Lets start a little further back, when we really didn't know how to sail...Jon didn't even know how to swim. His family went to Cape Cod every year and he had to wear a life jacket and was only aloud to wade out to his waist. I on the other hand was raised by the Gulf of Mexico and fished and shrimped. We would swim on one side while my dad would fish on the other side. So.. Me being so helpful and all, taught Jon how to swim..well actually I taught him how to tread water. He knew the mechanics of swimming, he just did not have that leisurely thing going on in the water.. One should feel comfortable in the water..able to relax..float..tread water..look around..you know enjoy it. After that we started learning to sail on a 12 foot Snark...from Bradley's It really is a beer cooler with a sail. It was a blast and helped us learn basic sailing skills..we only swamped it a couple of times on beautiful Lake Moraine in Hamilton, NY. Then we had a 17 foot Siren with a swing keel...I really think that keel never was down properly..it sailed like a bath tub..but we had a great time with it.both on Lake Moraine and Oneida Lake near Sylvan Beach,NY...then we found a 25 foot Cape Dory, Fairwind. We were in love. Wow it was so salty. This was real sailing. The woman that sold it to us took us out on the windiest day...she wanted us to see what our boat could do and boy oh boy she had the rails in the water. We were so confident in our boat. We had our daughter, Sara by then and I was pregnant for my son, Aaron on that boat. We realized that we needed a bigger boat for our family and found a 28 foot Cape Dory, Galadriel. We actually flew in Jon's bosses small plane to Sandy Hook,NJ to look at her. She was in very rough shape, blisters on the bottom, spongy decks and the inside looked like nobody cared about her. So we made a low offer and trucked her home. Jon spent weeks sanding out the blisters and refinishing the bottom. The next year he tackled the decks...let me tell you, if you have never taken a saw to your boat, it hurts you as much as cutting into your own skin. He ripped out the core and replaced it. Then worked with the fiberglass getting it perfect. Finally he had to paint the decks and add nonskid. The sailors of the yard all came around during this process to offer their know how and expertise. Saying things like "Boy your brave!" and "Better you than me!" After she was done and the bottom, the deck and the teak was shinning...they all patted him on the back and asked him if he wanted to do their boat.
There was more to love about Galadriel. She was a classic and she looked the part. Her full keel made her ideal for Lake Ontario or any ocean. We loved how she sailed. Our family spent every vacation on her and traveled to Kingston, Ontario and the Thousand Islands, NY. We finally kept her in Fair Haven, NY on Lake Ontario. From when our children were small...we knew we wanted to live and travel on our boat. I would have gone at anytime with Jon.. He was the smart one..knowing we better have a real school for our kids. So on went the dreaming as we raised our children in central New York. Cold snow filled winters, did I mention long long long cold snow filled winters..spent shoveling off the drive way and roof. Not to mention that Jon is an auto mechanic and had to scrape off all the cars before bringing them inside to drip on his head while he worked on them. So needless to say,,,their has been a lot of dreaming and planning for this lifestyle change. Oh yeah..we re ready...mentally spiritual land physically...well maybe not physically but I'm doing my Zumba ...I ll be ready.
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