Member News and Articles

P/C Susan and I, and our son and his family (from SF), spent a long weekend in Newport, RI early in May.  Our daughter and her family joined us from their home in CT. So we had two grandkids, both under two years old, to share the time with, and our kids had able and willing babysitters!  We stayed in a large Airbnb house (built in 1882) in the old downtown, close to many waterfront and city attractions.  And we were easy walking distance to fine local restaurants; we especially enjoyed some local clams and oysters.  We were fortunate, not only with the weather, but also by the marine-eye-candy and exciting activities at Fort Adams and the nearby Newport Shipyard.  

I think this is a good time to share how our day to day life looks while we are working for $ on the West coast and working on our boat on the East coast. It’s crazy. It’s overwhelming. It’s a fantastic adventure that we are so glad to be doing. At home in SB Clark works as a Food Safety Consultant. He is busy in spring/summer working very long hours. In the fall/winter he is able to work about 2 days a week. This coincides nicely with hurricane season – home April to Sept and in Florida about 10 days a month the rest of the year. My work is flexible and home based, a perfect travel job.

Like many of you I subscribe to a sailing magazine – in my case Good Old Boat which is published bi-monthly.  I usually read it cover to cover and find many interesting articles covering everything from how-to-do-it to boat reviews to personal articles from sailors.  I’ve gotten a lot of good ideas and always thoroughly enjoy it.  I even know one or two of the contributors who submit some of the how-to articles.

The detailed and stirring story of this tragedy reminds us how the basic concepts of seamanship and navigation we learn in our Squadron courses also apply to big (very big) ships.  

Now it’s time to decide on what the priorities are to get her ready for cruising. This is a bit tricky. We are not retired but our schedule is somewhat flexible so we are able to spend about 10 days a month from August thru February at the boat. Hurricane season we are home working. We are on a budget so need to decide what to do ourselves and what to hire out. Time vs money….always a compromise.

September 9, 1942, the I-25 class Japanese submarine was cruising in an easterly direction raising its periscope occasionally as it neared the United States Coastline. Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor less than a year ago and the Captain of the attack submarine knew that Americans were watching their coast line for ships and aircraft that might attack our country.

If you sail, especially if you go to our lovely Channel Islands, I recommend participating in one of these classes as they are informative, led by highly experienced sailors, and include the opportunity for hands-on exposure to the latest advances in safety methods and equipment. 

We finally did it, took the plunge, jumped off the edge, started on the journey. Whatever you want to call it, we bought THE boat. Not just any boat, the boat that will take us on our grand cruising adventure. Our search included several years, continents, countries and vacations to make the decision.

Yes, Ellie and I are (once again) hoping to put our two-week “Catalina Loop Cruise” together in the period immediately following Labor Day.  And yes!  It is the very cruise we presented on the last session of the Squadron Cruise Planning Course we took last year.

Many people consider nineteen days at sea to be a lot.  And it can be, or not, depending on the voyage and how it is remembered.  I’ve been fortunate that most of my Pacific crossings have been, as I recall, overall, fun.  Of course, as I was once told by someone, it helps a lot to have a really poor memory.