A Last Look at Last Year: Cyclone Season

"And bad mistakes, I've made a few..."
                                        -Queen


     Those of you playing along with the the home game version of the sporadic-but-still relevant Dock Six Chronicles may remember that I became a racer last season.

     So, how did that turn out?

     Surprisingly well.

     Better than it had any right to, in fact.


      On paper, we didn't have a chance.

      Cyclone is a beautiful boat.   She is a great example of the state of C&C's art...

...40 years ago.  She may be the oldest boat in our racing fleet.

    Her sails are original.  They are definitely the oldest sails in the fleet.

   Charitably speaking, Cyclone is...  experienced.

    Her crew, on the other hand?
 
    .....  not so much.  Some of us had at least a decade of experience under our belts, others had years, I had three months, three decades ago.

     I was definitely the boat's greenhorn...and it often showed.

   We also had the widest age spread of any crew in the fleet to add to our notable statistics. Five decades separated our high- school- freshman bowman from our most experienced retiree winch grinder.


  If this was a Hollywood blockbuster, our season would be summarized in under 2 hours of running time including all of the expected cliches- a crew of oddballs and outcasts work past their initial wariness, bonding over beer, a montage, broken gear, crises of confidence, a crusty mentor,  another montage, climaxing with winning one final race, backed by an orchestral score heavy on strings and timpanies, with a single wailing electric guitar.

   Alas, this isn't "Seabiscuit."  We didn't win it all.

      But, we won enough.

       At the wrap-up banquet, we got to find out how we finished the season, after all the protests were settled and the phrf calculating was done.

       We finished pretty damn well.

   

2013 - MAYTHAM REGATTA

JAM Fleet

Sailed: 3, Discards: 0, To count: 3, Rating system: Custom, Entries: 5, Scoring system: Appendix A

Rank	Fleet	Boat	Type	Sail#	Owner	R	BAY RACE	PORT RACE 1	PORT RACE 2	PORT RACE 3	Total	Nett
1st	JAM	CYClone	C&C 35 MK1	11153	A.Elkin	139	1.00	2.00	2.00		5.00	5.00
2nd	JAM	West Wind	C&C 33-2	28069	L. West	154	2.00	3.00	1.00		6.00	6.00
3rd	JAM	Stargazer	C&C 27-2 M3	44150	G & C Overmars	205	3.00	1.00	3.00		7.00	7.00
4th	JAM	Shaibu IV	Nonsuch 30	2810	H. Jackson	162	7.00 DNC	4.00	4.00		15.00	15.00
5th	JAM	Flashdancer	Gorman Express 30	481	E. Skinner	153	5.00 DNF	6.00 DNF	7.00 DNC		18.00	18.00

(Historical footnote:  The Maytham cup is named for Jack Maytham, a Port Dover  marine engineer/ naval archietect/ boat builder who built the Niagara Falls  tour boat Maid of the Mist 6. )

AUG 2013 - WEDNESDAY NIGHTS

SPIN Fleet

Sailed: 3, Discards: 0, To count: 3, Rating system: Custom, Entries: 8, Scoring system: Appendix A

Rank	Fleet	Boat	Type	Sail#	Owner	R	AUG 7	AUG 14	AUG 21	AUG 28	Total	Nett
1st	SPIN	Legacy	J-35	32690	S. Hewson	72	2.00	1.00	2.00		5.00	5.00
2nd	SPIN	CYClone	C&C 35 MK1		A.Elkin	129	3.50 CB	4.00	3.00		10.50	10.50
3rd	SPIN	Ritual	J-35	42922	J. Vallee	72	1.00	9.00 DNC	1.00		11.00	11.00
4th	SPIN	Amazing Grace IV	Beneteau 36.7	080	L. Grace	78	3.00	2.00	6.00		11.00	11.00
5th	SPIN	Caliedoscope	Cal 31	140	M. Thomas	162	4.00	3.00	4.00		11.00	11.00
6th	SPIN	Enigma	C&C 33-1	74207	J & J Parker	150	5.00	5.00	7.00		17.00	17.00
7th	SPIN	Menace	Hobie 33	53243	J. Morey	93	9.00 DNC	6.00	5.00		20.00	20.00
8th	SPIN	Special K	C&C 99	55	L. Kramer	108	9.00 DNC	9.00 DNC	10.00 DNC		28.00	28.00

