STILL A WATER RAT

The article on aging by John Rousmaniere, “Farewell to the Gulf Stream” (November/ December 2018) is strangely touching for me. It seemed to come to help me with a very painful decision, much different from other sailing articles in many ways but much the same where it matters. From building a backyard boat from scraps at age 8 to dozens of Gulf Stream crossings and long trips in my own 40-footer, I have tried to learn from journal articles. Old issues clutter my basement and library. Bill Robinson and a host of other editors have molded my cruising and racing over many years. Both were quite successful at times. Now it is different. Now I must turn to Cruising World and read the writing on the wall. I, and a lot of others, have gotten old, too old to head offshore again on my own. But it does not mean that sailing is dead to us. When it was apparent I could not go transatlantic on my own, we took a crossing under sail on the Star Clipper with 100 other passengers. While I did see the first green flash of my 76 years, it was only an echo of earlier thrills. The giant square sails, the flying fish and a lot more salvaged much of the sensation; and the food was great, but raising an island out of the horizon on schedule was not my doing this time. I miss that. Lots. A heartfelt thanks to John Rousmaniere for saying what needed to be said. We got old and are no longer reasonably safe out there. It is time to cut back, sell the offshore boat, and time to do the ICW and rivers and small lakes with our grandchildren — or, maybe, sneak in a captained charter on something that is very, very stable.