Adventures in Sailing

• So in September Rick Shannon and I drove Henry’s truck to Baddeck from Rochester. It took 21 ½ hours with a rest stop in St. Johns NB. 1400 miles total. • Time to enjoy some exploring around the Bras d’Or Lake and then get the boat ready for spending a winter in Baddeck

Cape Breton,the Cabot Trail & The Alexander Graham Bell Museum

Cape Breton The Cabot Trail makes a 185-mile loop around the island, passing through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park at its northernmost point. It took over four hours to make it around Cabot Trail. Nice scenery and a few interesting stops and shops along the way. The Alexander Graham Bell Museum was in Baddeck and well worth going to.. The telephone came about as he tried to solve a problem with his Mother’s and Wife’s deafness. He also had interests in work with hydrofoils, phonographs, and was a teacher of the deaf.

Cape Breton & Bras d’Or Lake Baddeck, NS

With Baddeck as the home base we spent our time there sailing and exploring things around the Bras d’or Lakes. Seeing eagles in trees nearby, and visiting places like Whycocomaugh, Orangedale and Cape North, taking a ride around the Cabot Trail, Anchoring and spending the night in different parts of the lakes, visiting the Alexander Graham Bell Museum and then getting the boat winterized all added to the adventure.

Cape Breton & Bras d’Or Lake

Orangedale is a very small community on the bras d’or Lakes. We anchored out and again used the dingy to go ashore. There was a nice railroad museum in a now unused train depot. It was no longer a train stop, but a train did go through while we were there. Fast. I was standing a bit close to the tracks to get a picture, and glad I wasn’t any closer. Whycocomaugh was a small town, with a population of less than 900 people. We anchored out and took the dingy to shore, saw bald headed eagles in the trees near shore. There was a small park near the shore that we took a walk through.

Winterize Boat and Return to Rochester

The last few days in Baddeck were spent winterizing the boat and loading up the truck with those things that were taken back to Rochester for the Winter. On the way home we stopped in Portland Maine and had dinner with one of Henry’s cousins. Then styed the night there and drove back to Rochester the following day. End of the Bras d’or Lakes adventure.

St John’s Newfoundland June 1997

Audrey Two then went to Newfoundland with a plan to sail it to the 60th Parallel. I was scheduled to join the boat in the Summer of ‘95. I had my plane tickets in hand, my bags packed and ready to go when I received a message telling me that Henry had a heart attack and needed to be air lifted to a hospital in St. John, NF. Jim Egansberger and crew returned the boat to the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club where the boat stayed for a few years while Henry and various friends flew up and enjoyed the area around Conception Bay. Family priorities kept me from going until ‘97 when I finally did fly up. It was an interesting week of being in Newfoundland and a week that I will never forget

St John’s Newfoundland June 1997

We (Henry, his Daughter Lancey and I) went up in June, flying out of Toronto. It was still pretty cool in St John and the boat was being raced by a family that Henry got to know so was rigged for racing rather than cruising. That being the case and it not being ready for sleeping on, we were invited to stay at one of the member’s house for a few days until we could change it over to “cruise mode”. So for a few days we did some racing, did some touristy kinds of things. Went on a Whale Watch, visited the Maritime Institute which provided some good information about fish of the area and especially Sole fish and generally just hung out and met the local members of the yacht club. After rigging the boat for sailing, we moved aboard and sailed around Conception Bay, docking in one place or another to have lunch and do a bit of exploring. In just one week of being on Newfoundland though, I couldn’t get over howwelcoming the people were. During the week one family shared their house with us, another had us for dinner one night with a meal of the type we eat at Thanksgiving, and the owner of a car dealership in the area (who also owned a J-44 similar to Henry’s) invited us to his annual steak roast with all you could eat or drink on the house. Then just before leaving, while having a few beers with some of the yacht club members, I was given a nice tv table book of Newfoundland. (I gave it to Henry once back in Rochester.)

1998-2003 Catalina 27 Tiller • Rejoined the Brockport Yacht Club Furling Jib • Purchased a 27’ Sailboat

Back in Rochester I again got the itch again to own my own boat. I rejoined the Brockport Yacht Club and found a nice Catalina 27 foot sailboat. Since it had what is known as a roller furling jib, which meant that I didn’t have to go to the bow to raise it each time, my lovely bride decided it was nice to go sailing from time to time. Of course it had a tiller, which took up much of the cockpit and limited our ability to bring more than just a few people on board for a sail.

2003-1996 Catalina 28

…and then, my wonderful wife, encouraged me to look for a boat with wheel steering. As it turns out one of the members at BYC was itching to get rid on a Catalina 28. There was another member at the club that was looking for a Catalina 27 and so, I was able to sell the 27 and bought the 28 with “wheel” steering. This turned out to be a good move as it was nicely rigged with all controls running back to the cockpit and a furling jib. I added a GPS instrument and an auto-pilot, so, I was able to single hand it, and do more day sailing, take short cruises and bring people aboard whether they knew how to sail or not.

2003-2021 ● Racing at BYC and RYC ● Cruising to Various Ports around Lake Ontario, on the St. Lawrence and In the Thousand Islands Niagara 35’ Catalina 28’

During the time that I owned the Catalina 28’, I also found myself spending time on Henry’s new boat, a Niagara 35. At times Henry would join me for sailing at the Brockport Yacht Club and we would sail my boat. Other times I would join him at the Rochester Yacht Club to sail on his. We raced at both BYC and RYC, Cruised to Various Ports around Lake Ontario (Pultneyville, Sodus Bay, Fair Haven, Sacketts Harbor, Cobourg, Oak Orchard, Wilson, Olcott, Oswego on the St. Lawrence (Clayton, Kingston, Canadoque) and through the Bay of Quinte. More and more I was cruising and racing on the “Walter Mitty” and getting less use out of my boat. It was time to sell it. I owned it for ten years then sold it to a person from Lake George who got wind of my being interested in selling it, came to Hamlin, Looked at it and bought it minutes after seeing it. I did my best to keep it in top condition.

