A procrastinating boat sinner seeks forgiveness
Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007
Forgive me, Mother, for I have sinned. Three years ago I described my 22-foot sloop, One Love, in the pages of this magazine (November 2004). I said, “She looked lonely sitting on her trailer, fenced into the backyard.” At the time, I was a rescuer who bought her and fixed her up, putting her back in the water where she belonged. But now, when I look out my kitchen window, I see a familiar scene. One Love once again sits behind a 6-foot privacy fence, covered by the accumulated filth of time spent on a trailer miles from the water.
The selfish landlubber in me points out that there was a move to a new location 800 miles south, a new home, renovations, hurricanes, family obligations, work schedules. But Sterling Hayden, sailor, actor, and author, said, “Wind is to us what money is to life on shore.” I suspect that there are times in every sailor’s life when focusing on the wrong account balance can get you in trouble. I have spent too much time recently on shore, and my real account is sorely short of wind.
I’m the same person who wrote with pride in my vessel, and now I write with embarrassment. Not over her, but of myself. From years of walking the docks at marinas I know there are other sailors who understand only too well what I am talking about. It happens to even the best-intentioned boater. I am reminded of a simple phrase that I learned years ago on my induction day to the U.S. Naval Academy. Four little words that say so much: “Sir, no excuse, sir!”
So I say three Hail Pardeys, and one Our Buffet, and unpack the cleaning supplies. I know there’s a pressure washer around here somewhere. Joseph Conrad wrote, “Of all the living creatures upon the land and sea, it is ships alone that cannot be taken in by barren pretenses, that will not put up with bad art from their masters.” So please forgive me, One Love. I have been full of barren pretense and bad art. I will have you back where you belong soon and I hope to again be worthy of the title Master.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
