[Rhodes22-list] Perfect ending!

[Roger Pihlaja]

Jim,

When my two sons were young, we used to go out sailing together.  Quite
often, their mother didn't come with us.  I never pushed the sailing.  I let
the boys drive &/or trim sails when they wanted to, didn't make a fuss about
the grape jelly stain on the genoa sheets, & let go down below in the cabin
to take a nap or play with their toys when they got tired of sailing.  When
they grew a little older, they would meet me at the door with their PFD's on
& carrying mine when I would get home from work.  Now that they are 17 & 20
years old, the most likely scenario is that there is simply an empty slip
when I get home.  They will be out sailing with their friends.  I'm lucky if
they fill up the gas tank.  We've used our R-22 as our magic carpet to get
us out to wilderness areas that are nearly impossible to reach without your
own boat.  We've had a lot of exciting adventures & the boat has been a huge
part of it.

On memorable incident happened at the marina on Middle Bass Island in
western Lake Erie in the summer of 1993.  At the time, Daniel was 10 and
Gary was 7 years old.  We had just made a N-S Lake Erie crossing from Pelee
Island, Ontario.  The marina on Middle Bass Island is privately operated by
the Lonz Winery & has space for about 40 boats.  There were about 4 other
boats in slips when we arrived just before sunset.  We motored around the
marina basin for a couple of laps while we dropped sails, prepped dock
lines, put out fenders, etc.  I could see there was a small group of
chlidren, that were about Daniel & Gary's ages, playing on shore.  I asked
them if they wanted to handle the docking.  The wind was very light & there
was no current or waves, so it was a pretty easy docking situation.  Daniel
won the coin toss, so he took the helm & Gary handled the dock lines.  I
just stood in the cabin with my head sticking out of the sliding
companionway hatch & watched.  Well, they handled the docking beautifully!
The kids on shore just stopped what they were doing & watched.  So did their
parents on the other boats.  Both Daniel & Gary were so proud they were 10'
tall!  After securing the boat, they joined the group of kids on shore as
instant heros.  Later that evening, around the campfire, some of the other
dads asked me how I got my boys to be so proficient at such a young age.  I
told them you should never yell & always try to create an environment on
board wherein it's OK to make a mistake as long as you learn from it.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ben Schultz" <BenS at ApproSystems.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 11:22 PM
Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Perfect ending!


> That must be really nice.  Heck, we feel pretty good about the day if the
> dog doesn't throw up!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Weber [mailto:ruba1811 at hotmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 11:58 AM
> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Perfect ending!
>
>
> Maby some day we will be able to share such a story.  Benny is not as
> articulate with his passion for sailing.
>
>
> >From: LafingBear at aol.com
> >Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> >Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Perfect ending!
> >Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 14:58:15 EST
> >
> >Our boat had to be out of the water by last weekend so my daughter came
> >down
> >from Mass. and my son came up from DC to help. It was a perfect sailing
> >day,
> >steady wind, cool but not cold, sunny and only a few other sailboats out
on
>
> >the
> >lake. My daughter took the tiller as soon as we left the slip and I'd set
> >the
> >sails. We were flying, rail down , bottom of the genny almost in the
water,
> >and I suddenly realized I wasn't even tense. When I looked back at my
> >daughter
> >she was looking up at the wind indicator and smiling. "I love this Daddy,
I
> >really love this!!" When one of your children shares your love of sailing
> >and
> >has become a fine sailer , it makes everything even better! A perfect way
> >to end
> >the summer.
> >jJim Gifford
> >__________________________________________________
> >Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>
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