Boats are more than just pipe dreams: they can be our deliverance.
Daniel Zalkus
Going to sea has always been a dream. The very thought of warm breezes and sun, spray and freedom gets us through the workweek and sustains us through icy winters. But boats are more than just pipe dreams: they can be our deliverance. Let me tell you how two men showed me very specific examples of this escape.
My wife and I were Med-moored to a quay in the harbor of Hydra, deep in the Greek Isles, on a charter. Nearby was a small sloop, and we soon met the young man we thought to be the owner.
It turned out the boat was his father’s, and he had come to take him home. Over ouzo one evening, we listened to his plan. His father was nearing 80, and the son was concerned that he might hurt himself or the boat. His plan was to list the boat with a broker, and settle his father in a home for the elderly.
You can see where this is going: The father was adamantly opposed to giving up his boating lifestyle, and his arguments were seemingly good ones.
“It’s my life.”
“I’m not a danger to anyone.”
“So what if I kill myself? We’re all going sometime.”
One afternoon, a meltemi wind blew up with hot…