2003-2021 ● Racing at BYC and RYC ● Cruising to Various Ports around Lake Ontario, on the St. Lawrence and In the Thousand Islands Niagara 35’ Catalina 28’

…and talk about timing. The year after I sold the boat, in 2018 we had the super flooding of Lake Ontario. And in 2019, the next year, while not as bad, the lake level was still way above normal and many yacht clubs remained closed to visitors. In 2020, sailing was limited because of COVID and worst then that Henry, developed some motor response and some memory problems so our sailing became very limited. Fortunately, his nephew has taken over the running of the boat and we got back to racing on Friday nights, with Henry on the helm during the races. …and in a great way, Henry’s lifetime of sailing kicked in and it was great to see him stay on course, round the marks and just generally enjoy our sailing.

Two years ago just before the Pandemic hit, Henry celebrated his 90th Birthday. During the birthday celebration his wife read the following tribute to Henry that she wrote: “The next day we had a crowd coming to celebrate my husband’s birthday. Instead of sleeping, I lay fretting. One minute, everything seemed fine. The next minute disaster loomed. Finally I remembered that most of his friends were sailors. These folks over time, have sailed their own boats, crewed for each other, and sailed thousands of miles in a succession of Henry’s boats. We have a flotilla of half hulls to prove it. There is much to be said about sailors. I for one highly recommend them as house or party guests. They’re not fussy about where they sleep. While cruising or long-distance racing, they prefer a berth if you have one. But they’ve all slept on sail bags, or spinnakers, in cockpits or hammocks up on deck. They’ve had every kind of wind and weather and discomfort, so they’re content with any dry sofa or narrow twin bed. When sailors are coming, I refrain from fussy cleaning, from clearing away clutter, or leaving a mountain of clean towels in the bathroom. They simply don’t care. In the morning, if they want coffee or tea, they either make it or go out and find it. They make their own breakfasts based on what’s around. Sometimes I’ve lifted my head to the wafting aroma of pancakes and sausages on the griddle. Sailors know where the snacks are, and when the time comes they find beer in the second refrigerator, red wine in the rack, or scotch in a liquor stash. They offer a toast, my husband’s being “First today out of this hand.” As to the scotch, they’re single malt fans and generous about leaving half empty bottles behind.

Sailboats, to the uninitiated, are powered by wind but they can’t leave the dock without team work and labor. The galley must be cleaned after breakfast, the lunch food rounded up, soft drinks and beer put on ice, all items that might fall underway must be secured, the battery checked, electrics ditto, chart consulted, and loads more. If you’re a sailor, you want to be sailing, not loitering around the dock brushing your teeth at noon. Sailors pitch in and get the job done. Sailors also delight in improvising. The sail tie worn as part of “jacket and tie” at chi-chi yacht clubs. The rigging knife used to slice cheese. They are also great problem solvers. These folks will not come asking for cork screws, forks, or vodka, or for help cleaning up spills. They get out their knives, they ransack kitchen drawers, they rummage through the liquor cupboard, they get right down on their knees with a wad of napkins and clean up. What’s more, they’re entertaining. They maybe loud at times but they have more funny stories than they can remember, and it’s often good listening. I’m quite fond of the long-ago of Henry’s then 18-year-old nephew trying to convince a young woman in her 20’s that he, not Henry, was the owner of that gorgeous J-44 tied up at the dock on Mackinaw Island. Or the zealot who in stripping the boat for long-distance racing got rid of the silverware. It was a long ride from Newport to Bermuda especially if, coming off watch, you had to eat spaghetti with your fingers. Sailors don’t ask too many questions. Send someone to the store for ice and they come back with plenty. If you have room for six in your boat’s salon, they’ll squeeze in 10 or 12 and be comfortable. They befriend crew from other boats, invite strangers for drinks, and when Canadian border patrol mistakes my husband’s cardiac medication for illegal drugs, they try not fall out laughing. So, if you want to celebrate, coax a dead engine back to life, or sail in the trail the moon leaves on the water, you’ve only one choice. Ask a sailor.” ©Barbara Dimmick, January 2018

Henry went to the Marina in the Sky in November, 2021, and I think that who knew him, we can all agree that Henry has influenced our lives in many ways. Whether racing, or cruising On the Susan B Anthony, the Dorothy Gale, Audrey Two or Walter Mitty; On Lake Ontario, the Long Island Sound, the Atlantic Ocean, the Erie and Oswego Canals, around the Thousand Islands, when going down the Saint Lawrence Seaway, In Nova Scotia, or in Newfoundland, one of Henry’s favorite places, it was always a pleasure and a good adventure to be aboard with Henry. Sailing certainly was an important part of Henry’s life but he was much ,much more. He was a Husband, a Father, an Uncle, a Cousin, a Friend, He was a US Navy Veteran, a Legislator, a Councilman, an Actor, a Writer, a Churchgoer and a Choir member, and Henry loved to sing. He was a Sailor, a Tennis Player and an avid Skier who was a member of the Hunt Hollow Ski Patrol. …and he was an Attorney who well represented his clients. ( How many times when the conditions were right to go sailing, but he would belay the sail. His clients came first.) For sure those who have been a part of Henry’s life, can add many other things His friendship is something we can forever cherish and hope someday we can again be on board with him as he helms us in a sailing race, somewhere in Heaven. David Schantz