Re: [Paddlewise] Acadia trip part three, Sutton Island.

----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Denton <BDenton_at_aquagulf.com>
To: <mnoyes_at_gsinet.net>; 'paddlewise' <PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net>
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2000 8:43 AM
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Acadia trip part three, Sutton Island.
 Good tale! reminds me of:
Some years ago I owned a small Swedish double-ender sailboat named
Vacilando.
One Friday night I came home from work and my house was a mess, I vented to
my two teenagers, and retired to my boat docked in the canal behind the
house. The loud music continued, I saw no progress on the house cleaning, so
I thought I'd go sailing for a couple of hours. When I cleared Port
Everglades I was greeted by a gentle 14-15 Knot South wind, (my favorite for
Gulfstream crossings) so headed East. Well, it was such a gorgeous night,
the tiller tied off to a cleat, I just kept going. Considering her short
waterline we were making good time when the first squall hit, then the
second and third. I reduced sail and still had a bad weather helm. I was
getting pushed North badly by the Stream as well as the squalls, and I was
getting real tired. I had left the dock around 5:30 PM Friday and the sun
was coming up and I was nowhere near Bimini. I was well North and the little
20 ft..LOA was having a rough time going against the Gulfstream. I dozed off
and dreamed someone was talking to me saying " loose the tiller,  head off,
head off". I did as I was told and suddenly became aware of a giant bow wave
almost putting the mast in the water. The ship was so close all I could see
was her side. I was suffering fatigue, but no drugs or alcohol. This was
definitely
 one of the more stupid acts of my sailing life.  After this incident I had
more than
enough adrenalin to finish the trip. I think I held the record for the most
time elapsed
 FTL-Bimini at 28 hours. Back to the story, over the next several years the
same voice talked to
me on three separate occasions. I was almost relieved when a young couple
came along and asked if I would sell the boat even though it wasn't on the
market.   I sold it...... This isn't the end......
Several months later I got a call at the office from the young couple who
were in RI. After the normal. "Hi, how are you", came, "Pat, why didn't you
tell us the boat was haunted?"  Turned out they had acquired considerable
affection for "the old man" who had helped them in sticky situations many
times. They said they would never sell him, the sailboat that is.
Pat





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