Category: Sailing
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The Sensation of Yes
Written by
on
I was glad to be alone with the boat. Not having a pregnant wife close by, the obligation I felt to attend her every need was lifted, I was free…
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Virtue of the Easy Way
Written by
on
We had been on the move for a month. Starting out, I had tried to teach Betsy how to manage the boat, taking any opportunity to teach and keep her…
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Auspices
Written by
on
I saw signs in the flight of birds. “Auspices” the ancient seers had called the signs, who had made their observations to advise emperors in leading nations. If they were…
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What Independent Means
Written by
on
I was supposed to be independently wealthy. How else could I pay cash for a sailboat and afford to be without a job? Did I feel rich, spending all of…
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Strain
Written by
on
We anchored in Sabine Pass, among giant oil rigs used for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. There were a hundred of them—I don’t know how many—mothballed, standing idle in…
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A Man’s Place
Written by
on
For several days, I debated whether to swallow my pride and motor back to Clear Lake. I could tell the broker I’d bought her from to sell her, send me…
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Deepwater Anxiety
Written by
on
We motor-sailed on to Galveston, another easy run, no wind to speak of. At the mouth of Port Bolivar, where the giant freight ships came into the Houston Ship Channel,…
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Superstitious
Written by
on
No amount of precaution and planning would keep Betsy comfortable for long in open water. She had no experience of time in a seaway All she had seen in the…
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Belly Up
Written by
on
Betsy was all for heading to the Caribbean or Central America, to the Rio Dolce, the “sweet river”, in Guatemala. That was where I imagined delivering the baby, anchored…