[Rhodes22-list] A New Rhodie Joins the Ranks

[Mark Kaynor]

Bill,

Excellent! Thanks for sharing. I think you've done an excellent job of
capturing the magic we all feel to one degree or another as owners of these
wonderful little boats.

Mark
 

-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of William E. Wickman
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 7:31 PM
To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] A New Rhodie Joins the Ranks

After lurking here for a little while, I guess its time to come out the
closet and introduce myself.  I acquired a new (to me) 2000 model Rhodes
about a month ago.  Anyway, I am located on Fort Loudon Lake in Knoxville,
TN at Concord Yacht Club along with another "Rhodie" that is in the process
of restoring a 1976 era Rhodes.  Wally, you may remember me as the guy from
CYC that came down to visit and look at your boat last spring.  Seems like a
long time of searching and waiting for the right boat has finally come to an
end; and just in time for some late fall sailing.  Stan was right....again.
He said to be patient and the right boat will come along.
Kind of like cats, I'm not sure if we pick our boats or our boats pick us.
If you are so inclined to read on, I would like to share my first
experiences with the boat.

After cleaning up the boat and admiring it in my driveway for about a month,
I couldn't wait any longer and launched it last week.  During the past week,
I have entertained a continuous barrage of interested sailors stopping by
for a look and tour of all the neat and unique features of the Rhodes.  It
has been very heartwarming to be on the receiving end of comments such as
"beautiful!"  "Awesome boat!"  "Luxurious"  "comfortable"
"opulent" "unbelieveable" "I want one."  Talk about pride of ownership!

Several of you have related tales of wild rides during the heavy winds that
swept through the Southeast late last week.  Well, my inaugural sail was on
Friday afternoon.  My 16 year old son called me from school (for the first
time ever) and asked if I would take him sailing.  Well, those of you who
have teenagers will understand that you should never turn down your teen
when they actually want to do something with you.  The wind was irresistible
so I left work early and headed to the dock.  When my son, his friend, and I
got out on the lake I suggested that we reef as the winds appeared to be
blowing around 18-20+ knots and I was not really familiar with the boat
outside of what I read.  Well, being the testosterone filled teenagers that
they are (into extreme sports and all), and me not wanting to be thought of
as the old man, I relented and put up full sails; not even dropping the boom
to its lower position (at least I kept the pop top closed).  What a ride!  I
kept saying to myself over and over as I stood vertically on the inside edge
of the seat looking almost straight down at the water; water that was
sliding up over the rail, "Stan said that it is impossible to capsize this
boat...Stan said that the boat will not sink...how tragic, I'm going to
capsize and sink on my first time out!"

Well, the boat did neither.  In fact, just like everyone has said, it
stiffened up tremendously as soon as the gunnel hit the water, and then
simply rounded up.  It did this several times to the whoops of my son and
his friend.  They thought it was great sport.  I was afraid I was going to
slide out of the boat into the chilly lake, although I too found it
exhilarating as soon as I realized that we were not going over.  I finally
convinced them that we would go "faster" if we experimented with some
reefing.  The evening came too soon we and returned to port safe and dry.
My son and his friend could not wait to do it again.  I was looking for any
rum that the previous owner might have stashed in a secret place.

I learned several valuable lessons on that first sail.  The Rhodes cannot be
capsized (or if it can, I would hate to see the conditions).  In heavy winds
anyway,  the Rhodes sails with the exhilaration of an oversized dinghy.
Even when you have buried the rail, you stay bone dry.  The Rhodes is a boat
that can captivate the interest and excitement of a 16 year old.
It most certainly passed the extreme sailing test.

In contrast, I gathered my whole family of five (my other kids are 13 and 8
years old) for a quiet Sunday evening sunset dinner cruise.  I was
interested to see how the boat would handle a family of five.  The winds
were light to nil; more typical of what we see on our lake.  Other than a
few nasty power boat waves, it was smooth sailing.  What a contrast to
Friday.  We set up the cockpit table, spread the table cloth and munched on
hor'derves and wine (soft drinks for the kids) while a whisper of breeze
ghosted us along as the sun slowly set.  The kids enjoyed bundling up
together at the bow as we slowly motored back to the slip.  My 13 year old
like it so much she begged me to haul the boat out and trailer it to
Charleston for the weekend where we are going to my son's high school
sailing regatta.  The boat most certainly passed the "family" test.  I hope
their enthusiasm remains over time.  Mine has only grown in the short time
that I have had the boat.  The possibilities are endless...

Sorry, I didn't mean for the is posting to be so long, but I guess my
enthusiasm just got the better of me.  I also love reading about everyone
else's adventures and thought you might enjoy mine.  It sure beats politics!

And now...to think of a name for her.

Bill Wickman

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