The Fancy Free
I have always love the water and intrigued with sailing. I jumped at every opportunity of getting on the water. I had owned power boats, canoes, and even a small sailboat. So when a boat builder was being forced to close his business and needed to liquidate all his boats I jumped at buying a 30 foot sailboat. However, the boat was not completed. The fiberglass body was beautifully finished as was the head, bunks, and engine. The galley, electronics, wenches, and stanchions still were not finished. The mast and a set of sails were included but the mast had not been set. That would be done after moving the boat to the water.
The expense and labor to complete the boat was more than I had considered. Everything on a large boat is expensive. First I had to move it to the water. Even though it was only a couple of miles to a marina that could launch this ninety five hundred pound boat, I had not considered what an ordeal it was to go that couple of miles. A trucking company was hired to move her, oversize load permits obtained, permits to remove power lines, and streets blocked to get through intersections and make turns. After a couple of hours and over a thousand dollars she arrived at the marina. After several more hundreds of dollars, she was launch and the mast was stepped and we were ready to take her to her home dock. It was very exciting to see her in the water.
The trip from the marina in Pompano Beach to her dock in Fort Lauderdale was such a beautiful trip. Being on the water with all the other large boats and passing by the majestic homes alone the Inter-coastal waterway was thrilling. I was unprepared for handling this large boat in a busy waterway. I realized that I needed to get educated on boating and sailing. Living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida has the advantage of a lot of resources to get this education.
I enrolled into boating safety and navigation rules with the Coast Guard Auxiliary. I took celestial navigation classes at Broward Community College and Marine Mechanics course at a local high school. I also took sailing classes and man overboard sea rescue at Sheridan Vocational School. These classes were not only fun but I met a community of people with boating interest. We would have the celestial navigation classes at night aboard the instructor’s sailboat. Having a classroom on a sailboat is hard to beat.
While attending these classes, I worked at completing the “Fancy Free”. I was excited about the day that I could sail to the Bahamas and the Keys. I was ready to have fun.
Over the next several years my family and I enjoyed many days sailing the South Florida and Bahamas waters. We experienced all kinds of weather; calm sunny days, balmy nights, and stiff winds with large waves. They were fun and exciting and sometimes scary. It was reassuring as I navigated the Keys and Bahamas to have the knowledge I had acquired from my courses.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
My First day of School
My First Day of School
After the summer vacation my older brothers and sister were starting back to school. I had turned five that March and wanted to start with them. My older brother had started when he was five but his birthday had been in November, my mother had explained. Because my birthday was after the end of the year that I would have to wait till I was six. I was five and a half and I started counting the time till I would be six.
Each morning my brothers and sister were busy getting ready for school. After breakfast they would hurry out to the old walnut tree and wait for the school bus. The bus would come down the gravel road stirring up dust and come to a stop in front of our house. The bus would already be filled with kids with their excited faces pressed against the windows. There was an air of excitement as they boarded the bus and it pulled away. I was sure that their day was going to be more fun than mine.
After arriving home from school my sister would get her homework finished so that she could get to whatever book she might be reading. During her study time she would allow me to study with her and she would teach me how to read. She would share her paper and pencils with me and I would save them for when I would start school.
As my sixth birthday approached I could barely sleep. I was finally going to school. As the dust rose signaling the approaching bus, I join my brothers and sister under the walnut tree with my paper and pencil ready for school. Only then did they realize that I thought that I was starting school on my birthday. As the school bus pulled away without me that morning I was heart broken. I was not going to school till it started again in the fall.
That day my mother decided that I could go to school with my sister the next day. She is eight years older than I, so she was happy to take her little brother. It was an exciting day. I got my turn in her class reading and working arithmetic problems on the blackboard. School was even more exciting than I could have imagined.
My sister was proud of me that day in school. I had surprised her with how much I was learnt to read. After that day she has taken more interest in my education and she made more time for teaching. Even today she gives me encouragement in my education.
After the summer vacation my older brothers and sister were starting back to school. I had turned five that March and wanted to start with them. My older brother had started when he was five but his birthday had been in November, my mother had explained. Because my birthday was after the end of the year that I would have to wait till I was six. I was five and a half and I started counting the time till I would be six.
Each morning my brothers and sister were busy getting ready for school. After breakfast they would hurry out to the old walnut tree and wait for the school bus. The bus would come down the gravel road stirring up dust and come to a stop in front of our house. The bus would already be filled with kids with their excited faces pressed against the windows. There was an air of excitement as they boarded the bus and it pulled away. I was sure that their day was going to be more fun than mine.
After arriving home from school my sister would get her homework finished so that she could get to whatever book she might be reading. During her study time she would allow me to study with her and she would teach me how to read. She would share her paper and pencils with me and I would save them for when I would start school.
As my sixth birthday approached I could barely sleep. I was finally going to school. As the dust rose signaling the approaching bus, I join my brothers and sister under the walnut tree with my paper and pencil ready for school. Only then did they realize that I thought that I was starting school on my birthday. As the school bus pulled away without me that morning I was heart broken. I was not going to school till it started again in the fall.
That day my mother decided that I could go to school with my sister the next day. She is eight years older than I, so she was happy to take her little brother. It was an exciting day. I got my turn in her class reading and working arithmetic problems on the blackboard. School was even more exciting than I could have imagined.
My sister was proud of me that day in school. I had surprised her with how much I was learnt to read. After that day she has taken more interest in my education and she made more time for teaching. Even today she gives me encouragement in my education.
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