Sea horses for different courses
Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015
The first time I heard it, the song brought tears to my eyes. It has had the same effect every time since. It wasn’t meant to be sad; it’s a song of celebration. So why do I respond with such mixed emotions?
The song was written several years ago by Tom Wells, the official Good Old Boat troubadour, pictured above. Perhaps he meant to inspire Jerry, who was trapped in the eternal refit of our C&C Mega 30. Perhaps it was written to help us maintain a positive attitude about the impact of a new addition to our fleet. (Two boats! Are you crazy?) Or perhaps this song just came to Tom, as songs tend to do.
He played it for us the first time at a boat show several years ago. It went right to the top of my list of favorite songs by Tom Wells (and there are many). But it made me cry and I couldn’t have explained the reason.
The song is called “Mystic Sunflower” (after the names of our two boats). You can hear the song and see a slide presentation that Tom put together at www.goodoldboat. com/resources_for_sailors/videos/MysticSunflower.mp4. The lyrics go like this:
One is blue as blue can be
Reflects the color of the inland sea
She keeps us safe as we sail away
To Isle Royale or Thunder Bay
One is yellow and she’s born to race
But we have given her a brand-new face
She’ll ride the road and take us anywhere
From California to Delaware
What is the next cruise we want to take
Gitche Gumee or some far-off lake?
Blue or yellow, which shall it be
The Great Lakes Lady or the Highway Queen?
One is our old friend tried and true
We feel at home in her hull of blue
The other we have made to be our home
On any waters that we choose to roam
When we go we’ll have to face the choice
They both are calling with a siren’s voice
And we will treasure anything we do
If we choose yellow or if we choose blue
What is the next cruise we want to take
Gitche Gumee or some far-off lake?
Blue or yellow, which shall it be
The Great Lakes Lady or the Highway Queen?
Sunflower, the project boat and highway queen, was launched in late June 2014. As planned, we spent the rest of the summer testing and tweaking, sailing and repeating.
We can’t give the results a full 10 on the smile meter. The summer was too short, too cold, too windy, too rainy, and over before we’d mastered all the lessons Sunflower had in store for us. Learning to live on and sail a much lighter, narrower, and more tender sailboat took some doing. By the time we hauled her out in late September, I was referring to the experience as “the summer of our discontent.”
Throughout the season, we agreed that we really missed the boat we have sailed for more than 20 years and know so well . . . the boat that laid the groundwork for all the comparisons with our new boat. Mystic, our C&C 30, is “such a lady,” as Jerry always puts it, that the bar was mighty high and horribly unfair.
After some reflection, I believe the song brings tears because I fear we’re being disloyal somehow to the blue boat we love so much by adding the yellow one to our fleet. But after a summer of getting to know the new member of the family, Jerry and I have been reminded in every way possible that these are two entirely different boats with two entirely different sets of capabilities and available for two entirely different kinds of adventures.
They cannot — should not — be compared. Each has her purpose, strengths, and weaknesses. It isn’t about loyalty or loving one boat more than the other. As the song says so well, it’s about cruising Gitche Gumee (Lake Superior) or some far-off lake. Still, the bittersweet melody plays on my mind for days on end.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