MONDAY NIGHT FALL SERIES

SPIN Fleet

Sailed: 5, Discards: 1, To count: 4, Rating system: Custom, Entries: 16, Scoring system: Appendix A

Rank	Fleet	Boat	Type	Sail#	Owner	R	AUGUST 26	SEPTEMEBER 2	SEPTEMBER 9	SEPTEMBER 16	SEPTEMBER 23	SEPTEMBER 30	Total	Nett
1st	SPIN	CYClone	C&C 35 MK1		A.Elkin	129	(9.00 DNC)	1.00	1.00	2.00	1.00		14.00	5.00
2nd	SPIN	Kestrel	J-29		Joynes/Guillaume	117	1.00	4.00	3.00	1.00	(4.50)		13.50	9.00
3rd	SPIN	Goldfingers	C&C 29-1	44131	L & M Dowds	180	4.00	(5.00)	2.00	5.00	2.00		18.00	13.00
4th	SPIN	Special K	C&C 99	55	L. Kramer	108	(9.00 DNC)	2.00	7.00	3.00	3.00		24.00	15.00
5th	SPIN	Sequence	J-30		A & B Smith	144	3.00	6.00	4.00	(7.00)	4.50		24.50	17.50
6th	SPIN	Amazing Grace IV	Beneteau 36.7	080	L. Grace	78	5.00	3.00	(8.00)	8.00	7.00		31.00	23.00
7th	SPIN	Promise	CS 33 SD	3345	P. Murray	153	(9.00 DNC)	7.00	6.00	6.00	6.00		34.00	25.00
8th	SPIN	Eerie Witch	Goman Express 30	74207	R. Chivers	144	(9.00 DNC)	8.00	5.00	4.00	9.00		35.00	26.00
9th	SPIN	Unbridled	C&C 30	9307	E.Bilopavlovic	170	6.00	9.00	(11.00 DNC)	9.00	8.00		43.00	32.00
10th	SPIN	Shaibu IV	Nonsuch 30	2810	H. Jackson	174	2.00	(12.00 DNC)	11.00 DNC	12.00 DNC	12.00 DNC		49.00	37.00
11th	SPIN	Caliedoscope	Cal 31	140	M. Thomas	162	9.00 DNC	(12.00 DNC)	11.00 DNC	12.00 DNC	12.00 DNC		56.00	44.00
11th	SPIN	Menace	Hobie 33	53243	J. Morey	93	9.00 DNC	(12.00 DNC)	11.00 DNC	12.00 DNC	12.00 DNC		56.00	44.00
11th	SPIN	Legacy	J-35	32690	S. Hewson	72	9.00 DNC	(12.00 DNC)	11.00 DNC	12.00 DNC	12.00 DNC		56.00	44.00
11th	SPIN	Ritual	J-35	42922	J. Vallee	72	9.00 DNC	(12.00 DNC)	11.00 DNC	12.00 DNC	12.00 DNC		56.00	44.00
11th	SPIN	Enigma	C&C 33-1	74207	J & J Parker	150	9.00 DNC	(12.00 DNC)	11.00 DNC	12.00 DNC	12.00 DNC		56.00	44.00
11th	SPIN	Tapestry	Redwing 30	4055	N. Fraser & F. Smith	196	9.00 DNC	(12.00 DNC)	11.00 DNC	12.00 DNC	12.00 DNC		56.00	44.00

       In a fit of utter insanity, skipper Andy invited me back this season.

       I'll be there.




     "Talk the Dock!"

     

Toronto International Boat Show Time! Two More Sleeps!

