Musings About Sailing.

Some of you reading this post already know that I hold keen interests in a variety of topics. One of which is sailing. I first was introduced to sailing by my brother, Richard. He took my wife, Kathy, and me out sailing on Lake Maumelle in Arkansas one afternoon. We were on a relatively large vessel and I was immediately impressed at Richard's ability to move the boat upon the water with wind power. To this day, one of the most satisfying sounds is when the main is raised and it reports that it has just caught the wind! I was doubly impressed when he was able to stop the boat without throwing out the anchor...later, I realized that he brought the boat to a hove-to position. After this trip, some 20-odd years ago, the hook was set.

My first sailboat was (and still is) a 1968 Alcort Sunfish. The boat was completely outfitted and sitting on a small trailer when I bought it for, I think, $500.00. Later, a new sail was acquired for it (which made quite a difference). I still sail the Sunfish periodically and am still fully impressed by its agility and grace on the water. I also like the lateen rig - unbelievably easy to manage and historically, one of the oldest sail configurations. Below are a few photos of the Sunfish at sail.

Sunfish close-hauled at Lake Beaverfork.

Sunset view at Lake Beaverfork from the Sunfish

The Mariner.

As fate would have it, in 2014 I found an O'Day Mariner for sale in Missouri. The Mariner is a sloop-rigged trailerable sailboat that has a very shallow draught. It also has a small cabin and its reviews state that it has very good sailing characteristics for single-handing. After contacting a very nice man named Charles, I made a trip to Cass, Missouri to see the boat in person. Although the boat was in a rather neglected state of affairs, it had no apparent problems save for a small-ish hull/deck compromise on the starboard beam (it had been repaired with epoxy and fiberglass resin). What really sold me on the boat had beautiful lines and was not modified in any way; being completely untampered with and including all original components.