JFK Sailing

There's something to be said about a man who loves to sail and who does it regularly.  John Kennedy was that. . .there's a lot to be said (and not said) about our former President who seemed to find relaxation and peace on the water. 

I find sailing to be Zen like in nature.  Peace.  Harmony.  In tune with the elements.  Almost like meditation. 

They say that once you learn how to ride a bike you'll never forget how.  True.  Sailing is like that.  Once you've mastered the art of sailing, you'll always be a sailor and you'll always be able to sail most any craft.  Apart from hoisting the sails there's a fair amount of skill required to sail from point A to B and C then home again. 

Then there's emergencies a sailor must be able to manage.  Coping with someone falling overboard while under full sail and lots of wind.  If a component in the rigging breaks then what?   Knowledge of how to manage injuries of a passenger when there's no one else to help. What if the boat takes on water?  Then what? 

Driving the boat is one thing.  Doing that and everything else well is yet another.

I think of John Kennedy as a good skipper who could manage any problem on the water.  As President, it was also JFK's job to manage any problem on his "watch".  Good sailors can multi-task and translate skills learned at sea into most anything on land.  He did just that (well, most of the time).

On The Beach

A captain's nightmare is being in a dangerous situation that's difficult, if not impossible to get out of, especially when the safety of your passengers is at risk.  Here's an example of just that. .. a captain experiencing just that and living to tell about it.

Hurricane Irene hits land and the captain of this 30' craft is out in it.  I'd like to think he was seeking safe harbor from the hurricane.....that he, his wife and their cat had been sailing miles and miles off the US shores and had no choice but to make a run for it to beat the hurricane.  It's not likely that the captain was out for a pleasure cruise in such foul weather.

The first photo is of the rescue with the aid of a bystander.

And this, the video of the boat being beached.   

It's a fairly new and expensive boat which was probably insured for loss.  The good news is that the captain and his crew weathered the experience. 

Here she sits. 

I'd like to sit with the captain of this boat and ask him some questions.  The first being, Next time, if there was a next time, what would you do differently?

Could Have Been Prevented

This Tanzer 26 would have gotten through Hurricane Irene in one piece but it looked like the pennant parted at the deck. More than one pennant line of greater length (longer is better) with chafing gear probably would of saved this boat.  A lesson learned the hard way.