In 1997, 15 years ago I began a journey with a vessel along the Carolina coast with my two children. We intended to give other sailing kids a sense of their seafaring heritage. That journey ...Read more]]>
It’s OFFICIAL! Transfer of ownership of SPARROW, a classic Marshall 22′ catboat for picnic charters on the Swansboro waterfront 2013.

In 1997, 15 years ago I began a journey with a vessel along the Carolina coast with my two children. We intended to give other sailing kids a sense of their seafaring heritage. That journey turned into flotillas, camp workshops, teacher staff development, national conference speaker invitations and cross country presentations about the maritime arts.

But all that came to a halt this past year when my Mom’s condition worsened and my Father was holding on~
After the worst emotional storm of my life, my Mom passed on June 15th…..

She had been lost for some time suffering from alzheimers. It took me a couple months to mourn her passing and not sailing before her spirit awakened in me a new vision.

Upon one of our last conversations, I asked her, “if you could go anywhere and do anything right now, what would you do?” and she said, “go sailing“.

Mom on deck

Although her mind was lost to the disease, the mere fact that she could muster up a reply such as this was remarkable when most of her hours were spent either in bed or sitting out in the garden watching the sparrows for hours while Dad tended to the gardening. She found some solace in watching those sparrows…..so in her final days, Dad placed her hospital bed up close to the window so she could see out and continue to watch the sparrows feeding from the garden gazebo.

You see, sailors have an old saying, that when a sailor is lost at sea, sparrows will come and carry their soul to heaven……..and that’s exactly what they did~

So that bright fall day as I had my early morning walk in the woods I felt her spirit come over me and stir my soul…..we were going sailing, still.

We (Kelly Belle & I) decided to take a road trip that morning up to Oriental, the sailing capital of North Carolina to rejuvenate our passion.

Kerry Belle sailing

Thought we might find a sailor or two and a few boats to look at, we even stopped by the local brokers yard to look at an interesting old boat, and then moved on. We decided to stop down by the ramp access and to our surprise there were two interesting catboats at the dock and a curious man climbing under a fence to access one of them. We followed his lead and caught his attention on the dock…..I called out, “so how do you like your catboat?”

An hour later, after making introductions and talking furiously about catboats and what makes them so special, I admitted to him that I was on a somewhat of a search for a catboat. He instantly told me of one that he had seen in an ad that was lying up in little Washington….he said if he weren’t so busy that day, he would go check her out himself.

So I took the universe for what it was playing out in front of me and headed to little Washington, specifically, McCotters Marina, a place that was on my list of stops when out on Sunday drives looking at boats.

I pulled into McCotters and there she was…….I felt a strong urgency to climb right aboard, finding a rickety old ladder and tying Kelly Belle to the hull stands. Could it be true, was this providence happening….had Mom led me to this rare find!?!?!

I called the broker on the card to inquire and the mystery boat search had begun! She was listed as a ’73 custom cat, but little did I know, with a little research, I was to find that this little sweetheart was a rare classic find from the New England coast…..a Marshall 22.

Weeks later, after a wonderful sea trial held up only by a hurricane, she and I had bonded and several other folks made our acquaintance congratulating us on our contract. Catboat lovers came out of the woodwork (universe) telling us wonderful stories of their love of catboats and why they were so special. Once I released the plan to use her for a picnic charter service in Swansboro, it has been a magical line of folks appearing in all forms of circumstances and encouraging our new venture. WoW.

So today, SPARROW was officially commissioned into the Wallace Charter Service and activity surrounds her like a Belle going to the Ball. She sorely needed someone to come along and give her ‘tender loving care’ and I, I knew my Mom had led me here and we were going to bring the joy of sailing to even more folks for years to come.

Mom always said that one day, if she ever won the lottery (although she never bought a ticket), she would buy me a dreamboat….and sure enough….she did……her lottery was won in heaven and I found my dreamboat.

Thanks Mom.

This article was published on December 12, 2012 in Suzi Wallace’s blog.

About Suzi Wallace

I grew up sailing the Great Lakes, cruising, racing, restoring and eventually began a free-lance career of giving back to the marine industry as a seafaring artisan/designer/illustrator and educator.

