Century Club: mike pitchford

Took the little boat up the Magothy to serve as the yacht club shuttle for folks arriving at the Beach Party by boat.  Arriving by car but going for a boat ride and her first time driving the boat was granddaughter Quinn!

The long planned trip to New England was great fun, as expected.  Actually getting to Long Island Sound is a three day push, maybe four if the weather cooperates.  This is the pleasure of a faster boat able to travel at 18 knots.

Our New England stops included Newport, Cuttyhunk, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket with the Yacht Club.  Stops on our own in transit included Mystic, Greenwich, Port Jefferson, Falmouth and Milford.

Boating in New England includes expensive slips (paid $8 a foot one place) and moorings.  There seems to be an endless supply of little port towns to explore on both sides of the Sound. 

 Like on the Bay, you have to watch our for pot floats.  In this case it is Lobster pots. You know you are in New England when Lobster replaces the Blue Crab! 

Biggest cruise of the year is always the Newcomers Cruise.  This year was no exception as 43 boats and 140 people descended on St Michael's for the weekend. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum was the host and a good time was had by all!

I know I am preaching to the choir but, there is something about sailing. It keeps you coming back.

Growing up in a Marine Corps family with a lot of siblings, I was introduced to boats around 10. We were living on a lake in Florida and USMC Special Services allowed the family a 12’ Jon boat with a 15 HP engine for the year.  I learned boat handling and how to water ski on the back of that little bundle of joy.

A few years later, living in Oceanside California, I learned to sail. The “trainer” was an exceedingly small but glitzy (varnished wood) pram with a lateen rig and sideboard.  The hardware was brass and not so strong.  I learned this after a long scull back to the dock when the tiller and rudder became magically disconnected (metal fatigue).

I was smitten and my love of sailing was born.

Through my high school years we (large family, nine siblings) lived on the Chesapeake Bay in Norfolk.  We had various small beachable boats and the love of sailing grew. Looking out over the Bay at the “big” sailboats going by, I could only wonder and long for a command of my own.

College was also near the Bay.  When you move around a lot as a kid, sometimes you just want to stay in the same place.  Old Dominion University was in Norfolk and that was where I wanted to go.

In college I did a little racing on Hobie Cats off the sand in Virginia Beach (Hobie Fleet 32). An older Vietnam Vet friend and classmate managed to acquire a Cape Dory 25 and she was our magical carpet for years. I missed a lot of good classes, trading the acquisition of knowledge for the experience of sailing a “big” boat.

From college on I was never without a boat. After grad school it was a houseboat to live on and an Erickson 27 to sail. The Erickson was followed by a Sabre 32. The progression included marriage and two sons. 

In 1994 work took the family to Charlotte NC.  We held on to the Sabre, keeping her in charter and using her for a week long annual cruise ourselves.  We explored lake sailing (okay for day sailing, not so good for cruising) and bought a weekend lake house. 

You know what happened next. The boys became enamored with power boats and Sea Doos.  Though they know how to sail, the connection between testosterone and horsepower was too great to overcome. We eventually sold the Sabre and expanded a collection of boats without sails on the lake.            

As a result, I was suffering sailing withdrawal. We had room at the lake house dock, and I went looking for a small boat to sail myself.  I found a 1984 Day Sailer II, original sails and serviceable condition. I sailed her some but work (busy day job) and all those powerboats, not to mention soccer and little league, kept my use to a minimum.        

After 11 years in Charlotte we moved to Annapolis, MD and found a nice house on a creek off the Bay. We got back into sailing with a Catalina 380.  The DS II found a home on a lift in our back yard and tasted saltwater, maybe for the first time.  However, she continued to languish (even busier day job). 

In 2010 I gave up. I passed her on to a brother, Pat, who took it to his weekend home on a North Carolina sound.  Sadly, she never got in the water (another busy day job story). Some years later he was diagnosed with cancer.  He passed away in 2019, way too young.

In the summer of 2020 Pat’s wife reached out and asked if I wanted the DS II back.  Needing a pandemic project and now retired, with perhaps more time to sail, I said yes!

The DS II had migrated back from the North Carolina sound house to the side yard of a rental property Pat owned in Norfolk. She was much worse for the wear, but salvageable.  Undaunted by the photos my sister-in-law sent, I drove from Annapolis to Norfolk to get her back.  I replaced the trailer tires, wiring and lights and repacked the wheel bearings. Soon she was back in Annapolis and the real work started. 

I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned her.  I bought a new full cover and put her back on her lift. Over the winter I had a local boat building shop build new hatch boards and a tiller (both had rot). I have replaced the halyards and done some mast repair.  The sails may be questionable (still original).

We do a family reunion annually, usually in Annapolis and usually around the Independence Day holiday. This year the family joined us to see a nephew off into the USNA class of 2025.  On Saturday the 3rd, the family gathered on the dock and we held a boat name change and rededication ceremony for the DS II. The new name: “Pat’s Spirit”. 

Honoring nautical tradition Pat's Spirit was dropped into the water after the naming ceremony and went for her first sail.  It was beautiful, emotional and fun all at once.