[Rhodes22-list] A New Rhodie Joins the Ranks

[SVGravityLeak at aol.com]

Bill,

Great story.  You've told very clearly how the younger crowd prefers an 
exiting ride in a large cockpit and relaxation on a decent bow deck over spending 
time in the cabin of the typical bleach bottle style sailboat.

Fred 

> 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
> 
>