Never Done... (Chapter Seven)

One of my first "official" dates happened while we were anchored in the harbor off Morgan’s Bluff. Now mind you, while I had an interest in other boys (and their "pieces/parts") at this time, the words Gay or Homosexual were not a part of my vocabulary. I had certainly heard the words, but I had no real comprehension of what they really meant. Coming from a family of four boys there were always "moments" or more so "experiments" as we grew up. To me (and us) I suppose it was, at the time, just a different form of entertaining ourselves and learning...

My "date" was with a really nice girl that lived in the nearby Nicholls Town. For the life of me, I cannot remember her name, and it really doesn't matter... We had a great afternoon. We walked along the beach in front of the only hotel (really just a guest house) in the town; we went and had an ice cream, then ducked in behind the building for some kissing. It was grand, I really liked her, but also knew it wasn't right for some reason...

As Dad's contract with the developer came to a close, we made plans to visit a few other "out" islands before heading back to Miami for re-provisioning... We carried basic necessities for about 6 months, and augmented those supplies with fresh items from the local markets where-ever we went... Dinner Key Marina, directly behind Miami City Hall, was the place they chose to stay during this process...

Ahhhh, Pier 2, Dinner Key Marina, Coconut Grove, Florida... Many friendships built during the years that we stayed, left, and came back... I think we all had girlfriends (also living on boats) during these times. On and off I actually think some of us had one girlfriend, that later became another's... "Live-Aboard" families were always so easy to get along with... Some went to the local public schools, and others (like us) were doing correspondence school or home schooled... Even the parents of these other kids were very cool. I often think about the risks my parents took to do this, and hope they got to enjoy some of the benefits too. I don't think I could have done it with four kids...

After about 2-3 months back in the states we headed back out... This time cruising in earnest with plans to head further south in the islands of the Bahamas...

Firebird, while comfortable for us, was actually designed as a racing schooner, with some of the same details of the Malabar series of racing schooners John Alden designed...

One exception is that she had a centerboard. For those that have never sailed before, centerboards or dagger boards are quite common on smaller day sailers... They allow for easy transport, yet still offer stability under sail (the power of the wind against the sails could flip a boat over if there is not enough headway and a deep draft (something under water that compensates for the height of the masts and sails). Most of the Malabars were designed with a deep keel (8 or 9 feet) and either iron or lead ballast to compensate. Firebird only drew 6' of water (that is, from the waterline to the bottom of the iron keel, was only 6 feet) which allowed us to venture into some very shallow harbors and coves. With her 6' of draft, she also had a 3' centerboard that helped when "pointing up" into the wind... Allowing us to sail closer to the direction the wind was coming from... There are no words that can describe sailing a 60' boat, with no noise of engines at 10-12 knots, roughly 13-14 mph... It's an awesome experience and feeling...

My honey calls me to get off this thing and help him plant some flowers, do the laundry and start dinner...

Over and "Out" from a beautiful Spring Day Off, here in Portsmouth, VA

**Reposted 4/22 with plans for "Firebird" and link