I lived aboard and cruised on a 41’ trimaran raising two beautiful ‘sweet pea’ swabs and continue to race beach cats and classic wooden skiffs but will always love the intimacy and adventure of a small boat set out to sea.

Suz writes about those sweet sails and much more on her blog.

Related articles (on this website)

• The Captain’s Father, by Suzi Wallace
• Everything I needed to know to go cruising…, by Carolyn Shearlock

Being the youngest of 5 and having lost my mother to her nursing career, I tagged along behind the Captain (my father) and learned by ...Read more]]>

I have learned from many sailors over the years, but none so much as the years I spent in the cockpit of my father’s ‘old classic woodies’ on the Great Lakes.

Being the youngest of 5 and having lost my mother to her nursing career, I tagged along behind the Captain (my father) and learned by doing; whether we were trading in old nautical antiques in the flats, scraping and re-packing the seams in the dead of winter or heading off on long legs to Canadian islands.

From an early age, I was expected to take my turn at the helm, climb out on the 8′ bowsprit to un-hank the yankee in a pitching sea, roll down the mains’l jiffy-reefing, climb the mast to reconfigure some tangled halyard and name the constellations on a star-lit night.

I never knew if he appreciated that tiny toe-headed, tom-boy that loved the sea as much as he, for he spent a life time mentoring and coaching as a profession and avocation…even receiving a 50 year honor from the Red Cross Sailing program for his services in Cleveland (as well as 37 years teaching/coaching in the public schools).

I knew how deeply imbedded his lessons were upon instructing my own sailing students from Camp LeJeune Marine Base in tying the four basic sailing knots and fully expecting them to tie them down under 5 seconds (been there when those seconds counted).

They enjoyed my stories of being set at the helm at 8 years old and being expected to hold my course while he went down for a nap, only to hear him bellow from below if my heading was off 5 degrees on either side.

But it was after we rebuilt that small salvaged cat-rigged wooden skiff, that I set out alone.

With his words in my ears, the wind in my face and the waves rolling underneath…. I became a sailor that day…..my hand squarely on the tiller…the strong easterly winds pulling hard…the direction my own….a skipper in my own right.

He gave me that little old boat as a sweet sixteen gift with a little card, “I hope you enjoy sailing as much as I have” love, Dad.

And for me, that was the BEST a girl could receive!!

Been salvaging boats ever since, restoring their dignity as beautiful swimmers and have encouraged, taught and mentored as many folks to take the helm and seek the wind as one possibly can.

Capt. Suz
The Captain’s Daughter
Bogue Inlet, the Carolina Coast

“A sailor is an artist whose medium is the wind”~ W. Chiles

About Capt. Suzi Wallace

I grew up sailing the Great Lakes, cruising, racing, restoring and eventually began a free-lance career of giving back to the marine industry as a seafaring artisan/designer/illustrator and educator.

I lived aboard and cruised on a 41’ trimaran raising two beautiful ‘sweet pea’ swabs and continue to race beach cats and  classic wooden skiffs but will always love the intimacy and adventure of a small boat set out to sea~

Suz writes about those sweet sails and much more on her blog.

Related articles (on this website)

• International Women’s Day then and now: Women Rocking the World in Their Own Way (blog)

More info

• Capt. Suz Wallace’s blog

Who has inspired YOU?

Let us know. Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.

This week I’m thinking of all the women in my life, because March 8 was, after all, International Women’s Day and this is, by extension, International Women’s Month.

The idea itself dates back to 1910. Its historical roots lay in the socialist movement of the late 19th century, and the international celebration of women was first ...Read more]]>

This week I’m thinking of all the women in my life, because March 8 was, after all, International Women’s Day and this is, by extension, International Women’s Month.

The idea itself dates back to 1910. Its historical roots lay in the socialist movement of the late 19th century, and the international celebration of women was first put forth by German Socialist Clara Zetkin, a fervent fighter for workers’ and women’s rights in late 19th and early 20th century Europe. (More on Clara Zetkin below)

But this is not about German politics or history or revolution. This is about how, from all the chaos of the early 20th century, a legacy was born. And so, I suggest, even if you don’t agree with the politics of Clara Zetkin, you might agree that she was remarkable for her time.

