The Season is Underway!
For those of you that missed Opening Day, you may have avoided yet another spring cold, but you also missed a chance at some great food, good company, boat rides,-and we missed you! Many thanks to Marie Frauenheim for the great signs, Evelyn Soimis Catering, (arranged by Pat Kelly) brought enough food to feed everyone twice, and George and Peggy Corley brought the Saturday morning fare, which was welcome, particularly the coffee that George kept reheating for us. Decorations were done by my wonderful wife Kathy, with a lot of help from those that got there early.
Much of this event could not be accomplished without the generosity and hospitality of The Center for Wooden Boats, who have become a partner in much of what we are doing. They are doing a phenomenal job in the wooden boat hobby, concentrating on a different sort of craft than we do, but with a parallel mission. We all enjoy and appreciate this association.
Two awards were presented to our members: The Fred Boettner Memorial foi Best Decorated to "The Great Ghumbeanis" - Curt and Marsha Erickson with Sam and Trish Bass aboard "Hokey Pokey" doing their best to look like juggling killer bees. Garret Spears' 1937 Gar Wood °Mogar" won the Seattle Yacht Club -Best Runabout award.
There is always a memorable moment or two when one does these gatherings, which is one of the reasons I enjoy attending them, and something I look forward to whenever we get together
Our FiberGlassics friends had J.P. Patches aboard as their featured clown, and by all accounts, there were new memories made and old ones revived as all along the cut people called out, and passed the word down the boom that J. P. was coming! That was an event!
Friday we added a new member, Frank Gonzales, an enthusiastic Chris Craft owner who pitched in and helped set up for the evening and spent the entire day Saturday on "Itchin" with the crew. There were boats and new members attending that we've not met until now and can look forward to seeing again. I hope their memories of the day are good - their smiles certainly were!
My memory? On Friday afternoon I gave rides at Seattle Yacht Club. On one I had aboard a life member of the club, a gentleman in frail health, his daughter on one side and a family friend (or caregiver) on the other... I learned that his wife had recently passed, and he had been nearly gone a week or so earlier. When we got to the end of the log boom toward Webster Point, I turned and asked if they would like to go fast - There was a unanimous "Yes!" from the back cockpit of °Sindbad". I made a run up along the bridge for a few minutes and took a wide turn at speed back toward the cut. When we got back to SYC we went all the way along dock 0, and finally, back to the ride dock. The hats were still on, smiles wide and memories made.
He thanked me, with a handshake and a light in his eyes I'll never forget.
That's why we do these things.
Dick Dow