Today is special for me, as I get to see my old sailing buddy. I get up at 0500, shower and try to comb what hair I have. I meet him in Gig Harbor at his sister in law, Jean and her husband, Dick’s house overlooking the water front. The three of them have sailed into Gig Harbor on their chartered Lyle Hess designed Bristol Channel Cutter. This has been a favorite boat of Glenn’s for years, but this is his first time sailing one. Their charter started in Anacortes, WA through the Swinomish channel in La Conner, behind Whidbey Island and into Gig Harbor. I meet them at 0600 hrs, have a bite to eat and we head over to the boat which is docked at the city dock in town. They are returning via Oak Harbor while visiting a mutual old friend Marge. Marge and Eric had sailed from Hawaii to WA about one month ahead of me back in the 80’s. He was a retired Naval Captain at the time and they were dock mates of mine.
After their departure, I drive up to the entrance of the harbor and take some pictures of them pulling out. The sun is beginning to peak out over the mountains, as I watch them make their turn up Colvos Passage taking Vashon Island to starboard. It was such a delight to get to see them all, but especially Glenn.
I remember the first time I met him. I had just arrived in Hawaii for my duty station at Tripler Army Medical Center. On my first weekend there was a Cal 20 race at the Waikiki Yacht Club. I was crewing with Glenn on one of the regular club boats. While we didn’t win, we had a really great time. It was the beginning of many sailing days together. One memorable race was around the island race, a 3 day event. Glenn wanted to do it, but his wife wasn’t interested. Glenn asked me to crew and when his wife heard who his crew was, she decided that she better go along. We always chuckled about that. We really had a wonderful race and Lavonne, his wife even had fun.
Glenn has never crewed on Shatoosh, but he has supported my boating efforts over many years by giving me charts, GPS, great prices on survival suits for our pacific crossing, which I still have. He reads the blog and prints up each posting, saving them in a notebook. I always have nothing but kind thoughts of him, so it was a treat to get to see him again, but more important it was wonderful that Dick and Jean were able and willing to take Glenn to sea one more time.