"People coming from miles around, they come from everywhere..."
                                                             - Smokey Robinson


   Outside Stately Jones Manor's hallowed and warm(ish) halls, the wind is howling, the snow is blowing, the highways and biways are icy, gritty and salty,  the temperature is below zero, and starting Lady Liberty  is like rolling the dice every morning. This winter has been more wintery than most in recent memory.
    SWMBO and I agree-  we need to (to steal a tag) put some summer in our winter.

    It's Toronto International Boat Show time.

This year, the Seminar Schedule is outstanding.


    We will be storming the castle  this weekend, January 11-12.  The annual Dock Six Gam will be held on Saturday the 11th at the Chart Room at the Westin  Harbour Castle.  Storytelling and civilized sipping commences about 8ish.  Outlandish BS will start about 8:15.
   All are welcome to join us.

Come on down and...


"Talk the Dock"

Stories From Behind the Beach: Another Crazy Tradition

"You never take advice, someday you'll pay the price..."
                                              -Foreigner



Happy New Year!

Some of us spend the first day of a new year recovering from the night before.

Other, more diligent, types take the time to prepare lists of resolutions.

Yet others decide to start the New Year with a refreshing swim.

Most of those people happen to be enjoying the Southern Hemisphere summer, or near the Equator, where the water is warm and the breezes warmer.

But in Port Dover thousands braved the cold to watch a hundred or so braver souls partake in the New Year's Day traditional polar bear dip.

Yep, people will clamber across the ice to slip into the just-above-freezing water.

On purpose.

Some have been doing it every year for over a quarter century.

As a sailor, this is completely anti-instinctual.  My goal is to stay warm and dry and out of the water, not vice versa.  But, I figured I'd check it out, because it is another of our great weird regular events down here.

The 80s were a time for unorthodox traditions to take hold in Port Dover.  Just as riding your motorcycle to town on Friday the 13th has become a longstanding and proud tentpole event for the town, so has the New Year's Day dip.  According to local lore, the dip dates back to 1982, when a handful of hardy souls tokk the plunge to raise funds for the town's arena.  Since then, the event has become an anticipated annual spectacle, with funds raised for a different local cause every year.  Spectators are encouraged to dig into their pockets and toss coins and bills into buckets carried by volunteers working the crowd.

  This year, the air temperature was decidedly brisk:

   -9 Celsius.

  The weather during the past week also added yet another sadistic twist to the Dip.  Ice.

   See, this event is not a simple Start-at-the-edge-of-the-beach-dip-your-toes-in-and-climb-into-a-warm-towel-blanket-car-sauna-whatever  sorta thing.

  Uh-uh.

  Half the adventure is just getting there, because the mentally disturbed participants gather at Knechtels restaurant, behind the beach  at the end of Walker Street.  Then they have to run/walk/slip/slide hundreds of metres through the crowd...

...just  to get to the water's edge.

   The weather warmed up on the weekend and then chilled off quickly, making the normally snow-covered beach ice-covered instead.

  Which made for a very slippery dash indeed.

  Conditions didn't deter the masochists brave swimmers.  About a hundred, of all ages, dove in.

 

    See the ladder?  More on that in a bit.

Then once you actually get to the water....

 .... It is so shallow you have to wade out  to get deep enough to immerse yourself.

   You can almost hear them, can't you?  "Ohmigodohmigodohmigodohmigodohmigod!!!!"

  For some, simply plunging into freezing (literally) water isn't punishment enough.

  No, for years these two brothers have brought their ladder  so that they can belly-flop.

  Just looking at that picture makes my testicles want to hide behind my liver.

  Dippers started to run into the water at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and by 1:45 it was all over but the shivering, and a few thousand dollars was raised for the Port Dover Public Library.

  Nobody has ever raised any money writing a resolution list.

  Next year, I might have to step out from behind the camera and do it myself.

   As one shivering blanket-wrapped swimmer said, "Do this on the first day of the year, and it makes whatever happens during the rest of the year easier to handle.

   I've got 364 days to prepare.