And certainly you’d agree that the women who surround you today are remarkable, too.

Which leads me to reflect on women who have put meaning into my life.
They are not necessarily rebelling in the streets or founding political parties. But they are doing things that are nonetheless worth mentioning here.

Dale

Dale Norley Uchin, better known as Captain Dale

I first met Dale in Redondo Beach, California, in the same harbor where we fell in love with Momo.

At the time she lived down the dock aboard her Hardin Voyager 44, Estimated Prophet, with her dog Tonka. She was the fittest single mother and grandma I had ever met, a woman with her 100 ton Coast Guard captain’s license who supported herself as a delivery skipper and teller of sailing yarns.

We only knew each other a couple months as we outfitted Momo for offshore adventures, but it was the kind of friendship that grows out of mutual admiration and respect, and a lot of belly laughs. Dale was the last person we saw when we sailed out of that harbor forever: she stood on the pier with Tonka, waving energetically with her hearty smile.

Dale and Lief

Since then, Dale has sold her boat, moved back east, launched a yacht delivery business, fallen in love, bought a farm and several horses, and joined her husband in his jewelry design business.

On any given day you might find her driving a cat between South America and California, picking menacing icicles from the rigging of another boat on a wintry east coast delivery, head-down in an engine compartment of yet another vessel, galloping through the hilly Pennsylvania countryside atop her horse Leif, baking cookies with her equally energetic grandkids, or choosing stones for the next line-up of designs at Purple Gem Jewelry.

She is a force to be reckoned with, Dale is, and I can only say how glad I am that Momo was situated on that particular dock when we flew to Los Angeles to check her out that November day.

Laura

No girl woops a wahoo like Laura

Laura meanwhile is happily ensconced in life in Carlsbad, California, juggling her time between her job as contracting agent, soccer, softball, mother of two, and her expectations as a soon-to-be mother of three.

When we first became friends she spent her days as an angler, diver, and sailor. She and her husband took off sailing in 2004 and did a two-year Pacific loop which took them through Mexico, French Polynesia, Niue, Tonga and New Zealand. She was not a sailor to begin with, however, but an avid diver.

That passion was ignited when, at sixteen, she took a course which involved walking into the tempestuous surf off a San Diego beach fully loaded down with gear – a day she remembers well since it was predicted by the older, stronger men in the course that this thin-framed blonde would never make it. She, of course, made it all the way, while the tough guys rocked and dropped in the surf around her one by one.

Laura shares her fondness for diving with her husband, and so they decided to sail the Pacific in search of some of the world’s greatest dive spots.

GUNNER TOO underway off mainland Mexico

Somewhere between re-rigging, painting, canvaswork, provisioning and in all other ways outfitting their Fantasia 35, Gunner Too, Laura learned how to sail – and sail well. Along the way they met us, and, over several months’ worth of meals and adventures and animated conversation, a permanent friendship formed.

Laura’s eyes light up when you ask her about fishing with her dad. And don’t get her started on lures. “Originally I had a mackerel lure with a wire leader on the line which was hit — but that fish got away” she recalls when I ask her about one particularly large wahoo she caught in the Marquesas while her husband was rigging the anchor to the bow in anticipation of landfall after a twenty-eight day passage. “Right afterwards, I tied a black rapala on the line, and that is what this wahoo was caught with — we had to turn back out to sea in order to give us time to land the monster before we reached the harbor.”  No girl woops a wahoo like Laura.

But she’s not just a fisher and diver. She can bleed an engine and serve up mouth-watering sushi all in an afternoon. Not to mention change the oil, take apart a winch, reef down sails, and manhandle any fish who happens to take an interest in her carefully chosen lure.

Julia

Julia Taylor

And then there’s Julia, whom you’ll find these days in Aden. She’s in the second half of her circumnavigation aboard her wooden boat, Macy.

She built the boat herself in her home town of Jamestown, Rhode Island, after finding the new wood bare hull. It took nine years from the purchase of the hull to the launch. Julia knew since she was a young kid that she wanted to build her own wooden boat.

