WHY I LIKE BOATS

May 8, 2008 Blog

I went sailing for the first time this year on Tuesday. The wind was irregular but the weather was otherwise perfect.

Some people ask me why I like boats and sailing. I grew up by a lake not far from the Delaware River and Atlantic Ocean, and I always loved the water. Along with cars, roller skating and a thousand other things, I enjoyed boating. I have nearly always owned a rowboat, canoe, motorboat or sailboat. I even built a few boats, the first of which I named "Miss Quito." The name had nothing to do with Ecuador but I felt it was a fitting tribute to early Swedish settlers in South Jersey, who made friends with the Indians, but were driven out by mosquitoes.

I once built a mailbox out of an old outboard motor. I gutted the engine compartment, making the gas tank into a hinged lid. I put a bright red plastic handlebar grip from a bicycle on the tiller. This could be folded up to let the mailman know there was mail in the box. I then painted the motor silver and red, lettered the family name neatly on both sides, and mounted it on a post next to the road. Someone took a photo of it and sent it to "Popular Mechanics" Magazine, where it was published without mentioning the name of the ingenious inventor! Someone else probably forgot their camera and stole the mailbox.

MY FIRST SAILBOAT

We had lived in Austria ten years when I got my first sailboat. While fueling my car in a service station, I saw a center board, mast, sail and rudder piled on the ground with a "For Sale" sign on top. I asked the attendant where the boat was and he said that it had been destroyed in a storm. I offered him $50 and he took the money, obviously happier than I was about that deal! I placed a want ad in the local paper in quest of a boat to fit my sailing rig. Someone responded and sold me a little 8 foot dinghy for about $100. I could hardly wait to go sailing.

For two weeks I was too busy and when I finally did have time, there was no wind. I rowed for an hour and finally loaded the dinghy back on the top carrier and drove away. In departing the lake, a nice wind came up to bid me "good bye.“ Winter soon arrived and the boat was buried in snow for several months.

Our financial situation as missionaries was always precarious and when Spring came, we desperately needed money to pay some bills. We had few saleable items, so the boat was first to go. It sold for double what I had paid, but this didn't cheer me much.

A SECOND SAILBOAT
In August of 1985, we were busy with summer camps and I was fixing broken window panes, a constant attraction for Frisbees, soccer balls, kid's hands, feet or even heads. I drove to the city to order glass and had to wait for it. To kill time, I roamed about a large hardware store. There was a public bulletin board near the entrance where customers could place notices, so I stopped to read them. Someone was selling a small sailboat complete with car top carrier and slip wagon for only $250! It was a Kolibri (German for humming bird) just like the ones I had often drooled over in sporting goods stores. I remembered the prices too. They cost over $2000 new. I still had an hour and decided to drive to the address given. Surprisingly, the seller was at home, the boat was in excellent condition and no one had bought it. This was clearly the "leading of the Lord" so I purchased it!

Verna was not so elated about my bargain boat. "The summer is almost over, we have piles of work to do and are flying to America in a couple of days; is this the time to buy a boat?"

MY FIRST SAILING EXPERIENCE
It was the day before our flight to America, the weather was great and the winds were blowing briskly. I talked Verna, our daughter, Becky, and an Austrian student named Klaus into going sailing with me. Klaus was six foot four inches tall and I needed him to help me get the boat loaded on the roof of the car. Before long we were actually sailing at a good clip. The boat was not built to hold four adults, and water was dangerously close to the top edge of the boat. Verna couldn't swim well and we had no life preservers. Verna recognized the danger and asked to be taken back to shore. Obligingly, I turned the boat, but discovered that the wind was now against us. After several futile attempts to aim the boat towards dry ground, I decided that the wind was no longer a friend. We would have to row. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally beached, loaded the boat onto the car and headed for home. We had to leave for the airport at 4:00 AM and it would soon be dark.

On the way home, it was quiet in the car. Klaus was probably wondering why anyone in his right mind would enjoy sailing. Verna was packing suitcases in her mind and Becky slept.

DO MISSIONARIES HAVE SAILBOATS?
Word got out to that I had purchased a sailboat and a fellow missionary asked how I could justify such a luxury. I had not really given it much thought, but I explained that his television set had cost more than my boat and he probably spent much more time watching TV than I would ever spend sailing. We didn't own a TV, but that missionary soon bought a sailboat.

By the time the second person asked that question, I had an even better answer. I told them that the only biblical sports are fishing and sailing! Jesus COMMANDED the disciples to fish and sail. He once preached from the boat and on another occasion, he slept in a boat. Jesus often went sailing with his disciples on Lake Galilee. Jesus not only walked on the water, he even told the winds when to blow and when to stop blowing (Mark 6)! I have often wished I could do that. The Apostle Paul also went sailing, but he preferred to walk(Acts 20:13). It is no wonder either, when you read about his shipwreck experience!

This Saturday, I am driving to North jersey to pick up my 18th sailboat, of which seven are still in our yard for sale or to sail.