   That's about 350 days longer than my resolutions' lifespan.

Who's gonna join me?


"Talk the Dock!"

Stasis at Stately Jones Manor

"Home, where my thought's escaping..."
                               -Simon & Garfunkel

  Listing your house for sale puts your life on hold.

  And it is driving me more than a little crazy.


  See, here is how the whole house-selling thing works, apparently:

  You hire a Realtor, who wanders through your home and gushes about what a great house it is...

.....  then tells you everything you need to change, fix, modify, improve, repair, replace, and renovate to be able to sell the dump your beautiful home.

Your helpful Realtor explains that prospective buyers need to be able to see themselves living in your home...

... which means your home cannot look like you live in your home.

You are introduced to the art of "staging," which basically means removing most of the art, furniture, family photos, books, knickknacks,  and life from every room until the room echoes, and boxing it all up and stowing it in the basement/garage/garden shed...

....  at which point  your Realtor suggests that the basement and the garage look a little cluttered-  could you, you know, get rid of all that stuff?

You ask your Realtor for 24 hours notice before he shows your home to a prospective purchaser...

....  but your house apparently only attracts prospects who simply must see it today, right now, in 15 minutes.

You will discover how quickly you can dust and primp and make beds and fold towels and vacuum (again) dog hair...

....  and learn that one of your dogs has the ability to sneak ninja-like into the just -cleaned/dusted/primped/vacuumed den and hoark up an unpleasantly moist toaster oven- sized hairball in the middle of the floor which will go undetected for 11 more minutes until the prospective buyer discovers it.


  Stately Jones Manor remains on the market.

  And our lives remain on hold.

   And it is killing me.

   Knowing we might get a call about a sucker potential qualified buyer interested in touring Stately Jones Manor at anytime has produced a hell of a writer's block.

      I can't write  with that 15 minute state of readiness looming over my head.   I am a full- immersion kinda scribbler.  My computer is my diving bell- I sit down in front of the screen and two or three or four hours later I surface, either mission accomplished or out of oxygen and low on fuel.
     Luckily, today's unpleasant freezing-rain filled weather forecast is keeping most people snug and secure in their own homes, drastically reducing the already low chances of a Realtor drop-by,  allowing me to finally dive back into the blog.

     Stately Jones Manor in Winter

  So here we be, you and I.

  Further complicating the writer's block is a dearth of new material to write about.  With the skunkworks beneath Stately Jones Manor filled with all of the de-staged detritus from the rooms upstairs, and the ever present risk of a tirekicker  potential buyer walking through the door, ongoing projects have been untouched.
Paddleboards are postponed, just pieces of wood on a bench, potential unrealized.   A big boat build is out of the question, what with no room to manhandle and maneuver sheets of mahogany ply. Even simple stuff like refinishing companionway doors is on hold, as that requires sanding and varnishing, which  creates dust and odors which may be offensive to some viewers.

  All of the cleaning and fixing and futzing and waiting and  having to be far more perfect home-makers than we have ever had to be and just plain enduring would be worth it, if it helps to sell the pile place.

   Alas, it hasn't.
 
    No offers.
    Not even a nibble.

    The listing has a couple more weeks to run, and then we will pull the sign out of the front lawn...

... and think about  doing it again in the spring.


    In the meantime, this act of sitting down at the keyboard and actually writing something about why I haven't been writing anything has caused me to revisit this season, and I realize that I have lots of material to work with, just tying up the loose plot ends of this season's tales.  So, over the next few days I will catch up
on the cast of characters and their crises. There's news.

   Stick around.


In the meantime,
"Talk the Dock!

New Crew Review- Living the Dream

"I see clearly now what must be done...."
                                      -Pepper




     Right now is a hell of a time to be a dreamer.

     Always wanted to live aboard a boat, go cruising, live the dream?

     It's closer than you think, lately.

     Used boat prices are down, way down in some cases, making dream fulfillment attainable.

     At least, for those willing to do more than just dream.


