I tale worth telling. Two men I know, of whom I am very fond, have a tale to tell. They are in their 90’s now. Their father from Pawtucket, RI. evidently was very talented at repairing textile looms. Before WWII he moved to France, to work in Lyon. His two sons attended public school. The war broke out. For those of you who are familiar with the history of that time in France, Phillippe Petain established the Vichy government, and fashioned an agreement with Germany. In exchange for two civilians, a prisoner of war would be released. The two boys were selected despite being american citizens. They were determined not to go. They enlisted in the french resistance, their american passports were destroyed, and they were given the identities of dead frenchmen, one being Emile Moisson.
Month: January 2009
Miami to San Diego
I am still kicking myself for not taking photographs of this trip. A friend( Tom Dykstra) called and asked if I would help tow a Dragon ( then an Olympic Class) from Miami to San Diego, I flew to Miami and the next morning we took off. we got as far as Orlando, where we were forced to stay overnight as a new transmission was installed. (a harbinger of things to come) Drove to Pensacola , without adventure. Our goal had been to drive 600 miles a day. With two of us driving it sounded feasible. We changed drivers each time we filled up with gas; which was about every two hours, as it turned out.
WOW
this just makes me smile every time.(double click on WOW, it will take you to a link)
Woodstock Generation
I refer to myself as being of the Woodstock generation; although I was not at Woodstock, in fact, at the time, I had no idea what it was. When Woodstock took place I was in the middle of the Atlantic ocean racing.
Homework
When I was lofting “Courageous” at Minneford’s on City Island; Phil Rhodes would come around the yard. He was retired from yacht design, but I never met anyone who had been involved in boats to let go just because time had moved on. Boats are a passion. It was clear that for Mr. Rhodes it was no different. We would chat; It must have become clear to him that I shared his passion. He started bringing work sheets with technical problems of various sorts for me to solve. The following week he would collect the “homework” and give me another set of problems to work on. I would receive the corrected sheets with comments. Something that continued until his death.
Call Me "Sir"
Before the America’s Cup Jubilee Prince Michael of Kent came sailing with us aboard “Columbia” the twelve meter in Newport. I recognized him as soon as he stepped aboard. Not quit sure of how to engage him in conversation, after a bit of reflection I had a thought. Uffa Fox had taught him to sail, and had probably helped him get drunk for the first time, in his teens, along with many other adventures. You had to know Uffa.
Senator Claiborne Pell
Senator Pell’s funeral was today. He was all the things that everyone said about him. He was of a generation and an upbringing that the world is in desperate need. I am certain that each one of us has met or knows someone of that older generation who by thought, word and deed has quietly set an example, if we are wise enough to follow, makes us a better person and a better citizen of the world. The void left will be hard to fill, and I hope it will not be crowded out by the fast moving pace of today’s society.
BAZZINI’S
The photo at the right is of the Bazzini’s. Regrettably it is out of focus. For those of us (the crew of Weald) a swan 48 in the 1975 trans-atlantic race, it is a fond memory. Bazzini’s is really a specialty store; the link will get you there. We had their peanut butter aboard for the race. The poster of the girls somehow got labeled.
More College Years
College Sailing was so much fun. I had the good fortune to have great teammates; Skip Whyte, Henry Bossett. Mike Fenton, Johnny Hayes,Clay Evans,Chris Wells, Turtle, Norm Windus, and of course our coach Ned Caswell.