Birth of a Dream

Several people have asked, "How did you get interested in sailing?"  After all, we are land-locked here in Middletown, IN.  I thought I would give you the back story...

About twelve years ago, Donnie and I were spending the weekend at a B & B up in Michigan City, IN.  There was a festival in Washington Park, we went to the zoo, the beach, and strolled the docks at the marina.  Now, both of us had been raised on or around the water all our lives.  Our familes had power boats, and we grew up fishing and water skiing. We had both taken houseboat trips down at Dale Hollow and Lake Cumberland, but neither of us had ever been sailing.  The docks in Michigan City were filled with sailboats, and we were walking along looking at and admiring the boats.  A couple asked if we were looking to buy a boat that had a for sale sign, and we explained that no, we were just looking.  They then asked if we were sailors, to which we also replied "no".  They asked if we'd like to take a ride on their sailboat with them to which we said "Sure, why not?" 

We had a beautiful sail on Lake Michigan that day, heading up the coast toward Chicago and back.  The woman and I sunbathed on the bow and talked, while Donnie got acquainted with the ins and outs of sailing in the cockpit with the owner.  Late in the day, after we returned back to the marina and said our thank you's and goodbyes, as we left the docks I said to Donnie, "My face hurts."  He said, "Did you get too much sun?"  and I replied, "No, I've been smiling for over four hours!"  I said, "We gotta get one of these!"  and he replied, "I know!!!"  We had been married about four years, and were a blended family of seven, and it seemed like a good hobby to learn something new together.  That fall, I sold my private practice, Evergreen Center, started college funds for the girls, and bought our first sailboat. She was sitting in a driveway in Anderson, Indiana, a 1975 Chrysler 22.  She was covered in pine needles and walnut stains, but we could see the potential in her.  It was our daughter, Carissa, that came up with the name for her, Celestial.

The following spring we joined the Muncie Sailing Club at Prairie Creek Reservoir, just thrity minutes from home, and from there we found a whole new network of friends and fellow sailors who were more than willing to share their knowledge of sailing with us.  Donnie took a racing class at J World in San Diego, CA, while I was there on a school sponsored trip by the USMC.  We enjoyed countless weekends on the boat, swimming, sailing, racing and partying with friends from the club.  We attended the annual Strictly Sail show in Chicago, where we attended workshops held by veteran sailors on topics from heavy weather sailing and anchoring to circumnavigating the globe.  We were 'bit by the sailing bug' for sure. Seeing the big, beautiful boats at the sailboat show got us to dreaming about "someday".  Within a few years, and after hearing stories from other club members, we started pulling the boat out over the GM July shut-down, and trailering her up to the Traverse City area, for two weeks of sailing on the 'big water' of Lake Michigan.

This brings us to to July 2004, on our third trip to Lake Michigan.  I am hoping to include an article that I wrote on that trip, which appeared in the fall issue of Clipper Snips. This is a magazine that is published by the Trailer-Sailors Association.  I have written for permission to post it, and hope to hear from them soon.  It will give you insight into our first 'big adventure' living aboard our Chrysler 22, Celestial, which was the first sailboat we ever owned.  The story of that trip lead to the purchase of our second boat, Cielo, which was an O'Day 25. More sailing adventures on Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, and a chartered trip to the British Virgin Islands lead to the purchase of Marquesa, the O'Day 34 we now own that is taking us on this next grand adventure. So, stay tuned, hopefully more pictures to come!




Our grandson, Eli, on the bow of Cielo, the O'Day 25, at the Muncie Sailing Club.












Our attempt at racing with a full boat at PCR!