meet michael

yesterday we had our “trip to the bahamas” by way of a meeting with michael in the marina lounge. he’s an 80 something year old gentleman who’s been taking his little sailing catamaran, “wind in the willows,” to the bahamas every winter for the last 30 years! he is a new, huge inspiration in our lives.

michael became a widower fairly early on in his life, and has raised two fine, upstanding children as a single father. now he very much enjoys his grandchildren, and, of course, takes them sailing when he can.

we’d met him a few times since he’s been back here in the bay from his last trip down to those beautiful, tropical islands. he arrived sometime last week and has his quaint boat anchored a ways up the creek, just west the marina docks. as pam and i were kayaking past his boat a few days ago he came out and invited us aboard for a cup of tea. we gladly accepted, and enjoyed his company and a tour of his humble home on the waters. a 26 foot catamaran that’s been going to the bahamas as long as michael has been going there. wind in the willows has the look of a boat that has been well used and well loved through the decades. not luxurious by any means, but bright, comfy and the cabin is full of the reminders of all those adventures she’s been through. practical and simple. lovely!

michael is much like his boat. you can tell by the skin wrinkling around his warm smile that he’s been through all kinds of weather. by through, i mean IN all kinds of weather, not in the house with the weather going on outside, but right out there under the sky and whatever it contains. his body is crooked in every place with arthritis and he is bent over with scoliosis. no complaints. it is quite a chore to get around for michael, but get around he does! slowly, with great courage and grace he moves from his boat to his dinghy, to the docks unloading his gear, carrying it to his ford, and driving it to visit his children and grandchildren for the weekend. he graciously accepts help, but you know that without it he would still plod merrily along at his own pace and get done whatever it is he is doing.

talking with michael is pure pleasure! his gentle voice coloured with an enviable english accent is satisfying enough, but the tales of life that are carried by that voice are wonderful to hear. stories of sailing to and fro and stories of life’s triumphs and challenges. never a complaint. but michael has good ol’ ears to, large and weathered, ready to listen to the experiences you have to share.

as we met met with him his voice took us from the biscayne bay in south florida across the straights of florida to the bimini islands of the west bahamas. we sailed eastward to nassau, south to the large andros island and eastward again to great exuma island and beyond. always reminded to take our time and explore the amazing beauty of this special place. michael was always very patient to answer any questions we had for him. his fond descriptions of various achorages and reefs and cays have installed a great excitement in our hearts to experience some of what his bright eyes have seen!

after he’d finished another, younger sailor, dave (he appears to be 50 something years young) took us on another tour down the east coast from norfolk, va to the various bahama staging/launching areas in florida. a good, complete “workshop” in how to get there, complete with all the places to anchor and provision and tour. whew. after three + hours our notebook and brains were full!

(i believe pam's blog has a picture of our little meeting)