LETTERS
Installs and measures from the outside
With a few exceptions, such as Larry Ellison, we all have limited resources, so we have to prioritize how we allot them. Our priorities in life are as follows: 1) The well-being of our kids; 2) traveling around on sailboats; and 3) . . . well, there is no number three because everything else seems to be, as surfers say, just details. We've been able to travel around on boats because things like new cars, jewelry, fancy furniture, stylish clothes, fine dining, expensive wines, frequent haircuts, spa visits, car washes, movies, concerts, resort vacations, Christmas or other presents, visiting casinos, and buying pot or coke seem like foolish wastes of money. Get us out in nature on our boat, and we're pretty happy. Get us on our boat in the tropics and we're ecstatic. Oh wait, there really is a #3. We really like high-speed internet access, too. No cruiser has ever told us that home schooling was easy. In fact, a lot of them have told us it's very hard. But in looking at the big picture we think most active young boys would get a better and more useful education cruising on a boat than they would caged up in almost any classroom in America, at least until high school age. And while we're not experts, we think this might be particularly true for boys with ADHD and maybe even dyslexia issues. But we'll let more knowledgeable people weigh in on these subjects. By the way, in most couples it's the man who is usually more enthusiastic about sailing than the wife, but it's hardly universal. Among the exceptions have been sailmaker Jocelyn Nash at Quantum Sails; Wendy Hinman of Seattle, who wasn't very pleased when husband Garth Wilcox was ready to give up cruising their Wylie 30 Velella after just seven years in the Pacific; Caren Edwards, formerly of Portola Valley, who was outvoted by her husband, son Dana, and daughter Rachel, when it came to continuing to cruise their Marquesas 53 Rhapsodie in the Pacific after just five years; and others we just can't remember off the top of our heads. If you're a woman who belongs in this group, we'd love to hear from you.
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747 Aquidneck Ave. Middletown, RI 02842
401-847-7960
Fax: 401-849-0631 sales@ab-marine.com
www.ab-marine.com
CHRISTINE NORDSTROM
Gori propeller
3-Blade
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800-801-8922 Page 24 •
Latitude 38
• August, 2010
747 Aquidneck Ave. Middletown, RI 02842
401-847-7960
Fax: 401-849-0631 sales@ab-marine.com
www.ab-marine.com
⇑⇓HOLY COW NEARLY RENDERED INTO HAMBURGER The Fourth of July this year was a great day for sailing. The weather was beautiful and, after a wonderful afternoon sail on our Treasure Island-based J/24 Holy Cow, we were heading back to our slip to enjoy a pre-fireworks dinner in the berth. I heard the skipper, Barry Vlught, yelling something as I was on the foredeck dropping the jib. With the wind picking up and blowing the gaskets out of my hands, I assumed that the skipper was yelling at me to hurry up. Don't have a cow, man! Especially if you're But when I turned driving another boat. back, I saw that a 35-ft cutter under power with no sails up had her bowsprit over our port lifelines amidships! Our skipper repeatedly called out to the woman at the helm — the only person on deck — to turn to starboard and give way. She merely stared straight ahead, her hands firmly holding the wheel on a steady course, grumbling, "I know, I know, @*& you." Nonetheless, she made no attempt to turn the wheel or reach for the gear shift. It didn't seem to me as if she was trying to avoid a collision. With the wind blowing us down on the cutter, the skipper