     This season we've seen a few dreamers on the Dock who decided to turn dreaming into living.

     You've already met John, and heard about how he came to own a Sirius 22.

      At the tail end of this season, I got the chance to hand Whiskeyjack's helm to another new crew for an
afternoon.

     Alistair joined Sailnet looking for info on a boat he wanted to buy.  I offered some time on the water and a couple of weeks later he took me up on the offer, and brought along his capable partner, Sam.
 
    It was a typical snotty fall day on the Bay, with 3-5 foot chop and 15 knot winds.  Fun was had by all, as seen below:

   

   
     We talked about boats and living on boats and we walked the docks and looked at a few boats, and Alistair and Sam were able to narrow down what they wanted and needed when they eventually, you know, someday, bought a boat.

     No doubt, they were hooked.

...  and apparently the hook was well and truly set.  A couple of days alter, I started to receive emails from Alistair linking boats for sale...and I started to fire suggestions back.  Alistair and Sam began looking at boats in earnest, now that they had a rough idea of what they wanted and needed:  Something that was older, but pretty much turn-key, needing little reconditioning, 30- 36 feet,  $5-15 K.  Might take a couple of years.

    Last week, they bought this:

   A Pearson 30.  Project.  The hull had been painted and the deck hardware stripped off in preparation for painting, and then the owner got financially sidetracked.  Alistair and Sam looked at her, saw the potential, and bought her for less than the value of the keel.
 
    I've seen worse.

      If the  Atomic 4 has decent compression, starts, runs and doesn't walk off the stringers,
the intrepid couple are well ahead of the game.

If it's beyond help,  they can recoup their investment by parting the boat out, and maybe end up a little ahead.

As I mentioned, the cushions need recovering.  Ahhh, the 70's.

   Yeah, they've basically got a very big puzzle to put together, but as long as most of it is there, it shouldn't be THAT complex.
 
     Dirty, sweaty, tough?
     Sure.

      However, if you can assemble furniture, bolting parts back onto a boat is pretty much the same thing, with the added bonus of bedding with butyl rubber or 4200.

    (Yeah, I know, as I see the old boatyard slats shake their heads, it really isn't that easy, but no boat would ever gotten back in the water if the owner/dreamers knew how much gruntwork it really is.)

   And, as another added bonus, the new boat owners will know every inch of their boat before she goes in the water.

      Folks, please welcome Alistair and Sam to the tribe.  I think they are in for the long haul.

     You can follow their adventures here:   Craving Wanderlust: Sailboat Adventures

Stories From Behind the Beach: It Ain't Easy Being Cheesy

"You were never the same way twice, I'm falling in love..."
                                                           -Blue Rodeo




  I was wrong.


  I know, Constant Reader, as you will no doubt remind me, I am often wrong.  The frequency of incidents of my demonstrated wrongness is depressing and occasionally alarming.

 Yet, I continue to point it out, Constant Reader, because if I don't, I know you sure as hell will.

  I have the emails to prove it.

  This time, though,  I was wrong about something important.

  I was wrong about food.


  More precisely, I was wrong about cheese.


   Until quite recently, I hated most cheese.   Couldn't stand the smell, the texture, the taste, any of it, all of it, whatever.
   Cheddar?  No thanks.
   Colby?  I'll pass.
  Muenster?  Yeahno.
  Limburger?  See above.
  Et Cetera, on down the list.

   I didn't start eating cheese on pizza until well into my 20s, when I discovered that the mozzarella-esque cheese on most pizzas is essentially flavourless topping glue.

   So, with my aversion to most curd-n-whey related foodstuffs well and firmly established, I saw little reason to wander into...

 

    ...Until the owners invited me to stop by and check the place out.

     Yale and Jenny Lowery  love Port Dover.  Originally From Guelph, Jenny moved to North Carolina, where she graduated from high school and went on to college, graduated from Appalachian State with a marketing degree, met and married Yale, then bounced around North Carolina and Tennessee before moving north to Canada.  Mostly in that order.

