I bought the boat having never sailed before in my life. I bought a book and a friend and I headed to the reservoir for a trial run. Everybody was rigging their boats at the dock. I thought it would be easier to rig it while still on the trailer, then back it into the water and be prepared to sail away.
So we put the mast up, rigged the lines and the sails. Boy, she looked pretty. Then I started backing down to the ramp by the pier. All of a sudden I heard "zin, zipp, zipp, zing". I looked back and saw the sails falling into the boat. I had hit an electrical line. Well needless to say, we didn't get to sail that day.
But fast forward. That boat and I became soul mates. Often I would hit the water at sunrise and come in about midnight. My wife would ride with me for a few hours and then she would get tired. I sailed that boat through storms and rough water, in lakes where there was a current, and on days where the wind was consistent enough to allow for some significant heeling. I sailed her with a main and jib, just a jib and just a spinniker.
I did not use a motor but rarely had any trouble bringing her aside the pier under sail.
Sailing for me was a way to totally relax. Give me a cooler of drinks and some fried chicken and I was set for the day. I learned to read the waves, read the clouds, and to drop the sails when coming aside the pier if the wind was too high. I never turned her over but was in winds that turned a lot of other boats over both large and small.
Around 1998, I put her up for sale. When her new owner pulled out with my happy little boat, I actually cried. I hope they took good care of her.
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