Found poem, a remembered gift

Although this poem is not precisely sailing related, I feel compelled to share its beauty. Probably a decade ago, a friend of mine sent me the poem by Pat Nielsen, who was a dear friend of hers who I recall had just passed away, losing her battle with breast cancer. I...

Why it’s great to be a sailor

Top 10 lists are everywhere these days, and they admittedly can get a little silly. But, I recently stumbled across a top 100+ list called “Why it’s great to be a sailor”, and just had to share it. The first one made me smile …. “seeing...

Flat earth and bad luck

Not very long ago, sailors feared the edge, the place just past known seas, where ships would fall from the edge of the earth. In their minds the earth was flat. Sailors believed wrongly pushing their craft past known limits was folly, which could end with free...

Furious Farallon Islands — part II

Continued … At one point I looked up to see a towering wave looming much higher than the deck and as it curled towards me I realized it was going to break over the foredeck. I grabbed a shroud with both hands and waited for the wall of water to hit. I was sent...

Furious Farallon Islands — part I

I gazed out on the sparkling blue waters of San Francisco Bay from my 33 foot sailboat, Rough and Rettie, and thought it was a perfect day for sailing. A rarity for April. My friend Sue and I were heading to the starting line off of City Front for the 1983...