     While living and working in Brantford, the Lowerys made a trip to Port Dover one summer day a couple of years ago, and that was it.

    They'd found home.  They knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives living in Port Dover.  The couple found a house, settled in, and lived the life of normal sane people, commuting to work at corporate jobs in Brantford every day.  Life was good.

    Then, one day, in September, 2013, Jenny decided she needed some cheese.

    And everything changed.

    Jenny is an admitted "cheese nerd."  Combine her love of cheese with her love of her new hometown, and she's not  driving to the grocery store to pick up a package of Kraft Singles.

   Nuh-uh.

   She's keeping it real local, and real tasty.

    She stopped into her favourite (and only) local cheese shop in downtown Port Dover.  While making her purchase, she started talking to the owner. She learned that he had decided that the cheese business wasn't for him, he was selling the business and starting over...
... in Australia.

    A few conversations and negotiations later, Jenny and Yale dove headlong into the world of the retail entrepreneur.

     If  you're a local, I know what you might be thinking:

    They bought a specialty business, in downtown Port Dover...at the END of tourist season?


    Hey, we don't always get to pick the timing of our opportunities.  But, we can determine what happens after.


     Jenny and Yale aren't complete greenhorns.  Jenny has a solid marketing background, Yale has a solid sales background, and both aren't afraid to work long and hard to achieve their goals...

... and it is paying off.


    In their first six weeks of business, with little advertising or fanfare, they are ahead of their sales projections.

    Walking into the store, it is easy to see some of the reasons why:

    It's a small space that doesn't feel cramped.  It is clean, uncluttered, organized, but inviting.

   The case in front of the owners is the "Canadian" case:  All local cheeses, all the time.  Norfolk's own Jensen Cheese is represented, along with Gunn's Hill from Woodstock and Bright Cheese from, as the name suggests,  Bright, Ontario.
     The case to the right is filled with cheeses from around the world: Stilton, gouda, swiss, brie, camembert, mozzarella, romano...

   you name it, they've likely got it. And if you name it and they haven't got it, they'll get it.

      They don't just sell cheese- The Dover Cheese Shop also sells cheese accessories, like cutting boards and brie bakers (at $8, a seriously good deal.  Need a quick gift this holiday season?  Stop in, pick up a brie baker and a wheel of brie, and Wha-bamm! You are a hero with discerning taste, my friend... and change from a $20.)....

 ... And a selection of snack foods from nearby farms and suppliers, like The Cider Keg and Barrie's Asparagus .

   
   Kettle chips, teas, salsas and dip mixes, all of  it available right here on the....

   "Okay," Interrupting Constant Reader interrupts, "We get it- the place is clean, has lots of selection, yadda yadda, big deal-  any big supermarket is like that.  Why should I shop here?"

   Because a supermarket has never made me enjoy cheese.



    With an overview of the store and it's origins out of the way, Yale started pulling out cheeses for me to sample. I held up my hand  and dropped the bomb:

     "I don't like cheese."

    Jenny didn't miss a beat.

    "No problem.  Everyone's palate is different, Yale's favourites are different from mine.  Everyone has different tastes. Try this and let me know what you think."

    Okay- I'm here, they're nice folks, I'll try it just to be polite.
      I popped the proffered sample of Bright's four year old cheddar in my mouth
     Not bad.
     Not bad at all.
 
     Much better than I expected any food that was four years old to taste.

      Next  I sampled a really nice Wisconsin produced gouda/swiss blend with a little touch of Merlot added- nice smooth, mild, a great sandwich cheese, I thought.  Then Jenny introduced me to "dessert cheeses."

      Mango and Ginger Stilton- Off the chain!  What a great  flavour combination.

 See, here's the deal:  Yale and Jenny have an enthusiasm for cheese which is infectious.  They are cheese evangelists.  From the moment you walk  in the door, you start to understand and share their passion.  If you are standing in line to buy a pound of cheddar, the Lowerys are going to ply you with samples of any  number of cheeses, and every cheese has a story.
    You aren't leaving with just the cheddar, and you have enjoyed the experience, and you will discover cheeses you never even knew existed.  Like this one...

   okay, you might want to pour yourself a drink and sit down...

