Our Brother-in-Law's family owned a 32' Chris Craft on Eagle Mountain Lake just northwest of Ft. Worth TX.
He invited my best friend Martti and I to come out and crew for a Ft. Worth Boat Club Race. We became the crew along with Lynn, Martti's dad and of course my Sister Ginger. We raced every weekend for 3 years, I think we won 1 race in all that time during the Frost Bite Regatta when we were the only boat to finish the race....The other 2 boats who started that icy, windy day DNF'd. We must have had just a bit more Hot toddies in the thermos. My position all 3 years was on the Starboard jib sheet winch. When you are crew you do not "Sail" the boat. But is is not such a bad place to be after all every other tack you can just relax & enjoy the ride. However, unless you have control of the helm...you do not Fully experience Sailing. The second part to these racing weekends were a dinner in the yacht club resturant and staying over night in the lakehouse where we always seemed to eek out a party of just family, family & friends, or both. I filled my time on those late Saturday afternoons or early sunday mornings reading the stack of sailing magazines. It was the stories of sailing to incredible Carribean islands in the early 70's and finding nothing but Paradise with no one else in sight. And of course those stories of dissolving into the local island culture and becoming one with the natives while leaving no footprint behind. A time of little responsibility and time to dream.
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