And when she was ready to build it – after years of working as crew and mate on schooners, skippering a 40-ton schooner one summer while in college, earning her 100 ton auxiliary sail Coast Guard license when she was 26, working as steward of a yacht club for nine years, and acquiring skills needed to build a boat by working as a finish carpenter over many years – she did.

MACY in New Zealand

“I knew I wanted a traditional looking boat made of wood,” she says, and adds with her characteristic humor, “What is more romantic and impractical than that?” But she is a generous soul, my Julia, and she gives credit all around: “The realization of this dream required a divorce, or independence, and the …kind support of my brother”

In addition, half way through the project a man name Dave wandered into Julia’s life. Dave just happens to own a Rhode Island lumber yard; he soon fell in love with the boat project and became Julia’s friend and partner. He’s still with Julia and the boat, too, sailing toward Masawa Eretria and on the lookout for pirates even as I write.

Macy, the guiding light, hangs on the cabin wall aboard Macy

And while her brother provided occasional hands-on help and financial support of the project, a man named Macy was the inspiration.

An old friend and experienced woodworker, Macy was “the guiding light who gave direction during the overwhelming task of decision making…, especially early on.” Macy died of cancer before the project was completed, but “he died knowing that he had passed the torch and we would complete the job” says Julia fondly.

And now Macy’s namesake is tens of thousands of miles from his resting place, slowly making its way home.

Of course, once you start thinking about all the amazing women you know, you can’t stop.

Adventurous Kate

There’s Shelly, who can scurry up the mast of her custom built cat faster than you can say Ebeneezer (the name of her boat).

There’s Jan, who got her Captain’s ticket back in 2002 along with her husband Rich so they could start out on equal footing, who has sailed since then up and down both North American coasts, through the Panama Canal, all around the Caribbean.

There’s Lisa, who learned to sail so she could take her two kids on a Pacific circumnavigation before they grew up too much.

There’s fearless Aaran, calm Nelia, curious Kate, adventurous Angie. You know them all in one way or another, and more. We all do.

Lola and Jana setting off to school in Whangarei, NZ

There are many, many other women I’d love to mention here, in fact – sailors, teachers, artists, writers, divers, doctors, dentists, psychologists, computer scientists, musicians, engineers, mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, lovers, friends, captains, admirals, mates, crew – but this post has to stop somewhere, and I must send my daughters off to school now, so that they too might grow and impact the world, in their own fabulous way.

Who is Clara Zetkin?

Clara Zetkin started out as a member of the Socialist Democratic Party in Germany (the SPD – which is, incidentally, the oldest political party in Germany and still one of the major parties today, having governed most recently in a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union, the CDU/CSU, until late 2009).

But she took her fight to the streets early on, even joined the more radical German Communist Party in the wake of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the German Revolution of 1918. Unlike her contemporaries such as Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, whose fate came in the form of a bullet, Zetkin managed to keep her head and work within the framework of the German parliament, the Reichstag, most of her life.

Her last act as political activist was to fight against National Socialism; she was forced into exile in 1933 when Hitler assumed power, and died later that year in Russia at the age of 76.

About Michelle Elvy

Michelle Elvy is an independent writer, living on a sailboat with her husband and two daughters for the last eight years.

Their travels began between the Chesapeake Bay and New England, and the last six years have taken them across the Pacific, from California to Hawaii, British Columbia to Alaska, Mexico to New Zealand.

Michelle’s professional lives have included teacher, historian, translator, editor, and chief wrangler at a software consulting company. She has written stories about children, food, faraway places, motorcycling, dreaming big, and the kindness of strangers.

She currently lives aboard Momo with her family in New Zealand.

You can read more at svmomo.blogspot.com and you can follow Michelle’s musings and publications at michelleelvy.wordpress.com.

More info

• International Women’s Day
• Clara Zetkin
• Rosa Luxemburg
• Captain Dale’s blog

Related articles (on this website)

• Gwen took her SCUBA passion cruising
• Shipboard Democracy and Chain of Command, by Michelle Elvy

Who has inspired YOU?

Let us know. Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.