    ...Ready?...

   

    Chocolate Cheddar.

    It.  Is.  Amazing.


    Yeah, I'm digging this cheese thing now.


    Need a cheese tray?  No problem, The Dover Cheese Shop can build you a custom cheese tray, and short notice orders are no problem.  They will even put it on your tray- THAT is a brilliant idea.  I am not one to worry overmuch about aesthetics, but when SWMBO puts out the Tiffany silverware and the Wedgewood plates, nothing spoils the "Ain't we fancy" mood than a big ol' plastic tray of cheese in the middle of the table.

   Next spring, The Dover Cheese Shop is going to do something really, really clever:

     They are planning to offer "Boat Baskets."  Call ahead and they will prepare a picnic basket for you to pickup and take with you to the boat. It is a brilliant concept for provisioning daytrips, especially with guests you want to impress.


   Do yourself a favour- stop into The Dover Cheese Shop.  They're open Wednesday through Sunday  at 318A Main Street, just down from Stoney's Hardware.  Check 'em out on facebook too.

 
 

Down on the Dock with the Great Big C

 "What would I do with it?"
                  -Tim Mcgraw


    *Warning- profanity follows.  Deal with it*

     Gutcheck time:

     I have met some tough bastards this season.
   
     I have known some of them for a long time, but never knew what kind of tough sonsabitches they were.

     I am not sure I could be as strong, as full of grace and quiet good humour, as these gentle men around me have been.

 
    Cancer came to play this season.

     Those on the field for the showdown didn't step aside.
 
     They stepped up.

     It hasn't gone easy, but Cancer is, so far, getting it's ass kicked.

     Fuck Cancer.

 

     My dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer early this year.  He was lucky, if "lucky" can describe anyone tapped on the shoulder by the Big C-  A biopsy, surgery, infection, surgery, medication, too many checkups and consults and too much time spent in doctor's offices, he and his oncologist are cautiously optimistic.
    The coast is clear.
    For now.

   My dad has golfed for most of his life.  On October 3rd, 2013, after almost 6 decades of chasing a little white ball, and months of cancer treatment...

.... my father scored his first hole-in-one.

    Hey, Cancer?

    Fuck you.



      Closer to the Dock, we were all floored when, at the start of the season, in his quiet unassuming way, Jack slipped into a cockpit conversation that he was undergoing chemo.

      ...

      And, as he does every season, he sailed his ass off.  No holds barred, no concessions, other than to make sure the CVC in his arm stays dry.

      Think you're tough?

      Throughout months of chemo, Jack has not taken any time off work, and has sailed his Tempest at least once a week.

      THAT'S tough.

      Hey, Cancer?

      Fuck you.

      For those of you new to the Dock, Jack is second from the right, beside his daughter, Melanie.

      The guy on the far left is John,  the greenhorn.

      Cancer brought John to the Dock.

      Last winter John was diagnosed with throat cancer.  Off work from his job in Hamilton, he'd spend time walking the docks, drinking coffee, and looking at boats.  One night in May, he walked past and we got talking.

   He had never sailed before.

   He loved the idea, though.

   We get a lot of that down here.  Lots of dreaming, not a whole lot of doing.

    Lots of folks walk the docks and ask questions and get enthused, and....

   We never see them again.

    Life gets in the way.

    John bucked the trend.

    He backed his own play:  A couple of weeks after our first conversation, John comes strutting down the Dock, beer in hand, and announces, "I've got a slip."

    Now he just needs a boat.

   A week later he owned a Sirius 22.
 
   Which he proceeded to sail.
 
    A lot.

   

   He even started racing.

   Yeah, he's all in.

   His doctors say he is looking good.

   Hey, Cancer?

   Fuck you.

   Get off my Dock.