Friends Good Will Recap, or, Rhonda Is Smitten With Sailing
Several friends and family joined me August 12th for my Adrift release party/meet up at the Michigan Maritime Museum for a short cruise aboard Friends Good Will. We had a great day for a sail. I was in heaven. Big stupid grin on my face.
Family and friends, post-sail. Friends Good Will and downtown South Haven, Michigan behind us.
As I said, we had a lovely day for sailing—perfect, actually, except for the swell. (We’d had some weather come through the day before.) Everyone handled it, though. Even me. Thank you, Blisslets.
My sister, my books, and me. And a cannon.
One of the hands holding me steady so my brother-in-law could get that perfect shot. Plenty of wisecracks flying at this point—I enjoy sailor humor, as you all know full well. (Actually, this man reminded me of my character, Mark Findley—”impudent man,” as Molly would say.)
Then that hand went and proposed marriage with a ten cent ring—apparently a running gag on Friends Good Will. I was highly offended. Clearly. Then he asked if my husband owned a shotgun. (Sadly, my husband wasn’t able to come. The day’s one low point.)
The Michigan Maritime Museum offers visitors plenty to see, including a collection of small craft and Coast Guard vessels:
Petite, 1953. The mainsail is gaff rigged—the sail is attached to a yard, which is raised by the halyard, creating the trapezoidal shape. This was a common fore-and-aft rig in the 18th century.
This is a daggerboard*, for those of you who read Adrift and are wondering what one is. A daggerboard is used with shallow keeled sailboats, allowing them to sail further into the wind. It goes up and down through this casing.
*99% sure it’s a daggerboard and not a centerboard.
Here’s something cool: Merryman, a 26 foot Revenue Marine (Coast Guard) lifeboat designed and built in the 1870s. Notice the short masts and sprit sails—the sails held up by a diagonal sprit, or yard: these masts could be stepped up or down quickly, depending on the needs of the rescue and the weather. When Mr. Findley bequeaths Grandfather Robb’s Penelope to Josiah, he mentions its sprit sail.
You had better believe I will be back. Also: I’ve begun petitioning my husband for sailing lessons:
A girl can dream, right?
Aboard Friends Good Will, August 12, 2023. Video by Nick Renken.