| Vol 3 - Issue 4 | December 1998 |
|
The Gift Sharing the Passion for Sailing By Christopher VanEpps The night was sultry. It was the kind of night that made everything and everyone seem just a little too close. Okay, it was daytime and beautiful weather. I’ve just always wanted to start a story like that. This story is more about Curtis, than it is myself. Curtis is my brother. We’ve always been close. He’s the kind of brother for whom, in less than half a heartbeat, I’d lay down my life. Unfortunately, he lives in New Hampshire and I only see him a half dozen times a year, or so. He has a high-pressure job as a district manager of a retail chain and 80 hour weeks are no stranger to him. High levels of stress batter him daily, yet his shoulders bear the weight with a customarily silent strength that amazes me. Enter "Banshee". She is my 1983 Hobie 16. Yellow hulls and Tequila Sunrise sails accent an older, yet still solid craft that my wife would readily agree is my mistress. My family |
|
went up to Sandy Pond, on Lake Ontario, for the last week of this past
July. The intent was to rough it in a cabin in the woods and
rest and relaxify for a weekend.
Saturday morning found my brother and I rigging Banshee for a day’s sail on Ontario. My brother has always enjoyed sailing, though in his younger days he found it largely boring and much preferred the rush and roar of powerboats. He’s never owned a boat, but has been seriously considering it for the past year or so. He’d rent the occasional Sunfish, while on vacation and he was always game to go for a ride with me, when in town. I’ll never be sure if it was more desire to go sailing, in those days, or just a way for him to spend some time with his bro’. The seeds were planted, however, for a desire that grew to maturity through the years, then blossomed that Saturday. |
|
|
There was nothing particularly special about the conditions. No gale force winds to keep things on the verge of too exciting. It was 8-10kts of onshore, pleasant, steady breeze. It was a nominal 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. 3-4 foot seas of gentle rollers. It wasn’t exciting due to overcrowding on the water. In fact, we were the only moving boat we saw on the water all day. Perhaps, that was part of the magic. |
| It was just two brothers sailing. Away from stress, responsibilities of life, and paying attention only to the purity of the pursuit at hand, we reached and ran on the waves. Banshee performed flawlessly, as if she knew it was a day of greater than normal consequence and she carried us with a power and grace that belied her age. |
|
Curtis and I traded the
helm back and forth, but mostly I let him drive. It was
wonderful to see the tension, amassed over months, melt
away as an expression of simple, uncluttered joy washed over
his face. I think I had more fun vicariously through him, than I
had of my own. I could see the relaxation of emotion and
mental state that Banshee brought him and I silently thanked
her for it. We would claw our way to weather for a while then
bear off and reach in no particular direction, for no particular
reason. Occasionally we’d get a hull up and allow an evil grin
to crease our lips. As a relative novice sailor, he has a natural
feel for the helm that took me years to develop and I’m not
sure if I admire or despise him for that. Curtis and I have
spent many a time I will remember fondly, thanks to our
closeness, but that day will rank near the top for me. What
seemed like maybe an hour had materialized into five, in “real
life” time. Our patient wives didn’t begrudge one second of it
to us, or at least they didn’t let us know then, or since, perhaps
because they sensed the importance of it to us.
My birthday was in late August and I received a card from Curtis. It depicted a sailing scene and he wrote how much that day meant to him and how he still day-dreamed about how inspired the sailing made him feel. There was a warmth to the tone of the writing that I knew he always had, but that can be cooled sometimes, by the circumstances of life. It’s remarkable how far $1.29US can go these days. Since our July sail, Curtis has been looking in earnest for a boat. I know it’s not an impulsive decision. He has been contemplating a boat for years. He did admit that it will be a monohull, in the 20-25 foot range, but I’m delighted to say it will be sail powered. He’s confided to me that, nowhere else in his often hectic life, can he find the serenity and peace of mind that he’s found in sailing. Don’t get us wrong. We both like it when it’s rip roaring and on the rail. It’s just that sailing can give the fullest of any of the boating experiences. To have discovered, this late in life, that my brother shares a passion with me that I thought he hadn’t, is the finest gift he could have given. Ask my wife. I’m not one for saving cards. I think it’s sometimes too easy to get lazy and just grab one off the rack, without putting much effort or personal thought into the selection. I usually read ones sent to me, enjoy the meaning they convey, think fondly of the sender, then send the card to recycling heaven. This particular card resides under the shirts in my top dresser drawer, my brother is searching for his first sailboat and I think I’ll hang onto both for as long as I’m here. Fair winds and safe seas, As always, Christopher chris.vanepps@lmco.com The photos above also appear in The HobieList Photo Album, maintained fabulously by Mr. Damon Linkous. |
| Back to Features |