eyed his artificial leg suspiciously. “Uh, that wasn’t you in that story about the mast climbing accident, by any chance, was it?” I asked. “Oh no,” he insisted. “This happened when I was picking huckleberries on the side of a cliff . . .” — max ebb
"An ounce at the masthead is like, worse than a pound on the deck."
OWL HARBOR MARINA THE FRIENDLY MARINA HOME OF
ANDREAS COVE YACHT CLUB
• • • • • • • •
Prepay one year, get the 12th month free! 30'-50' deep draft berths @$4.75 per foot Showers • Laundry Dry and open storage Extra wide berths for multihulls Home of Club Rio Sailing School Sail and Canvas Shop Robert A. Viel, Certified Marine Surveyor
Yacht Club Cruises Welcome! OWL HARBOR
LOCATED ON SEVEN MILE SLOUGH OFF THE SAN JOAQUIN RIVER HARBORMASTER: SHAWN PASSERI
(916) 777-6055 email: owlharbor@citlink.net www.owlharbormarina.com 1550 W. TWITCHELL ISLAND RD. ISLETON, CA 95641 August, 2006 •
Latitude 38
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