I have been boating since 1968, when I bought my first boat, a Glastron 18 foot runabout with a trihedral hull and walk through windshield to an open bow seating area. It had a 65 HP Evinrude outboard motor and was used for camping trips, fishing, and day trips to have a picnic on some beach. In 1973 I purchased my first sailboat, a brand new 26 foot Ranger with 10 HP Evinrude outboard. I used to invite friends, neighbors, work associates, and whoever might go sailing with me and kept a list of these folks until the list exceeded 300 people.
On that little Ranger sailboat, one rainy and absolutely calm day, I was scheduled to take as my guests, three members of the Seattle Symphony and a guest conductor visiting Seattle, Frederick Fennell. My brother, Lauren Anderson, is in the music industry and had made arrangements for hosting Frederick Fennell while he was in town. Since Fennell had a sailboat in Florida my brother thought he would enjoy a sail here in Puget Sound. I was pleased to oblige the opportunity, but the weather left me in the cockpit alone with the rain coming down and no wind. That did not bother my guests, who enjoyed their cheese and wine in the cabin as Mr. Fennell sang sea shanties for entertainment. They seemed to have a wonderful time just being together, rain and no wind – who cares?
Subsequently I moved up to a 30 foot Newport, with full headroom in the cabin and an inboard diesel engine. That seemed more suitable for entertaining, so various groups met aboard while I sailed the boat around the bay by Des Moines Marina. I had a church board meeting, a business meeting for a Seattle Police SWAT team, and one day when I just had to go sailing but could find no one available to join me, I yelled to a lady and her nephew as they stood observing the Des Moines Marina after dining at Anthony’s Home Port. “Want a sailboat ride?” I yelled. “Sure!” came the reply. I proceeded to take a stranger and her nephew from Denver out for a two hour sail, insuring them that I would get them back in time to catch their plane for Denver. They seemed like that short sail was the highlight of their trip to Puget Sound. I’m sure the folks in Denver heard about it.
While I had the Newport 30 I began offering afternoon sailing trips as an auction item for fund raisers. It began with church groups, then spread to include private schools such as Tacoma Baptist and Cascade Christian Schools. Soon it included the Steilacoom Historical Museum, a Speech and Hearing Convention in Tacoma, Habitat for Humanity, the University Place Presbyterian Church choir trip to Scotland, a trip for the Wilson High School Jazz Choir, etc. Each trip was an opportunity for me to sail, meet new and interesting people, and help some organization raise money for their charitable purposes. It seems like a WIN WIN situation, so I continue to do at least a couple trips each summer.
On the following two pages are the flyers that I use at the auction table so that the person bidding for the ride can better know what to expect. I am rewarded by the new friendships and will continue to offer this opportunity to interested charitable organizations. Give me a call if you are interested.
Tourmaline_Auction.pdf (151k)
Come Cruise With Me.pdf (240k)