I began boating in 1999 after moving to Roanoke Rapids, NC. Golf had been my major past time but the move brought a change in life. We lived near several lakes including Lake Gaston which was a designated recreational lake. The ramp was only 13 miles from our house. Let me introduce you to the boats that became a part of that change. (pic above is for illustrative purposes only)
Flying Lady
The story of Flying Lady is the story of my
introduction to boating in general and sailing in particular. I became enamored
with sailboats while living near Baltimore, MD. We used to visit the Inner
Harbor and I would be enthralled with the sailboats that I saw. Somehow in my
thinking I just assumed that sailing was for the rich. There was no way I could
own one of the big, beautiful, sleek sailboats that I would see docked in front
of the Light Street Pavilion. Why I didn't realize you could buy a smaller and
older boat I do not know. But it wasn't until we moved to NC and I saw the
Kells for sale in a local trader newspaper that the thought occurred to me. I
bought boat, trailer, motor, rigging et. al. for $2500. We christened her
Flying Lady II (Flying Lady I was my wife's 1993 Camaro).
My wife made me read up on sailing before I started
so I bought Sailing For Dummies by Peter Isler and his
wife, both accomplished sailors. The learning curve was steep but I
was on the water! I was so green. I remember the first 2 or 3 times I
sailed Flying Lady that I attached the rudder and left it sticking
out horizontally instead of pushing it down to a vertical position. Man
was there a lot of pressure on that tiller in a fresh breeze!
Except for one trip to the Chesapeake Bay, I sailed her exclusively
on Lake Gaston, NC. We had some
great times on Flying Lady including overnighting on her with my daughter,
swimming off of her in the lake, and just being on the water. We also had some
tense times on her like the time I forgot to take the straps off before
launching and I "baptized" my car! Or the time I took my elderly parents out on her and the motor wouldn't start when the wind died! Oh, so much fun.
She was a great first boat. I owned her from
1999 to 2004. I sold her for $2300. Five years of sailing cost me $200 (plus a
few things here and there but we won't count that). Not bad for a bunch of fun
and memories.
(boatyard: to be continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment