Fond Memories

On Saturday, we were privileged to host Dr. Burford’s family aboard Bliss. In accord with his wishes, we took him sailing aboard his beloved Bliss one last time. Words are inadequate to describe the experience, made possible by events both magic and tragic. Suffice it to say that the events of June 25, 2011, are burned into my memory for as long as memory can last.

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Graduation Day

Well, Matthew finished his Polliwogs class at the Shreveport Yacht Club. I cannot say enough good things about the club and its programs. Matthew learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed himself. Through Polliwogs, we felt richly welcomed by Shreveport's sailing community.

Principessa and I really enjoy the company of sailing enthusiasts. They are an interesting, helpful, and friendly group of folks. Unlike the stereotypes that "yacht club" conjures, sailors and yacht club members are mostly unassuming people whose company we greatly enjoy. If things change and our sojourn in Shreveport continues, I will be pestering them to make me a member of the Shreveport Yacht Club. What a great bunch of folks!

At the graduation get-together, Matthew's teacher told a story on him. On Matthew's first solo sail, winds began gusting to 15 knots or so. Matthew screamed (continually), pointed his Optimist dinghy toward the dock, trimmed the sail, and went back in. As I sailed out in another Optimist (for an adult, it's sort of like trying to sail your bathtub), he made a beeline past me in the opposite direction.

John, Matthew's teacher, told how Matthew, despite his fear, knew exactly what to do to get right back to the dock. John took pride in that, and he well should have. John, a middle school teacher during the school year, is an excellent sailing instructor and a great guy.

It was good for Matthew to get some experience in a more appropriately sized vessel. He likes to steer Bliss on Bayou Castine, but it will be a long time before he can sail her.

Matthew's First Solo Sail

Polliwogs

Matthew is taking sailing lessons this week on Cross Lake. The Shreveport Yacht Club has a really top notch sailing school, and Matthew is having a lot of fun.

Lesson No. 3 Learned the Hard Way

Lesson: In rough water, don't take down your sails until you get inside the jetties.

Price of the Lesson: a shortened main halyard, delay, and frustration

How I Learned It: On the way back from New Orleans Mardi Gras last year, the winds were high and the waters were rough, at least for me on my first solo sail. The waves on Lake Pontchartrain were at about 2-3 feet.

I had been pinching the NW wind but still had ended up a bit to the East (downwind) of the mouth of Bayou Castine. So I dropped the sails and cranked the motor. Bad idea.

Unfortunately, the pitching and rolling pulled the motor out of the water, making it difficult to make any headway or to navigate. The sound of the outboard's cavitation was distressing.

Also, I had not properly cleated the main halyard to the mast. It came loose, swung around the back of the boat, and promptly got fouled in my outboard's propeller. The motor was dead as a doornail, and I was drifting to the shallow waters off Goose Point. Not a good feeling.

It is not much fun to hang off the back of your boat and cut the halyard line while your boat is pitching and rolling, but I now know that it can be done.

Eventually, I made it into the Bayou and back to Indian Landing. Had I simply tacked once more, worked upwind a bit, and kept the sails up until I was inside the jetties, I would have saved about 1 hour, 4 feet of halyard, and much anxiety.

Lonely, Dirty Girls

We finally were able to do some sailing over the weekend. Met up with some friends we had not seen in a while and took them sailing also. It is always good just to get out on the lake for awhile.

Our boat has been in Mandeville since February, and we have sailed 5 or more times since then. However, we had never seen anyone else on our pier until Saturday. On that day, two of the other boat owners were showing their boats to potential buyers. One was giving his boat a much needed washing.

Before Saturday, we had seen no evidence that any of the other boats had moved for months. Several do not even have their masts stepped. All of them look dirty.

At Pass Christian and Long Beach, we saw a lot more activity. Nevertheless, there were a lot of neglected boats. They just sat in the slip.

It seems like a lot of people have sailboats, but fairly few really sail them. Wonder why that is?

A Sailor’s Farewell

While taking inventory of all the “extras” on board, I ran across the name of Roger Burford, Bliss’ first owner. Wanting to know more about her, I contacted Dr. Burford with the help of Google. He emailed me back immediately.

Dr. Burford, a retired Q.B.A. professor from L.S.U.,purchased Bliss new. He had kept her moored on Bayou Castine for thirty (30) years or so. He was a wealth of information and advice. Over the past year, we traded many emails and one long phone call.

It was more than evident that the day he sold her was a very sad day for him. He spoke fondly of sailing with his son and granddaughter.

He emailed me a magazine article reviewing the Helms 24 Dolphin.



The boat reviewed in the article, it turns out, is hull no. 330, our very own Bliss.



Each time we corresponded, I offered to crew for him. I really wanted him to sail with me. That was not to be.

I sent email twice in the last few months, but they went unanswered. I heard from him last on February 1, 2010. He acknowledged receiving the link to this blog. Here is what he said:

"Thank you. I appreciate your sending me this. It reminds me very much of some of my trips from Mandeville to Pass Christian and the rest of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and back. When I bought Bliss back in 1978 it was love at first sight, and the love never faded. . . . The reason I sold her was that my health took a turn for the worse and I couldn’t spend the time with her that I did previously. I couldn’t stand to see her just sit there and deteriorate . . . . I was disappointed that I never heard from the person who bought her from me, but you have more than made up for that."

Dr. Burford died March 17, 2010. His obituary said that “[h]e loved to sail and tell sailing tales.”

To Dr. Burford, I offer a sailor’s farewell: "Fair winds and a following sea and long may your big jib draw!"