I bought my first boat in the sixth grade. It was a 14' Invader, a trihull skiff, with a 12 hp Sea King engine. It cost me $225.00, which was a lot of money to save up for a 13 year old. But that boat gave me many hours of enjoyment on the water. Of course, it broke down, or ran out of gas, or sheared drive pins....but hey, sailings for sissys ain't it.
    Well, about the age of 23,  I found that last statement to be quite untrue. Anyone can pull the rope and go, but to set your rigging and fly before the wind, that takes knowledge. The fuel for a sailboat is much cheaper too. In fact it's free !!  Anyway, after that first skiff, I didn't have a boat for about 18 years. Me, an Islandboy without a boat !!
Well I fixed that.
    We now own 3 boats, a Hobie 16, a Coronado 15 and a canoe ( photos below ). Being as we live on the Gulf of Mexico, boats are a way of life. We  used to own a 12' Sunflower sailboat in which we spent many exciting hours.
       We also used to own a  28 foot Coronado sloop, named the 'Act II ' which only left the dock once in 2 years. We still had many good hours aboard her as it was our room on the water. It was  a nice place to " get away to ".
We finally sold her, I suffered great anguish, but it was time.
       Anyhow, we've had the canoe for about 4 years and have had a great time in it. We sometimes canoe down the harbor which draws a few looks . We also took it on a couple of scout trips and believe me, it was thoroughly entertaining to the boys.
       I purchased the Hobie in September of '04' and have only salted the bottom 3 times as of this writing (Feb '05'.) The water is just a little too cold still for this Islandboy. She is called the 'Debbie Doo'. Little Les and I took her to the lighthouse on the first trip and tested out her speed. Whooooosh... She does fly. The trip started out a little bad as we could not buck the east wind out of the harbor. Scott gave up and went to sit in the truck. About that time my friend Elbert came along in his power boat and took us out to the channel. After that it was a piece of cake.
     The second trip, Wendy and I  jib sailed her out of the harbor,  but couldn't get passed the breakwater against the north breeze. We still had little quality time though. Wendy was around when I had my first sailer, the 12' Sunflower. She was about 3 then and we went out on it a lot. I would put her in a life jacket and never take my eyes off for fear she would go over th side. She never did.
     On the third trip, Scott, Les and I did a beach launch at Charlie's pasture and played with her manouverability up and down the ship channel. She handles well. We left kind of late so only stayed out about an hour or two. It was also good beach launch and recovery practice.
     The Coronado 15 I got February of '05' and am still cleaning and re-rigging. She has beautiful lines and I can not wait to dip her. I will name her the ' Windy Sue '. There is a large stowage hold in the bow for all the neccesary paraphernalia  for sailing.
      OK, enough foundation, lets go sailing....................................

               
                      The ACT II at the dock                                                          The Webelos in the canoe

                  
                         The Hobie 16 at rest                                                   The newest addition to the fleet
                                                                                                                                Coronado 15
 
                                                               
                                                                          The Sunflower 12